Shen Fei's engine laboratory is located in the north of the factory, where there is the most complete aviation power test equipment in the empire. And Tan Renhao also saw the real thing of the Wind 12 engine for the first time.

"The Wind 12 is an air-cooled 12-cylinder star-shaped engine, and after using the exhaust gas turbocharger, we have tested a maximum output of 1,200 horsepower, and the maximum output is expected to reach 1,600 horsepower, and the related improvement work continues." Li Zhiyang personally explained to Tan Renhao, "The engine still has huge potential for improvement, we are planning to develop a 16-cylinder star engine, which is expected to output more than 2,000 horsepower, and even reach 2,400 horsepower." However, as it stands, 1,600 horsepower is enough for the four new aircraft. ”

Tan Renhao nodded, power is the core of any aircraft. Some time ago, he spent a lot of effort to learn some knowledge of aeronautical design, and the most basic point is that any kind of aircraft will be designed on the basis of the engine after the engine is determined first. The shape of the engine determines the layout of the aircraft, and the output power of the engine directly determines the performance of the aircraft. The engine is the heart of the aircraft, and if there is no strong heart, then no matter how good the aerodynamic design is, it will not be able to create a fighter with excellent performance.

"Our cumulative field interview vehicles have reached more than 12,000 hours, and the average failure time is 1,500 hours, which fully meets the performance requirements put forward by the Navy." Li Zhiyang made a gesture of please, and then walked towards the experimental workshop with Tan Renhao, "Now, our only trouble is the turbocharging system, which is what we lack the most. However, Chengfei and Xifei are not much better, their turbocharging systems started later than ours, and I heard that they are still being tested. ”

"Mr. Li, when will Feng 12 be finalized?" It's not that Tan Renhao doesn't care about specific issues, but he pays more attention to results.

"By the end of this year at the latest, we will be able to get the commissioning certificate from the Aviation Administration, and then we can officially put it into production." Li Zhiyang looked very confident, "When the time comes, we will complete the development of the 1,600-horsepower Feng 12 A engine, and if the Navy requires special needs, we can use the Feng 12 A on the newly designed combat aircraft." ”

Tan Renhao nodded. "I'll send the report in, of course, it's not a decision I can make."

Of course, Li Zhiyang understood the meaning of Tan Renhao's words. "Now, are you satisfied?"

"Very good!" Tan Renhao laughed, and the noise in the workshop was so loud that he almost shouted loudly, "Now, according to General Yu Gengnian's request, we will develop a newer type of combat aircraft as soon as possible, so the development of the new engine must start as soon as possible." ”

"No problem, as long as the Navy is willing to order our planes, then we have enough power!"

Both laughed. During the last war, in order to give full play to the war potential of the empire, almost all strategic industries were directly controlled by the imperial government, especially the military industrial enterprises, which were nominally independent joint-stock private companies, but in fact the largest shareholder was the imperial government. However, these enterprises are managed separately from the military, and the performance of the enterprises will be directly based on the orders obtained by the army, and the performance of the enterprises will directly determine the welfare of the employees of the enterprises. It was this system of internal competition that gave the empire's military-industrial complex enough motivation to develop new products and improve the technical level as much as possible in order to win orders from the army.

In the following two days, Tan Renhao visited the aircraft design center and the aircraft factory. While he secretly lamented Shen Fei's huge production capacity and strong research and design capabilities, he also made a very important suggestion to Li Zhiyang.

"I've read your reports, if you stop studying the 'Flamingo' horizontal bomber, will it affect the combat effectiveness of naval aviation?" Li Zhiyang did not say the main reason, that is, if they stopped developing the "Flamingo" horizontal bomber, they would lose a large amount of orders.

"Mr. Li, in fact, the performance of the 'Flamingo' and the 'Osprey' torpedo bombers is very close in many ways." Tan Renhao put his report, which had been revised and sorted out many times, in front of Li Zhiyang, "There is almost no difference between the two in terms of range, bomb load, and flight speed. In addition, the same engine is used, so there is a lot of versatility in terms of design. If two types of bombers are equipped at the same time, it will increase the difficulty of logistical support, which will also require more ground support personnel, and will bring a series of very troublesome problems to the deployment of aviation units. If the data of the 'Osprey' were improved so that it could carry heavy bombs on horizontal bombing missions, then there would be no need to develop the 'Flamingo'. ”

Li Zhiyang nodded slightly, and then opened Tan Renhao's report.

"I don't think there is any harm to Shen Fei." Tan Renhao knew very well what Li Zhiyang was thinking, "The scale of naval aviation will increase by a large margin in the next few years, and the number of combat aircraft needed will be very large. While simplifying the formation, we are not going to reduce the number of fighters in each aviation group. In other words, after reducing the 'Flamingo', we will increase the number of orders for the other three fighters accordingly, and the total order will not be reduced. This allows you to open one less production line, reduce the number of workers, and reduce the hassle of material procurement. Of course, the most important thing is that the 'Flamingo' horizontal bomber is the cheapest of the four fighters, right? ”

Li Zhiyang immediately laughed. "Of course, your opinion is very reasonable, I will consider it."

Tan Renhao also laughed. "So, when will the new plane be in the sky?"

"One month, two months at most." Li Zhiyang closed the document, "The five demonstrators of the 'Sparrowhawk' fighter will be in the sky at the end of the month, and the demonstrator of the slowest progress of the 'Shooting Waterbird' dive bomber will complete the manufacturing work next month." The test flight mission has been scheduled, and we can guarantee that the first phase of the test flight mission will be completed by the end of this year. This is already the fastest progress achieved at the request of the command of the Navy. ”

"So, let's wish the test flight a good result!"

Li Zhiyang immediately poured two glasses of wine that didn't taste very good, which could be regarded as a success in advance. In fact, this is also to congratulate Shen Fei for successfully passing the first round of inspection of the Naval Equipment Technology Office.

A few days later, Sergeant Duchenne returned, and Tan Renhao did not need to cook and wash his own clothes, and his work and life returned to normal. Du Xing was very grateful to Tan Renhao, his mother was seriously ill, he used the money given by Tan Renhao to send his mother to the best hospital in Lianyungang, and then asked his sister to help take care of his mother, and he hurried back.

"Is the old man alright?" Tan Renhao has a lot of affection for this adjutant.

"Fortunately, the doctor said that he would recover after two months of rest." As soon as Du Xing came back, he was busy helping Tan Renhao wash his clothes, and even washed his underwear, "Captain, mother dragged me to thank you, if it weren't for your help, I'm afraid I'm ......"

"Don't say unlucky things, it's good that the old man is fine." Tan Renhao handed a cigarette to Du Xing.

Du Xing glanced at Tan Renhao gratefully, and he also felt that it should be a blessing to meet such a boss.

For the next 10 days, Tan Renhao was busy supervising the preparations for the test flight of the "Sparrowhawk" fighter. The factory has its own test pilots. These test pilots are retired pilots of Hainan Airlines or Army Airlines, or have been specially arranged, and each of them is a true top pilot, with an average flight time of more than 2,500 hours, and can adapt to any flight situation.

Test flight is the most critical experiment before the formal finalization of a new combat aircraft. What kind of performance a combat aircraft can achieve, how strong its combat effectiveness can be, and how high its reliability will be will be determined in test flights. The entire test flight was divided into two stages. The first stage is the test flight of the demonstrator, the main purpose is to find out the possible problems in the design, and find out the problems through the test flight, and then the design department will make minor modifications to the fighter (if the problem is serious, then the entire design scheme will be overturned, or even canceled), in order to improve the performance of the fighter. After this stage of test flight, the fighter will be finalized, and then the first batch of production models will be manufactured, and then the test flight work before equipping the troops will be carried out to fully determine the performance of the fighter, such as the ultimate flight altitude, the maximum flight speed, the stall critical point, the maximum climb rate, the turning rate, and so on. These data will be handed over to the troops equipped with the new fighters, so that the troops can grasp the performance and flight qualities of the new fighters as soon as possible and avoid accidents caused by excessive operation during training and combat use.

What Tan Renhao needs to supervise is the first phase of test flights, which is the key to determining whether a new fighter is successfully designed and whether it can meet the design standards. On the morning of the first test flight, Tan Renhao got up very early, and the test flight was scheduled at seven o'clock, and he had to rush over at half past six.

"Captain!" Du Xing hurriedly ran in, "It seems that Commander Liao Hanxiang is here." ”

Tan Renhao was taken aback, and he wondered if he had heard it wrong. "General Liao Hanxiang?"

"Yes, with a young woman, the car is parked outside."

Before Tan Renhao could react, Liao Hanxiang's voice came.

"Second Lieutenant Tan Renhao, he shouldn't be a captain!" Liao Hanxiang appeared by the door, "What, did you just get up?" It's an important day, you won't be late, will you? ”

Tan Renhao laughed awkwardly, he had already seen Liao Yingyu standing behind Liao Hanxiang smiling at him.

"Hurry up, you have to look like a soldier, don't be a mother-in-law, I really want to see the new fighter early!" Liao Hanxiang walked in with a smile, and then said to Du Xing, "Sergeant, go outside to ask for four breakfasts, take them to the road to eat, and you didn't have breakfast, did you?" ”

Du Xing smiled awkwardly, and hurriedly went to the restaurant of the hotel to buy breakfast.

Tan Renhao didn't dare to be wordy, although there was still an hour before the test flight time, but General Liao Hanxiang was like that, I'm afraid he wouldn't be willing to wait even a minute.

Fifteen minutes later, the four of them came to the tarmac at the southern end of the runway. Several technicians were putting the finishing touches on the No. 01 Sparrowhawk demonstrator, and the pilots who participated in the test flight had not yet appeared, presumably in the pilot's lounge in the back to discuss with the engineers and other colleagues what they had to pay attention to during the test flight.

Li Zhiyang also rushed over quickly, and immediately went to receive General Liao Hanxiang, and then Tan Renhao breathed a sigh of relief. It is understandable that General Liao Hanxiang came to inspect the test flight work, and the "Sparrowhawk" will be the main fighter of the Fifth Fleet in the future, and as the commander of the Fifth Fleet, it is very normal for him to be concerned about the fleet's equipment. However, what made Tan Renhao a little puzzled was why Liao Yingyu followed?

"Surprised, huh?" Liao Yingyu smiled and walked towards the lawn next to him, "Dad, he is on vacation, and I am his personal nurse, so I followed." ”

Tan Renhao frowned slightly, and then sat down on the lawn. Obviously, Liao Yingyu didn't just come with him because she was General Liao Hanxiang's nurse.

"What, aren't you happy to see me?" Liao Yingyu sat down next to Tan Renhao.

"No, it's not." Tan Renhao smiled awkwardly, "I was just surprised, I didn't expect you to come." ”

"It's fine, if you dare to say yes, I'll give my dad a small report!" Liao Yingyu laughed evilly, "But, you're still very interesting, you have only been in the navy for a few months and jumped directly to the captain, I heard that Marshal Sajiting personally promoted you." How's it going, you've been missing me lately, right? ”

Tan Renhao almost choked on a biscuit in his mouth, he originally meant that Liao Yingyu would ask him how his work was, but he didn't expect this question to come so directly and suddenly.

Seeing Tan Renhao's painful appearance, Liao Yingyu smiled even more happily. "I'm kidding you, look at what you're afraid of, am I a bone spirit, and I'll eat you in one bite?"

"Of course not, in fact, I do miss you, now satisfied, right?" Tan Renhao grimaced.

Liao Yingyu suddenly blushed and lowered her head. Tan Renhao also found that the words with half of the joke at the beginning were indeed too explicit, and it was difficult for him to continue.

The roar of the plane's engine eased the awkward situation between the two. Tan Renhao also immediately ran over. The test pilot had already entered the cockpit of the fighter plane, and two technicians helped him start the engine. The huge air flow generated by the propeller blew away several wooden boxes stacked behind the plane. When the test pilot released the brakes, the Sparrowhawk slowly headed to the runway, and the first test flight of the new fighter of the Imperial Navy began.