As an AWACS aircraft, making its first flight without an AWACS radar may sound like a fantasy, but it's not surprising when you think about it.

Although the early warning airborne aircraft platform is equipped with four turbofan 9 engines to choose the H-5 air tanker platform, which continues the excellent genes of the H-6 and even the Tu-16, it is absolutely mature and reliable, but this is only when it is used as a bomber or tanker, the aerodynamic impact of the aircraft on the aircraft to be modified into an early warning aircraft is too great, and this must be studied well.

The early warning aircraft has to carry a large plate equipped with early warning radar, which is absolutely to increase aerodynamic resistance, and because the radome located in front of the vertical tail is thick and the edge is blunt, the airflow behind the cover in flight is separated and causes turbulence, and the effect on the vertical tail produces tremor, and it is not easy to control the course and attitude of the aircraft.

Therefore, even if the entire early warning radar system has not yet completed the development work, but when there is a mature large-scale aircraft platform in China, the radome is first installed on the aircraft, and some counterweights are installed in it without radar, and even the equipment inside the fuselage is strictly in accordance with the general layout of the plan, and a large number of counterweights are also used to imitate a complete set of airborne early warning system to the greatest extent.

In this way, an early warning aircraft that did not have an early warning radar was arranged for its first flight, and the greatest use of this prototype is to test whether the new aerodynamic shape of the early warning aircraft is qualified, whether the noise and air tightness are up to standard, and the test work of the body can be completed one step ahead with the greatest ability.

Yang Hui also knows most of these things, and Chief Engineer Wang, who is in charge of the entire early warning aircraft project, also deeply agrees with this, and he also clearly knows that during the test flight of the Air Police No. 1 that year, the dangers encountered in the air and the various lessons of the past told everyone that the body design of the early warning aircraft is not one or two points lighter than that set of airborne early warning radar.

The first aircraft has been settled in the large hangar next to the airport, which was specially built in the new Guiyang Aviation Industrial Zone, taking into account the needs of early warning aircraft in the future, which is fully equipped, even if it is to carry out a large-scale [¤dǐng] ¤diǎn] ¤ small ] ¤ said in the face of early warning aircraft here, .£.↗o s_ (); Overhaul, the equipment inside is also fully able to meet the needs.

The night before the first flight, Yang Hui still came to this hangar as usual, this time the luck was not bad, met Wang Xiaomo, who also came to do the final inspection, the two of them happily talked about the early warning aircraft project that everyone is most concerned about.

Although he was appointed as the chief engineer of the early warning aircraft project, but in general, he rarely spoke on the development of the fuselage platform, mainly by a deputy chief engineer sent by Xifei to do this thing, so the two usually have a clear division of labor, and each of them also does their own things very well.

And this time, Chief Master Wang came here, although there are some reasons because the first flight will be made tomorrow, but more importantly, he still has to announce a big event: "Okay, everyone stop the work in their hands for a while, I have brought you a good news, come and hear it." ”

As the chief engineer of the project, although he usually does not interfere much in the affairs of the airborne platform here, he must still have some prestige in the entire project department.

The person responsible for the design and installation of the early warning aircraft airborne platform is a middle-aged man named Nie Zhongliang, who was the chief designer of the project when he developed the bomb six in 81, and later continued to be deeply involved in the project as the deputy chief engineer when he developed the four-engine bomb oil six, and even the previous Yun-7 100 series aircraft were also led by him.

This time, he asked him to assist in the early warning aircraft project, just a deputy chief engineer in charge of the test and installation of the aircraft platform did lower the grade a little, but according to it, he said: this early warning aircraft project is a breakthrough from scratch, is a heavy diǎn project that the country has spent a lot of money and the army has high hopes for, and it requires all relevant units across the country to send elite backbone forces to cooperate, and Chief Division Ma is doing the P-75 passenger aircraft project, and he is a very accomplished deputy chief engineer on the bombing oil six aircraft, so he naturally has an unshirkable responsibility.

A very responsible chief teacher, speaking in the sixties and seventies, heard that Chief Master Wang was coming to announce a good news, he quickly walked out of the plane, and after walking here to greet Yang Hui and Chief Master Wang, he also stood aside and listened quietly.

This time, even Yang Hui didn't know what the good news was about, and he still needed to be curious in his heart.

Chief Master Wang saw that everyone was quiet, and announced the news: "Our plane will make its first flight tomorrow, although it is only the installation of counterweights for the first flight, but this is still a time for us all to be excited about, and this is just right, in the afternoon, the army came to the news, and the army number of our early warning aircraft project was officially determined, code: Air Police 100, which means to say." This is an airborne AWACS aircraft with a take-off weight of up to 100 tons. ”

This kind of news in the people sitting in Yang Hui's position, for a while did not feel any special taste, but the airborne platform scientific research support team over there is lively, the entire early warning aircraft project is centered on the airborne early warning radar from the beginning, which can be seen from the project chief engineer is to arrange a typical radar system chief engineer to serve.

Therefore, although the number of this early warning aircraft has not yet come down, everyone still expects that the official military name and army number of this aircraft will be related to the radar model, and then take a step back at least to continue with the "Air Police No. 1" that was dismounted before, giving a "Air Police No. 2" number, but absolutely no one thought that the naming was more about taking into account the information of the airborne platform.

Deputy Chief Engineer Nie has seen strong winds and waves, so he is not as happy as other staff members jumping and happy: "Air Police 100, I really didn't expect it to be such a number, we have been tired and tired in the past few years, but we think it is worth it, then Chief Engineer Wang, please rest assured, we will definitely be worthy of this number when we are engaged in airborne platforms, and we must test and deliver a qualified airborne platform to ensure that the chain will not be dropped." ”

Then, Chief Master Wang also shared a few words of encouragement with him, and then Yang Hui cheered everyone in advance, and wished the first flight a complete success, and finally it was not until after 11 diǎn in the evening that everyone finished the last thing, closed the hangar door and went back to their homes. (To be continued.) )