Chapter 321 Mythbusters

  Shepkov, who is in his forties, has more than ten years of experience in flying the Yak-38. He still remembers the accident in 1976.

At that time, he was still flying the Yak-38 on land, practicing related driving skills. After decades of vertical take-off, he began to switch to flying. When the nozzle was turned to 60 degrees, the ejection seat suddenly activated. He only felt A huge thrust came from his buttocks, and he flew out in a whoosh.

  When the parachute opened, Shepkov was surprised to see that his Yak-38 without a pilot was still flying.

At this time, he was still in the process of transitioning from vertical take-off and landing to level flight. He could see that the top cover of the lift engine was opened, and he could see that the attitude of the plane remained normal. The plane had completed this transition without a pilot process, and then fly forward.

Fortunately, the plane did not fly to Moscow. It made a big circle and flew to Saratov. It was climbing continuously without anyone controlling it. It reached a height of 1,000 meters and a speed of 650 Km/h, after that, the altitude continued to increase, and the speed continued to decrease. When it climbed to 8,000 meters, it finally stalled and entered a spiral state, and finally crashed on a farm in Pigodero State.

  Although this was an accident, it greatly increased the confidence of the pilots flying the Yak-38. In their eyes, the Yak-38 is a very safe aircraft!

  During the most terrifying stage of take-off and landing, this plane has various advanced sensors. If there is a slight accident, it will start the automatic ejection procedure to prevent the pilot from being too late to eject and causing danger.

   This unmanned flight incident has similarities with the incident in 1989 when the MiG-23 flew across five NATO countries when the pilot had already jumped out. It all reflects that Lao Maozi's aircraft has rough skin and thick flesh, and the quality is reliable.

   Now, to use this aircraft for short-distance take-off experiments, it can only be on the Chakri. After all, this is the only place where there is a jump deck. They can't go to the Nitka base, right? Although it was deserted, if you want to borrow it, Ermao will definitely charge a terrible rental fee.

   "Let's go, let's go up, this warship is going to turn against the wind at full speed."

   If receiving vertical take-off and landing fighter jets, the lower the speed of the aircraft carrier, the better, but if it is a ski jump take-off, then it is necessary to help the carrier-based aircraft create conditions for take-off!

   Two LM2500 gas turbines started working at full power.

If it is a 4,000-ton 112 warship, using these two gas turbines can achieve a high speed of more than 30 knots. However, for the 10,000-ton Chakri, the maximum speed can only reach 26 knots. If you want to reach 30 knots, you need to buy two more LM2500s, and the cost will also rise.

  So, a lower speed is acceptable, as long as the price is cheap, it is too cost-effective to get an aircraft carrier at the price of a frigate.

  The bow of the aircraft carrier split the water, and the speed was getting faster and faster. Qin Tao poked his head out of the porthole and gestured to the outside.

Originally, this kind of operation should be radio contact throughout the whole process, but when choosing electronic equipment, Siam requires a lot of western equipment, and these equipment can only be assembled in Siam, so now, there is not even a radio, only A civilian maritime radio, not compatible with Yak-38 equipment.

  The people below also made a gesture, the squatting take-off action was not performed, because the old man did not have this kind of command experience.

  In the cockpit, Shepkov made an OK gesture, and then he started the main engine.

The sea harrier's ski jump takes off, and both the front and rear nozzles can exert power, but the Yak-38 can't. This kind of ski jump takes off, and it can only rely on the main engine at the rear, which is almost the same as the takeoff method of the Su-33 series carrier aircraft. Same.

(It seems that the lift fan was turned on for the ski jump of the F-35. The crash of the British guy is said to be because the rainproof cover was not opened. However, our Yak-38 has a more powerful engine. There is no upgrade of the control program, it is estimated that the lift engine can cooperate with the output when it takes off.)

   While everyone was watching, the plane began to taxi. Qin Tao was also sweating in his heart. If the takeoff failed, the plane might not be sold.

   Fortunately, this plane did not behave like the unlucky F-35 of the British guy. With the roar of the engine, the plane began to taxi quickly on the deck.

   Speed ​​up, keep speeding up!

   While everyone was watching, the plane rushed to the jump deck of the bow, the front wheels left the deck, followed by the rear wheels!

   The whole plane rushed into the sky amidst the roar.

   Fly up, fly up!

  Lacour was extremely excited: "That's great, we must purchase a batch! By the way, how much will it cost to replace the engine and modify the front wheels?"

   "I'm not too sure about this. Since it was modified by Lao Maozi's technicians, we can ask them." Qin Tao said.

  The take-off and landing experiment was successfully completed. The Yak-38 flew into the sky, merged with the J-7 that was circling and waiting, and embarked on the return journey.

   The whistling roar stopped, and everyone in the shipyard had enough of their eyesight.

  On the deck of the aircraft carrier, Lacourt asked about the ground crew.

"The modification work is in charge of Dix. He is a technician sent by the Yakovlev Design Bureau. He is skilled." The ground crew said: "We don't know how much it will cost, but if you want to modify , You must buy an engine."

   "No problem, this bag is on me." Qin Tao took everything there: "Tell me the model of the engine."

   "It's an AL-21F3 engine."

"It's from the Rurika Design Bureau. I know. I know their designers very well. I'll contact them! Also, since you've been selected, I'll take you to Huating. His name is Dix." The ground staff should be at Huating."

   Originally, I didn’t take them there. On the one hand, it was a waste of time. On the other hand, I wanted to do take-off and landing experiments here. If the take-off and landing cannot be completed, then there is no need to buy this batch of planes.

   "Okay, after going down, I will tell the country the good news of the successful test flight!" Lacourt was very excited.

   With the aircraft carrier and the carrier-based aircraft, they will soon be capable of combat!

   "I want to know, what weapons can this aircraft carry?" Trasil continued to ask.

"It can carry a variety of weapons. There are two 225P 23mm cannons in the middle of the wings, and two pylons on each wing, which can mount one-ton bombs, air-to-ground missiles, and even nuclear bombs. Need For air combat, it can also mount R-60 air-to-air missiles.”

   "Can it launch medium-range missiles?"

  Hearing this, Qin Tao looked over: "Can the sea harrier fire medium-range bombs?"

   "Sea Harrier... seems to be okay?"

   "You are not sure, then I will tell you with certainty that the Sea Harrier can only launch Sidewinder missiles, even the Americans can't."

  In the whole world, only the Italian Sea Harrier is barely able to launch medium-range air-to-air missiles after upgrading the fire control system.

  It is a bit embarrassing for a vertical take-off and landing fighter to do this kind of thing.

"However, the R-60 is the missile of Lao Maozi. If we introduce the Yak-38, doesn't that mean that we will also purchase a large number of Lao Maozi's missiles? There will be another missile in our weaponry sequence , the logistical pressure will be greater.”

Qin Tao smiled: "It's simple, as long as you are willing to spend money, we can also modify the fire control so that it can launch the Thunderbolt-5 missile. The J-7 fighter jets operated in your country are also equipped with this missile, so that you can Universal."

   In this world, there is nothing that money cannot solve. If there is, then use more money!

  The engine needs to be upgraded, the wheels need to be upgraded, and the weapon system needs to be upgraded, so the price will also rise rapidly.

  Of course, this has to be done little by little, and you can’t beat people up with a stick.

   To do business, you must pay attention to strategy.

  The next day, Huating, Dachang Base.

"We have more than 20 Yak-38s here, and you can choose the one in the best condition." Qin Tao said, "I suggest you look at the nameplate, which has the date of manufacture. If it is within five years, That’s no different from a quasi-new machine.”

   "That plane looks weird!"

  Qin Tao looked in the direction Lacour's hand pointed, and was taken aback for a moment.

  The rear of this aircraft seems to be no different from the ordinary Yak-38, but its front fuselage has changed a lot. Compared with the ordinary Yak-38, it is at least one meter longer. This is entirely because there are two long and narrow cockpits on its nose.

   This is a two-seater plane!

  If it is an ordinary aircraft, the cockpit can be moved backwards to avoid the overall lengthening of the fuselage, but the Yak-38 cannot, because the pilot is behind the lift engine. If it is moved backwards, the pilot will have to sit on the crater.

   Therefore, the nose has been lengthened.

  If you look at the rear, you can also find that the rear seems to have become longer, so that the front and rear balance can be achieved, otherwise it will become a seesaw when taking off.

   "This is a trainer plane." Shepkov came back yesterday afternoon, rested for a day, and got the flight allowance.

   "Trainer plane? Well, with the trainer plane, you can train pilots better." Lacourt said: "We need two trainer planes!"

  Ten Yak-38s and two coaches, the number of purchases has increased to twelve.

In fact, if their small aircraft carrier needs to carry several helicopters, the number of fixed-wing aircraft should not exceed ten. However, the trainer type is only used during training, and they will stay on land during combat. Their ten combat type, Flight losses are also taken into account, so this amount is not too much.

   "Dix! Dix, come here!" Shepkov waved to a technician.

  The man came over in response: "What's the matter?"

   "Our friends want to improve the aircraft. You are the designer of the Yakovlev Design Bureau. Calculate how much the modification will cost."

   "How do you plan to modify?"

   "Engine, change the engine, just like the Yak-38 yesterday, it can take off with a ski jump, and the front landing gear also needs to be modified." Lacourt said excitedly.

   "If you don't consider the cost of the engine, the modification cost is about one hundred thousand." Dix thought for a while and said a figure.

   It only cost 100,000 yuan to buy the plane, but now it costs 100,000 yuan to modify it?

  Even if you add the 100,000, it's not much! In this way, after the entire procurement plan, the price of twelve Yak-38s is the same as the price of one Sea Harrier.

  A bargain, a bargain!

   "This plane was manufactured in 1986!"

   "This one is '87, '87!"

  At this time, those who checked the status of the aircraft were constantly calling out.

  The second-hand sea harriers they purchased, those aircraft that had survived the naval battle in 1982, and whose lifespan was more than 20 years old, cost two to three million ones! Now, many of these planes are only a few years old, which is about the same as new planes!

   "Okay, we can improve." Lacour agreed: "Please modify us immediately."

   "If you modify it immediately, you need to send the money, brother."

   "Of course no problem." La Cour went to make a call immediately.

   Half an hour later, Xu Zhengyang told Qin Tao that the money had arrived.

  Qin Tao showed a smile on his face, and looked at the batch of selected aircraft, two of which were directly dragged into the hangar, and a large number of maintenance personnel began the disassembly work.

   "By the way, Qin, when will the engine arrive?"

  The current modification plan focuses on the engine. The maintenance personnel have already begun to disassemble the engine, but the replacement engine has not arrived yet!

   "Engine? I've already told someone to look for it. It should be found now, right? I'll call and ask."

  Qin Tao picked up his mobile phone and didn't care about the expensive international phone bills.

   "Hey, Alexander, my man, have you found the engine?"

   "What, found it, brand new? Great! How much?"

   "What? Eight hundred thousand dollars a piece? Isn't this a money grab? That's a turbojet engine in stock! The AL-31F engine we purchased is only two to three million dollars a piece!"

   Lacourt on the side frowned, what, $800,000 a set? Is this engine too expensive?

  They can easily accept the purchase price of 100,000 yuan and the maintenance fee of 100,000 yuan, but they cannot accept an engine of 800,000 yuan.

   Expensive, too expensive!

   "Up to 400,000, if it's 400,000, I'll buy 20." Qin Tao continued on the phone: "If it's 800,000, let them keep it for themselves!"

   It’s okay, the price is cut in half, compared to 800,000, the price of 400,000 is not bad.

  Unknowingly, Lacourt fell into a routine.

  If it costs 400,000 US dollars, he will definitely jump up, it’s too high!

  However, it is acceptable to reduce from 800,000 to 400,000. After all, only half of the price was used. Except for Mr. Qin, no one can cut such a price! Mr. Qin is mighty!

  Qin Tao put down the phone, covered the receiver with his hands, and looked at Lacourt: "One for 400,000, do you want it?"

   "Yes, yes!"

  Qin Tao picked up the phone: "Hey, one for 400,000, I want 20, but you have to give me two more as a gift. That's right, buy ten and get one free, this is the industry's rule!"

  At this moment, Lacour's heart was full of gratitude.

  Qin Tao not only halved the price for them, but also asked for two more sets. The two sets as a gift are also worth 800,000 yuan!

  Wait, why do you need so many engines?

   Didn't they only have twelve planes?

"Old Maozi's engine generally has a short lifespan, so it is necessary to have a backup engine so as not to be caught blind in the future." Qin Tao explained: "This kind of engine is not easy to buy, and the old Maozi's production line has stopped, so it is less expensive to use one. One, maybe the price will be even higher when it arrives. These damned arms dealers!"

   After Qin Tao explained it like this, Lacourt understood.

Like the J-7 fighters they purchased, the life of the engine is also very low. When the J-7 was first sold, the interval between overhauls was only 150 hours. The efforts of factories and research institutes have increased the time to 300 hours, which is more or less enough.

  Generally speaking, the life span of 300 hours can be used up in two years, and it will be used for four to five years after another overhaul. With the backup engine, this batch of aircraft can be used for ten years.

  What about ten years from now?

   "In the future, the vertical take-off and landing fighter jets we developed will be put into production. At that time, you can purchase our new fighter jets and eliminate these planes. After all, these planes are only temporary substitutes."

  Qin Tao has said more than once that they are developing this kind of fighter by themselves, and now, they have drawn a big cake for Lacourt.

   "By the way, in order not to affect our modification progress, please send us the money as soon as possible. I can also take the money to purchase the engine." Qin Tao began to urge.

   "Naturally, how much is it? I'll call now."

   "Not much, just eight million dollars."

Eight million?

   At this moment, Lakour was in a trance.

  Forty multiplied by twenty, isn’t it eight million? However, this money is a lot!

   2.4 million has already come, now, ask the superior for money? Adding the eight million, that's more than ten million!

  However, the money does not seem to be much, after all, the sea harrier is not cheap.

   Three to four billion aircraft carriers have been built, do you still care about spending 10 million to purchase a batch of carrier-based aircraft? Look at the United States, the price of carrier-based aircraft far exceeds that of aircraft carriers!

   "By the way, there are missiles." Qin Tao proposed again: "If you plan to switch to the Thunderbolt-5 missile, you have to improve the fire control system..."

   "This modification project, let's talk about it later." Lacour said.

   Now, let’s solve the immediate problem first, as long as the plane can fly. As for the fire control system, it is another modification fee, let’s talk about it later.

  Qin Tao nodded: "OK."

  Actually, the price of 10 million to purchase this batch of carrier-based aircraft is not high, much cheaper than second-hand Sea Harriers. However, it still costs a lot of money to train pilots and complete modification training.

However, this cannot be counted into the procurement funds, it has to be counted into the daily training funds. The Yak-38 pilots and maintenance personnel he invited from Lao Maozi will soon be able to become instructors and earn more money. Too much money.

  A few days later, a large number of senior officials from Siam came to Mingzhou.

For the Siamese Navy, this aircraft carrier is an important project for them. Now, seeing that everything is going well, they are still very happy. When the procurement project of Yak-38 was settled, although the price surprised them, However, they soon cheered up.

  They are looking forward to the service of this aircraft carrier as soon as possible.

   Naris stood on the deck of the aircraft carrier, looking at the deck where all the marking lines were sprayed, and looking at the place where the Yak-38 landed last time.

   "I heard that the Yak-38's technology is immature, and it is easy to ablate the flight deck during the take-off and landing phase, but now, our deck seems to be fine!"

When Naris was talking, he glanced at Traciel. Obviously, Traciel also sued him for this complaint. This guy, probably from the Sea Harrier faction, was very dissatisfied with the purchase of the Yak-38 fighter, so he always It is to find a way to find fault.

  However, none of these rhetoric seems to be useful.

"We have an old saying that facts speak louder than words. There is no ablation on the current deck, so this is a rumor." Qin Tao said with a smile: "I think our TV station has to launch a special program, It’s called a rumor buster. During the Cold War, the West did not underestimate the military products of the Soviet Union. You can also go to our refitted aircraft carrier park to have a look. We didn’t find any deck ablation.”

   Does the Yak-38 ablate the flight deck? For sure, otherwise, why would Lao Maozi add a layer of fireproof material on top of the Kiev class with titanium alloy rivets, but the ablation of the deck is mainly due to vertical takeoff, and a large amount of tail flame from the lift engine blows on the deck.

  Landing has much less ablation, and the deck of this carrier can fully withstand it.

take off?

   The lift engine was not turned on at all for take-off, and the ski jump was used for take-off!

   "We, Siam, are finally going to enter the aircraft carrier club!" Lacour said with emotion: "For us, this is a new beginning!"

   "Yes, your naval strength will radiate to the entire Indian Ocean in the future." Qin Tao said: "However, if you want to truly play the role of an aircraft carrier, you still lack one thing."

"What?"

   "It!" Qin Tao pointed to the outfitting pier of the shipyard, where a huge warship was undergoing improvement. Unlike other warships, a huge gantry was erected on its deck.

   "Comprehensive supply ship?" Lacour reacted.

"Yes, the aircraft carrier is the overlord of the sea, but its consumption is also quite huge. Generally speaking, it needs to be replenished once a week. If you don't want to frequently travel between the sea and the dock, you need a comprehensive supply ship .”

   "Yes, this is what we need to consider next. After this aircraft carrier enters service, we will include the integrated supply ship in our budget." Naris nodded.

   "So, do you want to visit now?"

   "If I can, of course I will."

So, a group of people went to the comprehensive supply ship that was being refitted. Qin Tao introduced them very carefully, how to add oil, how to add fresh water, and how to replenish dry goods, leaving a deep impression on them. When supplying ships, give priority to Mingzhou Shipyard!

   After watching the aircraft carrier, everyone came to the Dachang base in Huating with great interest. Here, they watched the Yak-38 being refitted and looked forward to the bright future.

  (end of this chapter)