Reborn in Hong Kong: The Tycoon Grows Up

Although little Macdonald is slightly lacking in ability, his reaction is very fast. And growing up in a wealthy family, business negotiations still don’t have much of a problem.

Little Macdonald reacted quickly and said directly: "Mr. Bao, does he know about the DC-10 aircraft?"

In 1966, American Airlines proposed that in the 1970s, it needed a large passenger aircraft that was economical, had airport supporting facilities that were in line with the prevailing standards at the time, and could carry about 300 passengers. In order to meet this requirement, Douglas Company began research on the plan. The original design of the Douglas wide-body passenger aircraft was a twin-engine under-wing pod layout. In 1964, the FAA lifted the "60-minute limit" on three-engine aircraft, allowing it to fly transatlantic routes, and to ensure that it could fly in a longer time. For takeoff and landing on short runways, Douglas Company's design plan was changed to a three-engine wide fuselage plan in response to customer requirements. A third engine was added to the root of the vertical tail. This is the most significant feature of the DC-10. DC in July 1970 The first prototype of the -10 left the factory and made its first test flight on August 29, 1970. It obtained the FAA airworthiness certificate on July 29, 1971 and was delivered to American Airlines. The first flight was put into operation on August 5, 1971.

After the DC-10 was put into operation, it was discovered that there were design flaws, the most serious of which was the design of the cargo bay door, which directly led to several accidents and required the redesign of the cargo bay door. By 1979, the DC-10 was involved in two major crashes in one year, and aviation authorities at that time grounded DC-10s around the world on safety grounds, damaging the aircraft's reputation.

At that time, Douglas and Lockheed were each developing three-engine wide-fuselage passenger aircraft. The two companies launched a lose-lose competition to compete for the market. The DC-10 eventually defeated its competitor Lockheed in sales due to its lower operating and maintenance costs. Sid's L-1011 Samsung airliner.

With the advent of the oil crisis, the cost of using three-engine passenger aircraft has increased significantly. In the 1970s, the European Airbus Company began to deliver the newly designed Airbus A300 wide-body passenger aircraft, equipped with two high-bypass ratio turbofan jet engines with greatly improved performance. The relaxation of extended-range flight restrictions for twin-engine passenger aircraft has further broadened the route range of twin-engine passenger aircraft, enough to fly transatlantic flights. The A300 is significantly better than the L-1011 and DC-10 in terms of performance and cost of use, and is very popular in the 250-seat wide-body passenger aircraft market. The DC-10 gradually lost orders due to its relative fuel consumption.

As an aerospace engine engineer, of course I know the DC-10 passenger aircraft that McDonald mentioned. But this is definitely a big pit, and it has no advantage at all in the competition. Long-distance flying and carrying passengers are not as stable as the Boeing 747, and short-distance takeoffs consume too much fuel. This is definitely a tasteless product, not even a tasteless product.

What Xiao MacDonald means is that he wants to jump into the pit. You really think you are stupid, this old boy is very bad.

Bao Zixuan said seriously: "What did Mr. Mike say? After all, I graduated in aviation power. Of course I know this McDonnell Douglas aircraft. I don't know what you mean."

Little Macdonald could tell from Bao Zixuan's tone that he didn't like this aircraft. This is understandable, after all, the data displayed by DC-10 is not good.

But today I came not just for the DC-10 passenger plane, but also for the development of subsequent models.

McDonald Jr.: "The DC-10 can no longer meet the current aviation needs, so McDonnell Douglas wants to develop a new model based on the DC-10. The main reason is that it does not want one company to dominate the Boeing 747 passenger aircraft. I think you should understand What do I mean?"

Could it be the DC-11 passenger plane? That is a bigger hole than the DC-10 passenger plane, and it has a lot to do with the merger of McDonnell Douglas. But this passenger plane wasn't put on the agenda only in 1986. Could it be that it was brought forward because of his own appearance?

The MD-11 is a wide-body passenger aircraft produced by McDonnell Douglas and equipped with three engines. Its design is derived from the DC-10 passenger aircraft. The design features one engine on the tail. However, its fuselage and wingspan are longer than that of the DC-10. Winglets are also installed at both ends of the wings, and the design of the wing section has also been improved. However, due to design flaws, many MD-11s were used for cargo services after the MD-11 ceased production in 2001, and all retired MD-11 passenger aircraft were converted into cargo aircraft.

If the sales and performance of the aircraft were both good, why would it be discontinued, let alone converted into a cargo aircraft? The DC-11 passenger plane can indeed accommodate 400 people when fully loaded, but its unreasonable design has caused countless accidents.

When Boeing merged with McDonnell Douglas, it was mainly to prevent McDonnell Douglas from being merged by Airbus. Airbus' merger with McDonnell Douglas would make it stronger than Boeing. This is something Boeing does not want to see. In addition, Boeing also values ​​McDonnell Douglas's productivity and strong research and development capabilities, especially its military aircraft research and development capabilities. Boeing has never intervened in military aircraft since the end of World War II, mainly because its military product research and development capabilities are not as good as others. You know, McDonnell Douglas is the U.S. Air Force's main fighter supplier. The F-4 "Phantom", F-15 "Eagle", and F/A-18 "Hornet" are all from McDonnell Douglas.

The YF-23 was almost selected by the US Air Force, which shows the strength of McDonnell Douglas. Facts have proved that Boeing's merger is wise. However, in terms of civil aircraft research and development, Boeing's aircraft models are more advanced than McDonnell Douglas. Therefore, after the merger, Boeing only completed McDonnell Douglas' unfinished orders for civil aircraft, and the excess productivity was used to produce Boeing series aircraft and military aircraft.

But Bao Zixuan also knew that even if Little MacDonald agreed, the U.S. government would not agree to sell McDonnell Douglas to Heiyun Group no matter how much money Heiyun offered. This is related to the national security of the United States. Many military aircraft produced by McDonnell Douglas are in service with the US military.

In this case, Boeing cannot be alone, otherwise it will definitely receive strong support from the US government. If McDonnell Douglas is involved, it may be a different situation, and McDonnell Douglas cannot be trapped in the research and development of third-generation aircraft.

Bao Zixuan: "If it is modified based on the DC-10, then Heiyun Group is not very interested. If you want to compete with the Boeing 747, you need to redesign the aircraft. I am an aviation major. When I was studying at MIT, some professors questioned The irrationality of a three-engine airplane.”

"It is a disaster to choose three engines for a large aircraft. Engine thrust is constantly increasing; the strength of aviation materials is increasing, but the weight is decreasing. This makes there is no practical improvement in thrust between three engines and two engines, and the back-mounted The last engine will also affect the aerodynamic layout of the entire aircraft, especially when climbing and turning."

After all, Little Macdonald was a professional, so of course he knew what Bao Zixuan meant. The improvement from DC-10 to DC-11 in 1986 was also due to limited funds, and the dead horse was treated as a living horse doctor. Now McDonnell Douglas is not at the end of its rope and can completely develop its own four-engine super-large passenger aircraft.

Mr. Bao knows that Heiyun Group currently does not have the strength to develop a super-large passenger aircraft. This requires strong technical accumulation, and McDonnell Douglas does not have these problems. It depends on what little MacDonald chooses. If it’s three rounds, let him play there alone!

McDonald Jr.: "You mean to produce a four-engine super large passenger aircraft, but that would be laughed at by Boeing; it also goes against the tradition of McDonnell Douglas."

Bao Zixuan was really defeated by this idea. Could it be that other people's jokes don't follow science. It is said that a tiger father and a dog son are the most suitable candidates for this boy.

In fact, it is also to blame that McDonald Jr. is usually loud-mouthed and often ridicules in the media how high the cost of Boeing's four-engine passenger jets is, which is a waste of resources. Now that McDonnell Douglas has given up on three-engine aircraft and is researching four-engine passenger aircraft, isn't that a slap in the face?

Bao Zixuan said with a smile: "On the one hand, it is a project that is clearly losing money; on the other hand, it can produce benefits, but it does not make money because of face issues. This is not the behavior of a successful entrepreneur; face is important, but in terms of profits, You can still give up some of it."

"The four-engine layout is obviously more reasonable. Why don't we use it? Just because Boeing is using it, others can't use it. You must know that it is not a patent and anyone can take it and use it."

"Boeing is a joke. I hope Boeing can still laugh when we defeat them."

Bao Zixuan's words about defeating Boeing made little Macdonald very interested. You must know that this is something that even the old man has not been able to do. If it can be achieved while he is in power, no one will dare to question his ability.

McDonald Jr.: "I am very interested in this topic. I will ask engineers to conduct relevant research when I go back. If McDonnell Douglas develops a four-engine super-large passenger aircraft, will Heiyun Group be interested in joining?"

Bao Zixuan knew that Xiao MacDonald was not a professional aircraft designer after all. Many problems still depend on engineers, which is very different from his father.

Bao Zixuan: "If it is a four-engine super-large passenger aircraft, Heiyun Group will certainly be interested. At the same time, we will also develop engines as needed. Please rest assured, Mr. Mike."

It’s good to have this statement, and then we’ll see if the project is feasible. Now Xiao MacDonald has agreed with what Bao Zixuan said, face is really not that important in the face of interests.