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

Chapter 55 You little brat, you're the one who fooled me, you explain yourself!
After dark, the transport plane took off, and Qin Liang sat in the folding seat with a complicated expression.

"Qin Liang, are you still attached to this city?" Old Tu asked from the side.

"No."

"You're not thinking about the girl who took you back to the hotel, are you?"

Qin Liang shook his head with a smile. How could that be? He and she were just strangers who met by chance! Having been reborn, he was determined to lead the East's aviation industry to new heights! As for personal feelings… he'd deal with that later!
The plane has reached its cruising altitude and can now move freely.

Shafik stood up and walked towards Old Tu.

"Mr. Tu, the J-7 was produced by your Factory 132, right?"

"Yes."

"Your proposed improvements are truly excellent!"

Old Tu's heart skipped a beat. What did that mean? Qin Liang had told them about the Super 7's improvement project? This level of leak could get him into serious trouble!
"Using Western ejection seats and avionics can make the J-7 safer and more reliable..."

So that's what it is! Old Tu breathed a sigh of relief. Wait, when did we say we were going to use Western ejection seats and avionics?

"That's natural. We also have many other improvement projects. For example, the MiG-21's airframe lifespan is only 1,200 hours, which is too little. Our J-7's airframe lifespan has been increased to 2,000 hours, and with further improvements, it can be increased to 3,000 hours!"

"That's fantastic! We want the 3,000-hour version!"

Old Tu was taken aback.

Russian aircraft not only have short engine lifespans, but also short airframe lifespans. The MiG-21 required a major overhaul after 500 hours of flight time, followed by another 500 hours of flight time for a second major overhaul, after which it could only fly for 200 hours.

With a total lifespan of 1,200 hours, it's normal for Western air forces, which train frequently, to fly 300 hours a year, meaning they can be scrapped after four years.

After manufacturing the J-7, Factory 132 began to improve and upgrade it. In recent years, the improved J-72 has finally achieved an airframe lifespan of 2,000 hours, which was achieved only by exerting all its efforts.

At this point, Qin Liang actually boasted that he could reach three thousand hours? How could he do that?

"How did you make the improvements?" Shafik asked Qin Liang.

Qin Liang pointed to the MiG-21 in the cabin: "Look, the outer shell of this kind of aircraft is made of duralumin, which is of very poor quality. After flying for about a thousand hours, the fuselage will be covered with cracks. We in the East have advanced aluminum-lithium alloys, so the lifespan is naturally greatly improved!"

In the 1980s, Pakistan collaborated with Factory 132 to improve the J-7 fighter jet, and the Super-7 project was officially launched. Pakistan was very dissatisfied with the J-7's airframe lifespan: the engine hadn't reached the end of its lifespan yet, but the airframe had! No, it had to be improved!
It was around that time that Factory 132 worked together diligently and finally developed an advanced aluminum-lithium alloy that met the lifespan requirements.

Right now, Old Tu and the others were completely in the dark. Hearing Qin Liang boast like this, Old Tu was filled with anxiety!
"Aluminum-lithium alloy?" Shafik asked with curiosity, "What is that?"

"Lithium, the lightest metal in the periodic table, can reduce the density of an alloy by 3% and increase its elastic modulus by 6% when added to aluminum. This not only makes structural components lighter but also increases their stiffness..."

Seeing the group of Egyptian officers listening with great interest, Old Tu felt complicated. This was all from Qin Liang; our Factory 132 didn't have any of this information!
To the east and southwest, towering mountains and plateaus surround a land area of ​​nearly 20,000 square kilometers, where melting snow nourishes the land.

With its mild climate and abundant rainfall throughout the year, this place became one of the most livable areas. Its fertile land and rich resources, coupled with its relative safety during times of war, made it a haven from external influences, earning it the nickname "Land of Abundance." Among the 156 key projects of that era were 19 aviation industry projects, with Factory 132 being one of them. Construction began in 56 and was completed in 64, marking the establishment of the second fighter jet production base in the East.

The following year, Factory 132 accepted the task of trial production of the J-7 fighter jet. From then on, Factory 132 focused on producing the J-7. Unfortunately, in the years that followed, Factory 132 was unable to concentrate on its work. It was not until 1976 that the factory entered a new period of recovery, reorganization, and development.

Inside the workshop, the assembly of J-2 fighter jets was still underway. Factory Director Hou was making his daily rounds when he saw Director Xie rushing over: "Factory Director Hou, an urgent mission has been sent from above!"

After saying that, Director Xie leaned close to Factory Director Hou's ear and whispered a few words. Factory Director Hou was immediately taken aback: "Quickly, convene a meeting of all middle-level managers and assign the task of the big clean-up!"

That afternoon, a transport plane that had never been seen before appeared on the runway of Factory 132, accompanied by two J-6 fighter jets. After the plane landed smoothly, everyone rushed to greet it.

"General Shafik, welcome to Factory 132! On behalf of all the workers in the factory, I welcome you!"

"Yes, take me to the production line. I can't wait to see the world's most advanced J-7 fighter jet!"

Upon hearing the translated words, Director Hou was surprised: When did our J-7 become the most advanced in the world?

"Come on, Lao Hou, take General Shafik to see him. Qin Liang, come here, you introduce him to General Shafik!" At this moment, Old Tu simply handed over the task of introduction to Qin Liang. Even if it was his first time at Factory 132, and he was being forced into this role, he still had to let Qin Liang explain! Because he simply couldn't explain it to Qin Liang!

"Let's go, General Shafik, to Workshop Number One!"

This kid actually knows about Workshop No. 1? But... all factories across the country are pretty much the same, Workshop No. 1 is the largest.

Aircraft production is done in a fixed workstation system. Once the workbench is set up, the assembly begins with the main beam of the aircraft and is completed. Just like the early days of automobile production, there was no assembly line.

The most eye-catching part of Workshop No. 1 is the J-72 aircraft being assembled. It is almost completed, and the cockpit canopy that folds back looks completely different from that of the MiG-21!

As the first aircraft to fly at Mach 2, the Russians racked their brains to design it, flipping the canopy forward so that it could open to block airflow when the pilot ejected. Unfortunately, it was very cumbersome, and the success rate of ejection was zero.

Therefore, the later version became a structure that flips to the right, and the only one with a cockpit canopy that flips to the rear is the J-7 from the East!

"The flipping of this hatch..."

"The flip design is completely different from the MiG-21!" Qin Liang spoke eloquently, as if he were the designer of the aircraft: "This design greatly improves safety..."

The Egyptian visitors nodded repeatedly.

"However, the dorsal fin at the back is a bit small!"

Later MiG-21s were all quite bulky, with the dorsal fin being enlarged to store fuel.

"Smaller mirrors will provide better rearward visibility. Look here, everyone. We're adding two rearview mirrors to the windshield frame. This way, during intense air combat, we can observe the situation behind us..."

"Rearview mirror, keep bragging, you brat!" Old Tu's expression was complicated.

(End of this chapter)