Of course, I can only think about it.

Still, Le Maire walked around the plane, known as FTC2000, three full times.

In the end, a little bit of the MiG-21 can be seen from the way the engines are installed in the tail part and the structure in which the main landing gear is located under the wings.

But......

To say that this thing is a MiG-21 change, Le Maire really can't convince himself.

Look at the rounded nose, look at the large edge strip that has a spell with the F18 next door, look at the two large screens in this cabin, and look at the air intakes on both sides......

"Wait...... Intake? ”

Le Maire, who had recircled to the front of the plane, stopped.

Just now, his attention was focused on finding similarities between this aircraft and the MiG-21, so he didn't pay much attention to the details elsewhere.

Now, with an overall view, I quickly found some bright spots.

Due to the fence, visitors cannot get too close to the exhibits.

But even from a distance, it is not difficult to see that there is something special about the air intake of this aircraft.

Compared to common models such as the Mirage 3, Mirage 2000 or MiG-23, which also use a two-sided air intake configuration, there is no common adjustment cone or adjustment plate between this intake duct and the fuselage.

In other words, it's fixed.

Fighter jets do not need to carry out simple subsonic speeds because they need to deal with a variety of flight conditions, so the outside air needs to be pre-compressed to meet the needs of aircraft performance before entering the engine.

The optimal pre-compression method is different for different flight conditions.

So the vast majority of fighters will have the air intake tract adjustable.

The price to pay for this is complex mechanics and more dead weight.

"I think it was called the DSI inlet ......"

As the vice president of the French Aerospace Industry Association, Le Maire still knows some cutting-edge concepts in the field, and quickly found this somewhat jerky term in his mind.

"There are already mass production machines that use this kind of air intake?"

"Or is it a low-grade export aircraft of the MiG-21 modification?"

He was in disbelief for a moment.

Although the concept of DSI inlet has been proposed for a long time, there is not much research on it.

In Le Maire's impression, only a few technical demonstrators should have been equipped with such air intakes for test flights.

Not to mention the mass production machine, not even a prototype before.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken three turns to find out.

The non-adjustable inlet tract means that a fixed design is used to cope with a wide variety of intake situations, which requires a high level of calculation of intake conditions and optimization of aerodynamic characteristics.

Thinking of this, Le Maire looked back at the display board in front of the plane.

"Maximum speed M1.4, usable overload -2-+8g, practical ceiling 16,500 meters......"

Very normal indicators of a high-level trainer, or rather a light fighter.

Although it is not eye-catching, it is definitely not the kind of attack aircraft that can only fly steadily.

Even the Americans, the technology is only in the verification stage, and the Chinese people are casually installed on a low-end model of the aircraft.

It's a bit magical, indeed.

However, Le Maire did not doubt the authenticity of the plane in front of him.

On the one hand, he has been immersed in the aviation field for decades, and he can see the difference between a real aircraft and a full-scale model at a glance.

On the other hand, it was written on the display board of this aircraft that there would be an air show tomorrow......

Le Maire looked up and looked around.

Soon I saw an old acquaintance of mine not far away.

Alan Caron is a well-known journalist in the industry.

At the first China Xiangzhou Air Show in November last year, he took a lot of first-hand pictures and video materials.

"Mr. Caron."

Lemaire stepped forward and patted Cuarón, who was looking down at the camera.

The latter had just taken a photo of the air show at this time, and was changing the film of the camera.

The French in the 90s were at the height of national pride, and the successive appearances of the Mirage 2000 and Rafale were clearly worth writing an op-ed......

At this time, Caron suddenly heard his name, and then looked up sharply.

As a journalist specializing in aviation industry news, it is impossible for him not to know the important figures of the French Aerospace Industry Association.

"Hello, President Le Maire."

The two had known each other a few times before, and after a few brief greetings, Le Maire pulled Caron to the front of the FTC2000 and motioned for him to take a few more photos from different angles.

Of course, the inlet design is such a delicate and highly customized work, let alone taking a few photos, even if the original design drawings are placed in front, there is no way to simply copy it.

Le Maire only from the perspective of industrial information collection, I feel that it is necessary to inform my domestic counterparts about this matter -

Not everyone will pay special attention to the dynamics related to China.

Cuarón was a professional journalist after all, and he quickly found the angle Le Maire needed.

"Is this some kind of exclusive technology?"

He asked, pressing the shutter.

The reporter is not a professional after all, but based on his first impression, he felt that the air intake of this plane was very simple, and it seemed to be different from all the planes he had seen before.

"Hmm...... In a sense, yes. ”

Le Maire pondered the words and replied:

"The intake tract is lighter and simpler, but the range of adaptation is relatively small, and for most tactical aircraft, if well designed, it can gain some thrust-to-weight ratio and reliability advantages."

That's true.

The DSI inlet itself is not a life-changing thing, and it is not necessarily more advanced than the adjustable intake.

However, the ability to design a usable DSI inlet shows that the developers have a deep knowledge of aerodynamics, which is something more interesting than the intake tract itself.

Of course, Lemaire just thought about this sentence in his heart, and he certainly couldn't say it.

These reporters listen to the wind and rain day in and day out, always trying to make a big news.

With his identity, he must speak tactfully, and it is impossible to increase the ambition of others to destroy his own prestige.

Moreover, the FTC2000 can only be compared with the early Mirage 2000 in terms of volume, and the positioning is even lower by half a grade.

The target customers are completely different.

Not to mention the Rafale fighter that is being test-flown

Le Maire's positioning of China is basically a promising future.

After staying here for a while, the two continued to walk side by side in the direction of their home country's exhibition area.

The latter part of the Huaxia exhibition area has relatively no bright spots.

Caron wasn't even interested in taking pictures.

In comparison, Lemaire is still more attractive to him:

"Chairman Le Maire, what do you think is the level of the aviation industry of the Chinese people?"

Obviously, this is another topic that can be easily written into the story.

After all, just at the beginning of last year, the European Aviation Agency, Airbus and China Aviation Industry Corporation signed a huge order with a surprising amount, which involves many elements such as position, technical exchanges, market competition, policies and regulations, and industrial production cooperation.

Since some of the details of the cooperation have not yet been made public, until nearly a year later, no media outlet has been able to dig deep into the whole cooperation.

And topics related to China have become the content of interest to many reporters.

Unfortunately, there are not many opportunities to obtain useful information

"We must admit that the Chinese people have been at the forefront of the world in some technical fields, otherwise we would not have carried out technical cooperation with them."

Le Maire's answer was still watertight, first with a reasonable compliment, explaining the reasons for cooperation with China in passing, but then then changing the subject:

"However, in terms of the overall level of the aviation industry, they are still in a fairly early stage of development, and they are far from us in terms of aviation power research and development and manufacturing, especially in the field of helicopters and large civil airliners."

Speaking of which, as if to improve his persuasiveness, he added another example:

"When I was working for Eurocopter a few years ago, I handled the transfer of AS365 Dolphin helicopter production technology to Huaxia, and in general, even if they only introduced our technology, it would take a long time to fully learn."

"By the time I left Eurocopter and joined the French Aerospace Industry Association, they still had to use a lot of imported parts for their dolphins......"

Le Maire has a lot of experience, and he is very good at dealing with a journalist like Cuarón.

He knew exactly what the other person wanted to hear.

Just now, these words can be written into a beautiful report with little to no processing.

And Caron naturally nodded frequently, and soon he had already typed the draft of the report, and was ready to start writing when he returned to his residence today.

The harmonious atmosphere lasted until the two were ready to leave the Huaxia exhibition area.

Caron, who was already planning to say goodbye to Le Maire, suddenly saw that at the end of the booth, several Chinese exhibitors were removing the waterproof camouflage cloth wrapped in a helicopter.

Soon, the former followed his gaze in that direction as well.

With the actions of several Chinese people, a well-made and handsome helicopter gradually revealed its true body.

And the shape of this plane makes the two feel both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.

Judging by the shape of the crew compartment and the tail rotor of the duct, it is clear that this is a Dolphin – the model that Le Maire has just highlighted.

However, its front half fuselage, engine nacelle and main rotor are very different from the Dolphin prototype.

Not to mention the fact that there is also a pair of short wings that are clearly used as mounted weapons, as well as optical sighting equipment mounted under the front of the nose.

What's more coincidental is that the Chinese and French pavilions are next to each other.

An original AS365N1 helicopter was parked at a fenced booth not far away.

The difference between the two made Le Maire think of the FTC2000 that was "improved from the MiG-21" just now.

Caron, who was next to him, had already picked up his camera and started taking pictures.

From this position, there is no need to move at all, and the two Dolphins of China and France can be in the same frame.

The look on his face was wonderful.

Although he did not speak, Lemaire clearly saw a heart-wrenching problem from it:

"That's what you say, 'It takes a long time to learn completely,' and 'There's a big gap in helicopters?'"

(End of chapter)