Back in 1978, I was admitted to Northwestern Polytechnical University.

Chapter 293 Because of Qin Liang, the maiden flight of the J-9 was brought forward by several months.
A fighter jet on the ground is like a tricycle, only this tricycle is expensive to manufacture. Now, this tricycle is veering off course, and the most likely cause of the problem is a problem with the wheels. Asymmetric aerodynamic torque is not common. As long as the manufacturing precision is sufficient, the aircraft will definitely be symmetrical from left to right.

The key issue is how to adjust the three wheels during installation, which Qin Liang doesn't quite understand, since it's not his area of ​​expertise. But... he knows cars.

If a car veers to one side, it needs a four-wheel alignment. In the early days, when technology was limited, experienced mechanics would use a measuring tape to take measurements and then adjust the alignment based on their experience. Later, as technology improved, several light-blocking plates were installed on the outside of the wheels, placed on a platform, and then lasers were used to measure the difference between the two sides. The measurements were then entered into a computer, which would display the adjustment instructions directly.

This is naturally the most convenient way.

If four-wheeled cars can be used like this, then three-wheeled vehicles should be able to as well!
Nearby, Director Hou of Factory 132's eyes lit up instantly: "Great! Let's build a device like this, and then we can test every aircraft that leaves the factory like this!"

A group of people got busy. As long as they were given an idea, they could make the right equipment. But Old Lin, who came to visit, was still a little curious: "Our previous planes never had this kind of deviation problem. Why did this new plane have it?"

"Because this is the first time we've used a splayed landing gear," Old Song began. "Just machining this landing gear alone consumed a lot of our energy. We're really grateful that Northwestern Polytechnical University has advanced CNC machine tools, otherwise..."

Previous fighter jets, from the J-5 to the J-8, had their main landing gear on the wings. This resulted in a long distance between the wheels on both sides, making takeoff and landing very stable and preventing them from veering off course. Especially when landing, the loud thud reassured the pilot, indicating that the landing was secure.

However, this landing gear also has a flaw: because it retracts inward, it occupies the inner section of the wing, which has the strongest load-bearing capacity, making it impossible to mount weapons!

To solve this problem, the landing gear had to be placed on the fuselage, so as not to take up the valuable space under the wings. In order to increase the wheel spacing, the landing gear had to extend outward when deployed, which resulted in the unique outward-pointing landing gear.

Modern third-generation fighters, such as the F-16 and F-18, all have this type of landing gear. Dongfang developed the JH-7 (Flying Leopard) back then, which led to the development of this type of landing gear. As for now, the J-9 was the first to use it. The JF-17 (Thunder) doesn't have this either; it has a vertical landing gear, only moved from the middle section of the wing to the wing root. For a small aircraft like the JF-17, this design is understandable.

Old Lin nodded: "The proportion of new technologies used in the J-9 aircraft exceeds 50%, and it is really not easy to develop it in such a short time!"

"Yes." Qin Liang nodded: "It's not easy, but once this aircraft is finalized, our air force equipment will be on par with the world. And with the next one, we'll be able to lead the world's trend!"

"Yes, our Air Force is also full of expectations."

Qin Liang's promise is incredibly grand, but the Air Force has faith in him!
Three days later, at Factory 132, on the runway.

Amidst the roar, the J-9 fighter jets began to taxi again. Sixty, eighty, one hundred... The J-9 fighter jets steadily advanced along the center line of the runway without deviating even slightly!
"Liangzi, your method is amazing! We used optical positioning technology and made such a precise adjustment in one go!" Director Hou was extremely excited: "This device will be our Factory 132's magic weapon from now on!"

"Hmm, you engineers are really impressive. You've developed the wheel alignment device in such a short time. After the medium-speed taxiing test, shouldn't we start the high-speed taxiing test?"

"Oh no!" Old Song suddenly slapped his forehead: "We can't do this high-speed gliding experiment!"

"why?"

"The track... isn't long enough!"

For medium-speed taxiing, a speed of 100 kilometers per hour is sufficient. However, for high-speed taxiing, the speed must exceed 200 kilometers per hour. This test examines the aircraft's flight performance, that is, whether the aircraft can take off!

It needs to taxi to the point where the nose landing gear leaves the ground, with the nose pointing towards the sky, and continue taxiing forward for a distance before it can decelerate and come to a stop.

Based on this calculation, at least a 2500-meter runway would be needed, but the airport in Huangtianba only has a 2200-meter runway!
The J-7, JF-17, and JF-17 were all small aircraft and required a short braking distance, so they did not encounter this problem. But now, with the medium-sized J-9, this problem has emerged!
We were so busy building the plane that we hadn't thought about this problem at all. Now that it's time to get to high-speed taxiing, this problem is right in front of us!

"Not enough? Then lengthen it," Old Lin said.

“No, at the end of this runway is a factory area, and it doesn’t even belong to our Factory 132. The runway was originally built according to the size of this land. If we want to extend it, we’ll have to take over their factory, which… is very difficult.”

Now that we live in a market economy, things can't be resolved with just an administrative order from higher authorities. Moving out won't be easy; there could be months of wrangling and disputes. Especially since the other party sees that Factory 132 has money, they might ask for an outrageously high price. Even if we have the money, we can't be taken advantage of.

"If we don't lengthen it, then we can only send it to the flight test institute in Chang'an for testing. The runway there is long enough, but... the plane can't fly yet!"

This is a vicious cycle.

The runway is not long enough, so we have to go to Chang'an for test flights. To go to Chang'an for test flights, we have to fly there. Without high-speed taxiing tests, we can't fly.

"How about... we take it apart?" Old Lin suggested.

That's just what an amateur would say!
To what extent should it be disassembled? Just the wings? Transporting it along the way would probably still be inconvenient, and once it's disassembled and reassembled, the aircraft will have some problems, and its condition will be different from when it left the factory!

Once we arrive in Chang'an, it will take several months of adjustments!
Everyone was worried, and then... they all turned their attention to Qin Liang.

If you encounter any problems, just ask Qin Liang; he'll definitely be able to solve them!
"Ahem, why are you all looking at me like that?"

"Tell me, Liangzi, what's your plan?"

"Well... there is a way, but it requires taking risks."

"Say!"

"As long as the nose of the plane is pulled up in advance, the runway will be sufficient."

"How is that possible... How can the plane pull its nose up if it's not at a certain speed?"

"Maybe if we reduce the engine thrust... that will work?"

If anyone else had said that, everyone would have thought it was nonsense, but Qin Liang is different! Since he said it, he must have his reasons!

think carefully……

That makes a lot of sense!
For a conventionally configured aircraft to tilt its nose up, it needs to reach a certain speed and generate enough lift to lift the nose, since the tail rudder provides negative lift. However, our J-9 has a canard configuration, and the canards provide positive lift. As long as the speed reaches a certain level, the canards can easily tilt the nose up.

As for reducing engine thrust, that actually reduces the reaction force of the skid head.

When the nose of the aircraft is lifted, the tail will be facing the runway. This force prevents the nose from being lifted, thus reducing the engine thrust and significantly reducing drag!

"Lei Zi, shall we give it a try?"

"it is good!"

At this moment, Lei Qiang was fearless. If Qin Liang said to try, he would dare to try!

The roar resumed, and this time, Lei Qiang activated the engine's afterburner. Blazing flames shot out of the exhaust nozzle, allowing the aircraft to accelerate faster and thus save runway length.

Whoosh!
As the brakes were released, the J-9 surged forward, its speed rapidly increasing: fifty, one hundred, one hundred and fifty... Lei Qiang deactivated the afterburner with his left hand, pushed the throttle to the slow position, and pulled the control lever back with his right hand.

Whoosh!
The nose of the plane suddenly shot up.

"Holy crap!" Lei Qiang exclaimed.

"Lei Zi, what's wrong?" a concerned voice came through the radio.

"It's alright, it's alright. This plane's lift characteristics are just too good!"

Beside the runway, countless people stared wide-eyed as the J-9, nose up, taxied past them. A few hundred meters later, the landing gear lowered, followed by the deployment of the drag chute and the application of the brakes. When the aircraft came to a complete stop, it was still more than two hundred meters from the end of the runway!

Become!

Old Song was beaming with excitement: "Liangzi, your guidance has brought our maiden flight forward by a month or so!"

Qin Liang smiled. A month or two? It's more than that.

The J-10 fighter jet in later generations had its medium-speed taxiing delayed by more than eight months and its high-speed taxiing delayed by several months. In the end... Lei Zi got anxious and wondered if it was because the engine thrust was too great, resulting in an excessive pitching torque? So... he secretly tried it!
During a taxiing test, the afterburner was turned off, and the control lever was pulled, which forcibly lifted the front landing gear.

When the control tower discovered this, they were stunned!

When the control tower asked Lei Zi what happened, Lei Zi could only say that his hand had accidentally shaken. After all, scientific research test flights are very serious, and any test flight maneuver requires careful planning. His bold behavior was a violation of discipline.

His hand trembled slightly, and no one pursued the matter. In fact, it became an amusing anecdote during the development of the J-10 fighter jet: Lei Zi's hand trembled slightly, and then a big problem was solved!

At this moment, without his hands trembling, Qin Liang directly presented the plan.

Everyone is excited.

"Yes, we still need to continue the taxiing tests. We'll only make the maiden flight once we're confident. We just need it to be airborne by the end of the year. We can't rush it. After all, this aircraft is of great importance, and we can't afford any accidents..."

Crashing during the test flight phase is common in all countries. The Su-27 even crashed four or five times before it was fully developed. However, things are different in the East. We are poor, and even one crash could risk canceling the entire project.

Historically, none of our J-10 test flights ever crashed.

"Yes, the maiden flight must be fully prepared. Internationally, most aircraft, for the sake of stability, add ballast during their maiden flight to bring the aircraft back to a statically stable state. Ours..."

"We don't need to! Elder Song, I have confidence in the aircraft we developed!" Lei Zi's voice rang out.

When the aerodynamic center is behind the aircraft's center of gravity, the aircraft is stable. For example, when the aircraft's angle of attack increases, aerodynamic forces will cause the aircraft to pitch down, which means the aircraft will return to its original position.

Conversely, if the aerodynamic center is in front of the aircraft's center of gravity, the aircraft is statically unstable. When the angle of attack of the aircraft increases, the aerodynamic forces will exacerbate this trend, making the angle of attack of the aircraft even greater. If this continues, the aircraft will quickly lose control until it stalls and crashes.

Early aircraft were statically stable because pilots simply couldn't control aircraft with statically unstable layouts. It wasn't until the advent of fly-by-wire systems that aircraft could be controlled. At this point, the advantages of static instability became apparent: if you wanted to pitch up, the aircraft could do so quickly; if you wanted to turn sideways, you could do so at the fastest speed.

Simply put, static instability can make an aircraft more agile, but at the same time, it also means that the aircraft will be more difficult to control. If the flight control system is flawed, it is easy to crash the aircraft.

In this era, all statically unstable aircraft have a counterweight added to the nose during their maiden flight to shift the center of gravity forward and create a statically stable configuration. However, this also means that the maiden flight condition is different from the actual service condition.

The maiden flight turned into a performance show, and it will have to be changed later. All the test flight subjects will have to be repeated.

To shorten the flight test process and get the product into service as soon as possible, we have to take risks during the flight test!
Lei Qiang was not afraid of risks, and he believed in the strength of 611 and Northwestern Polytechnical University. Moreover, there was also the JF-17 Thunder!

The JF-17 has been delivered to Chang'an for intensive test flights. Although only the longitudinal direction is controlled by fly-by-wire, it can still effectively test the performance of the fly-by-wire flight control system. Now, he is full of confidence in his own technology!
"Liangzi, what's your opinion?" Old Lin asked.

"I believe that if the technicians are confident, they can make the aircraft ready for its maiden flight. This would greatly shorten the test flight time and save the Air Force several months or even half a year of waiting," Qin Liang said. "After all, the upgrading of the Air Force's equipment is an urgent matter."

"Okay, next, conduct a self-check. Once you have enough confidence, you can begin your maiden flight. Don't worry, if anything goes wrong, the Air Force will take responsibility!"

This is a weighty trust!
"Yes!" Old Song nodded.

"Please rest assured, leaders, we will install the most mature flight control system!" Yang Wei said confidently. As a flight control system developer, he was determined not to let Northwestern Polytechnical University down.

"The skating test went smoothly today. Now, let's go to the cafeteria to celebrate!" As soon as Professor Lin said this, Qin Liang immediately clutched his stomach: "No, Professor Lin, my stomach hurts, I need to go to the toilet."

"Your wife's not here, what are you afraid of? Come on! Let's go for a drink! I heard your game console is selling like hotcakes in America? Liangzi, let's look into whether we can develop a flight simulation game for this console to train our pilots?"

"This...game console is a huge project. Let's do our best."

In later generations, with the J-20, two-seat trainer aircraft were no longer needed. Training was entirely done on flight simulators, and once qualified, trainers could move to the single-seat version. This was because flight simulators and actual aircraft were no longer very different. Nowadays, flight simulators are still quite primitive.

There was an airplane cockpit set up in the lobby, with a huge projection screen in front of it, showing a pre-recorded takeoff scene, which didn't feel very realistic.

With the development of display chips at Northwestern Polytechnical University, it would be worth considering developing a dedicated flight simulator. The display on the projection screen in front of the cockpit could change according to the pilot's actions, making it more realistic.

We don't know how much the current hardware can support, but if it's done professionally enough, it should save the Air Force a lot of money training pilots. One hour in the air costs tens of thousands of yuan in fuel, while playing simulators on the ground only costs a little electricity.

Atari, Inc., USA.

"Damn it, those Huaxin FCs are practically everywhere!" Bushnell gritted his teeth. "They've actually recruited college students all over America as their salespeople!"

“Yes, even though we reached an agreement with the malls not to allow them to sell Huaxin FC, it didn’t stop this game console from taking over the market.” Manny Gerard, a Warner investment executive and the person in charge of liaising with Atari, also looked grim.

Half of WarnerMedia's profits come from Atari, and now, Atari's market share is visibly shrinking, which directly affects WarnerMedia's stock price. They are extremely anxious at this moment.

"So, how exactly does Atari plan to respond?"

“We originally planned to acquire Huaxin FC, but unexpectedly, those people refused. They even postponed buying their chips until after Christmas,” Bushnell said. “Now, we can only…”

After their last attempt failed, they approached Warner Group, hoping to use market means to stop Huaxin FC's expansion. Unexpectedly... the other party took a different approach!
Now, they have no other options.

“New games are a major reason why Huaxin FC has gained market share, so we also need to develop new games,” Gerard said. “We’ve already bought the adaptation rights to ‘Destroy the Galaxy,’ and we need to turn this sci-fi film into a game…”

"No, that's impossible!" Warsaw immediately stood up. "There are only five weeks until Christmas. Five weeks! It's such a short time, there's no way we can possibly..."

“Warsaw, this is a decision made by the group’s board of directors,” Gerard said. “If you can’t adapt it, then find someone else. In short, the game must be completed before Christmas. The group has decided to promote the game, and we will find the lead actor from the movie to promote it.”

"Out of the Galaxy" holds significant importance in science fiction films because it was the first science fiction movie featuring a tentacle monster. In particular, the action scene between the tentacle monster and the blonde beauty, which lasted less than a minute, was crucial to the entire movie.

It was a huge hit after its release, so it's only natural that it was adapted into a game.

"No, no, this is a horror movie, and it also contains erotic content, which doesn't fit our market positioning..."

"The board thinks it's appropriate. Now, Warsaw, you need to know your place! You don't have the authority to decide these things. Your job is to develop the game well."

"Oh God, this is absolutely the worst game ever. I bet it will completely ruin Atari's reputation..."

　PS: Look up at the J-10 and observe the direction of the canard deflection.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)