The so-called feelings are for this thing, and you can put a lot of energy into it.

The same is true for Chen Geng, after determining that McDonnell Douglas can provide corresponding support, Chen Geng can't even wait for Elliott Richardson to "buy" the mothballed A-1 attack plane from the "aircraft graveyard", and he directly flew his A-1 attack plane to St. Louis, Missouri, where McDonnell Douglas is headquartered.

"You guy, your luck is really good," seeing Chen Geng, little McDonald smiled and punched Chen Geng: "After receiving your call, I went to the warehouse to take a turn, guess what I found in the warehouse?"

"What?"

"The engine mounts and nose fairing of Douglas's A-1 attack plane with a turboprop engine back then," McDonald Jr. said happily.

Chen Geng was overjoyed: "Really?"

The turbofan engine that Douglas chose for the A-1 attack aircraft in the 50s certainly can't match today's Pratt Whitney's PW125/ The 126 series turboprop engine is on a par, taking the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW126 turbofan engine that Chen Geng is preparing to replace for the A-1 attack aircraft, for example, the maximum take-off power of this engine can reach 1987KW, which is equivalent to the power of the Wright R-3350-26W star-shaped piston aero engine carried on the last generation A-1, and even higher than the Wright R-3350-24W, which carries the largest number of Wrights. What is the weight of the PW126 engine?

Only 481 kg!

And how much does that R-3350-24W weigh?

2822 lbs, 1280 kg!

That's still dry weight, that is, the weight without a turbocharger and without lubrication, and if you add tens of liters of lubricant and a 300-pound turbocharger with a total weight, the weight of the entire powertrain will be more than 1,500 kilograms, which is three times that of the PW126 turboprop engine!

This also means that just by replacing the engine, the weight of the whole machine has been reduced by one ton and more than one weight!

Friends who know a little about the relationship between weight and flight know what a terrifying statistic this is.

Some readers may say, what do you say have to do with the fairing and bracket that MacDonald Jr. found?

In fact, there is nothing too direct to do, but the design of this nose fairing takes a lot of time and effort to be determined after the wind blows in the wind tunnel, rather than just a shape similar to a cone, which means that if the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW126 engine can be crammed into this fairing, the design of the fairing will be eliminated.

As for the bracket, the bracket fixing point of the engine that was chosen at the beginning is certainly not the same thing as the fuselage fixing point of the PW126 engine, but it doesn't matter, at least it can give a reference.

"Of course it's true," McDonald Jr. said with a smile, "I set aside a hangar for you, and asked people to send you all the materials, brackets, and fairings, and I also helped you find some old guys who participated in the A-1 attack aircraft project back then, and they will come to help you." ”

"The engineers who participated in the A-1 attack aircraft back then?" Chen Geng was stunned: "They are all retired, right?"

"Of course they are all retired, but when I heard that someone was going to replace the A-1 with a turboprop engine, they all came back, and they didn't need money, they helped for free," Speaking of this, McDonald's expression became a lot more serious: "Dude, they have a deep affection for the A-1, and in their eyes, the A-1 attack aircraft is like their child." ”

Chen Geng didn't speak, just nodded vigorously.

If you don't really like the A-1 aircraft from the bottom of your heart, how can a group of retired old engineers come back to help themselves without saying a word and not even wanting money?

........................

Little MacDonald is indeed very interesting, and the place prepared for Chen Geng is not so much a hangar as a small workshop with air conditioning - the air-conditioning compressor on the side of the hangar fully proves that the construction cost of this hangar will not be too low.

When Chen Geng and little MacDonald walked in, they saw a gray-haired old man staring at a pile of parts placed in the corner of the wall in a daze.

"His name is Brooks Kanter," McDonald Jr. whispered to Chen Geng, "Don't look at him as inconspicuous and nerdy, but he once worked as an assistant to the designer of the A-1 attack aircraft: Dr. Edward Henry Heinman, and was one of the deputy chief designers of the A-4 carrier-based attack aircraft." ”

Chen Geng nodded again and again.

Dr. Edward Henry Heinman is a genius in the field of American @ military aircraft design, and is particularly good at designing attack aircraft, this guy has the name of "Mr. Attack Aircraft" in the field of American aviation, you can imagine how strong his talent in attack aircraft is, and since this Mr. Brooks Kantor can be favored by Dr. Edward Henry Heinman, it is enough to show his talent, and he can become the deputy chief designer of the U.S. Navy A-4 "Skyhawk" carrier-based attack aircraft, which also fully shows that Edward Henry Kantor can be the deputy chief designer of the A-4 "Skyhawk" carrier-based attack aircraft. Heinman was not wrong.

Hearing the voice of someone talking behind him, Brooks Kanter turned around, his gaze only paused on little MacDonald's body, and then stayed on Chen Geng's body: "Mr. Fernandez, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course," Chen Geng nodded immediately: "Mr. Kanter, may you ask." ”

"Why did you replace the A-1 attack aircraft with turboprop engines?"

"It's very simple," Chen Geng said with a serious face, "Because A-1, a veteran, needs to re-enter the battlefield." ”

Listening to Chen Geng's answer, Brooks Kanter suddenly became excited, and his eyes were shining: "Mr. Fernandez, you want to let it go to war?"

Looking at Brooks Kanter, who was flushed by his words, Chen Geng smiled secretly in his heart: "Yes, I plan to send it to the battlefield." ”

Speaking of this, Chen Geng paused, and said with a serious face: "But Mr. Kanter, you know, as a piston engine, the Wright R-3350 is too heavy, and what is more troublesome is that this engine has been out of production for so long, it is difficult to ensure the supply of spare parts, and No. 100 gasoline is also difficult to find, but if it is replaced by the latest turboprop engine, then everything is not a problem, not only can you directly use JP8 fuel, but also can ensure a sufficient supply of spare parts."

Therefore, whether it is for the purpose of reducing the weight of the whole aircraft, or to ensure the supply of spare parts, or to use the military's fuel directly on the front line, if the A-1 wants to return to the battlefield, it must replace the engine. ”