This is the fifth sea surface test of the 081 class multifunctional amphibious assault ship, and the previous four sea surface tests are slightly different in that this sea surface test, there are two more big guys on the flight deck: the Z-13 army heavy helicopter that has completed the land test and the Z-13X navy heavy helicopter.

Even with the power system of the Mi-26 heavy transport aircraft introduced from the Zaporosh Progressive Machine-Building Bureau: the D-136 with a maximum take-off power of up to 8,500 kilowatts and the final reset, which solved the most important power problem, the development of the Z-13 and Z-13X is still beyond everyone's imagination, and it was not until the beginning of the year that the first flight was completed, and after half a year of continuous testing, today, it is finally possible to take the opportunity of the fifth sea surface test of the 081 class to simultaneously match the Z-13 and Z-13 and Z-13 13X for testing: To a certain extent, the Z-13 project is simply a project to solve the needs of the Navy's aircraft carrier early warning.

As a parallel project, the Z-13 and Z-13X are carried out at the same time, the two helicopters not only have the same engine, the fuselage, the instrument and display system are common, and even the avionics system is 80% common, and the common rate is as high as more than 90%, at this moment the 8 main rotors of the Z-13 are stretched like crabs.

As a type of equipment for the army, the Z-13 does not need to fold the rotors, but the Z-13X next to it is different, not only the 8-degree sweep angle of the sweep wing folds, the main rotor is retracted, and even the vector thrust duct propeller in the tail is drooping, looking weak and unfed.

"It's just that the maximum power is still a little smaller, and our industrial base is still weak," Mr. Li Zaijian, the chief designer of the Zhi-13 project, who came to 081 with Lin Hongfei for testing, looked at the two behemoths in front of him, and his regret was overflowing. "Lao Maozi was able to make an 8,500 kilowatt D-136 a few decades ago, and we can only imitate a 6,300 kilowatt one if we imitate it now."

"6,300 kilowatts is not bad, one of our engines is the top of the two engines of the Americans' CH-53E, what do you want from the old man?" Lin Hongfei smiled and comforted the old man, "Whether it is the 13-ton load of the Z-13 or the 22.5-ton load of the Z-13X, it is enough to meet the requirements of the military, and being greedy for perfection may not necessarily be a good thing." ”

As the first heavy-duty helicopter of the Republic, the Z-13 is the third largest heavy-duty helicopter in the world, with a maximum load of 13 tons, second only to the 20 tons of the Mi-26 and the 14.5 tons of the CH-53E "Super Breeder & Horse". When the Z-13X with a folding forward-swept wing takes off in a taxi-run take-off mode, the maximum take-off weight can reach an astonishing 22.5 tons, which is even more powerful than the transportation capacity of China's Y-8 transport aircraft.

Old man Li Zaijian nodded again and again, seemingly modest but proud, "That's right." There is no end to performance, and what suits your current needs is the best. ”

Kung Fu of speaking. The old man's gaze inadvertently fell on the Zhi-13 and Zhi-13X who were parked on the deck. His eyes suddenly became extremely gentle, and that gaze was like looking at his precious little grandson.

"Mr. Lin, how big a plate can this plane hold?" When Lin Hongfei and Mr. Li Zaijian were chatting happily, Liang Zongren, deputy commander of Hainan Airlines, who accompanied him, didn't know when Lu Dao stepped off the plane, and asked Lin Hongfei with anticipation but cautiously.

The Army's straight-13 is just that. In order to cooperate with its own test, the Navy not only ordered the temporary captain of the 081 ship, which is being tested and has not yet been officially named, to cooperate with the test of the AVIC Second Group, but also the deputy commander of the HNA Command, Liang Zongren, personally sat in charge of the 081 ship. General Liang Zongren, who had just come down from the Z-13X, was satisfied with the space inside the Z-13X.

Not to mention the straight-13 with teeth and claws, this heavy helicopter designed for the army basically does not need to consider the problem of space, but the straight-13X designed for the navy is not, considering the narrow space on the aircraft carrier, the size must be strictly limited, and the straight-13X is indeed doing this, while ensuring the size of the cabin 14 meters * 3.2 meters * 2.1 meters, after the wings and rotors are folded, the maximum external size of the aircraft is only 17.8 meters * 4.9 meters * 4.8 meters, The reason for such a lean size is also thanks to the unique power system design: the rear part is propelled by two vector thrust ducted propellers, and the rear part needs to be as long as an ordinary helicopter, which naturally saves a lot of fuselage length.

When General Liang Zongren personally asked the engineers of the Second Group of AVIC and the deputy captain of the 081 ship who accompanied him during the inspection on the Z-13X, he finally determined that whether it was the current 081 or the Varyag being refitted, there was no problem at all in installing the Z-13X, which was folded and at the smallest size, into the engine room...... This was the Nth time in a few days that he had been so sure.

"The result of our calculation is that there is no problem with a radar radome with a maximum diameter of 8.6 meters," Lin Hongfei pointed to the huge space under the belly of the Zhi-13X, and said to Liang Zongren with a smile, "General Liang, you see, in order to arrange a large enough radar radome as much as possible, we put the position of the landing gear as far out as possible at the beginning of the design. The result is that the main track of the aircraft is 7.9 meters, and the front and rear main wheel tracks are also more than 9.1 meters, in order to be able to maximize the distance from the belly to the deck, we have also deliberately raised the landing gear, the landing gear is cushioned when landing with the maximum load, and the height from the belly to the deck is also a full 1.7 meters, you can see now, the distance from the belly to the deck is at least 1.9 meters. ”

"You know the size of the radar radome of the US military E-2C early warning aircraft, with a diameter of 7.32 meters and a thickness of 0.76 meters, even if it is replaced with the latest APS-145 radar E-2C, the radar diameter is only 8 meters, so you don't have to worry about the installation space of the radome, and we are using a more advanced active phased array radar, which is more advanced than the mechanical scanning pulse Doppler radar used on the US E-2C, I am not very clear about the performance of this radar. But it must be much stronger than the US military's APS-145, right? By the way, General, are you satisfied with the space in the cabin? ”

"That's that," Liang Zongren smiled like a flower, and nodded again and again, for soldiers, good military equipment is their confidence, and now Lin Hongfei provides them with such an excellent platform, and the navy is happy to even open his mouth when he sleeps, "Satisfied, so satisfied." ”

What are the internal dimensions of the cabin of the U.S. E-2C and the C-2 "Greyhound" transport aircraft developed from it? Whether it is the internal space of the cabin or the power system of the aircraft, the Z-13X has completely exploded E-2C and C-2, except that the cruising speed is not as large as E-2C and C-2 because of the special aerodynamic shape, all other aspects are the E-2C and C-2 of the US military, but strictly speaking, the speed of the Z-13X is not so slow, the cruising speed of E-2C and C-2 is 465 km/h, and the cruising speed of our Z-13X is also 405 km/h, which is especially rare. Even if it carries a load of 10 tons, it has a maximum of 3,000 kilometers and a endurance of about 7 and a half hours, whether it is used as a carrier-based transport aircraft or modified into a carrier-based early warning aircraft or a carrier-based air tanker, the performance is sufficient.

"It's good to be satisfied," Lin Hongfei nodded with a smile, "The requirements of our troops are the goal of our efforts, but unfortunately, we haven't broken through the catapult take-off technique, otherwise it would be better." ”

Liang Zongren smiled and nodded yes, but in fact, he didn't take Lin Hongfei's words very seriously in his heart: Even as early as 10 years ago, who would dare to imagine that the Republic would immediately have a powerful maritime military combat force composed of two medium-sized aircraft carriers and a large aircraft carrier as the core? I don't dare to think about it, I don't dare to think about it, it is nothing without catapult take-off technology, and it will be solved slowly in the future, but there are aircraft carriers, combat aircraft with advanced performance, and early warning aircraft, which is the most important thing.

Lin Hongfei also understood the current mentality of Liang Zongren and even the entire navy, and did not say much, he glanced at Chief Designer Li Zaijian, and said with a smile, "General Liang, the next test flight is half an hour away, do you want to fly with us again?" ”

"Good!" Liang Zongren didn't say a word and immediately agreed.

Although he has flown several times in the past few days, he has not flown enough every time, and he still wants to fly after flying: this is a high-speed, long-endurance heavy helicopter developed by our Chinese completely by themselves, and it will be the treasure of our navy in the future, and it is necessary to fly together a few more times to rest assured.

Lin Hongfei and Li Zaijian, who had already braked this result, smiled at each other and said, "Since this is the case, let's go and prepare." ”

Flight tests are not just a joke, especially when conducting flight tests on the sea, all safety preparations must be done well, otherwise it is not just a matter of joking with one's own life, but also with the precious wealth of the country.

…………………………………………

After half an hour of preparation, Lin Hongfei, Li Zaijian, and Liang Zongren, who were ready, boarded the cabin of the Z-13 again, at this time, the various test instruments placed in the cabin were working efficiently, and the testers in the cabin did not even mean to look at the three of them.

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PS: There is a message to the brothers, "The Family" will be officially over almost 6.10, the new book has been signed, and the upload will officially begin on 6.1 Children's Day. (To be continued......)