Chapter 174 Olympus 593Mk610 engine!
"What did you say?" Xu Cang stopped his right hand, which was holding the clothes, in mid-air, and leaned sideways to confirm again: "You just told me not to fly, is that what you meant?"
The salesperson obviously thought this request was a bit strange, but he still explained: "We have already received Mr. Qin's insurance application materials. Theoretically, there is no problem..."
"In theory? Then what?" Xu Cang found a seat and sat down, listening to the salesperson's detailed explanation.
"Mr. Xu, the only problem is you. We have done an investigation and the probability of your flight crashing is a little bit high." The salesperson quickly added: "Mr. Xu, I know this is not a scientific theory and our insurance company should not believe in this kind of thing, but..."
"But, it happened, right? The probability is slightly high, just slightly high?" Xu Cang finally understood why Qin Xin pushed this matter to him.
It turns out that the key to everything lies in yourself!
There is no problem in evaluating the insurance materials provided by Qin Xin from any scientific template. However, Xu Cang's existence casts a layer of metaphysical color on it.
Taining Insurance really wants to know how unlucky a person can be, and how many special situations he can encounter in a short period of time that others would never encounter in their entire lives.
Originally, Taining Insurance was ready to accept it, but the recent 9951N incident really made Taining Insurance unable to hold back. They decided to believe in this unscientific metaphysics, and therefore solemnly asked Xu Cang to stop flying.
They are really scared, afraid that if this insurance policy is issued, they will lose all their money.
Xu Cang's attitude was still very friendly. He did not blame Taining Insurance's reaction. The frequency of his accidents was a bit high, which was a point that must be considered by any insurance company.
Throwing a bottle of mineral water to the salesperson, Xu Cang said with a smile: "If you think it's difficult to handle, then let's terminate the cooperation. This kind of thing is a matter of mutual consent. You can let me fly less, but if I don't fly, that's impossible."
The meaning of Xu Cang's life lies in flying. It is unacceptable to ask him to stop flying completely.
"Mr. Xu, do you want to find another insurance company?"
Xu Cang nodded and admitted it naturally: "Of course, which airline doesn't provide insurance?"
"Mr. Xu, you seem to be a reasonable person who understands our difficulties. We in Taining are very grateful." The salesperson said sincerely: "But if Mr. Xu wants to change insurance companies, I think it will be difficult to do so."
The teacup that Xu Cang had just picked up stopped in mid-air, and he frowned: "Oh? What's so difficult about that?"
"Mr. Xu, there are not many insurance companies in China that can insure aircraft. We also know some inside information."
Xu Cang drank tea and asked leisurely, "What do you mean?"
"Well..." The salesman said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "Mr. Xu is well-known in these corporate circles."
Xu Cang almost spit out a mouthful of tea: "Famous, notorious, right?"
Xu Cang really wanted to curse in his heart. The plane accident was not caused by him, but everyone was rushing to blame him. He himself was having a severe headache.
"To be precise, I am also a victim. Why are you still forming a group to discriminate against victims?" Xu Cang said innocently.
The salesperson patiently explained to Xu Cang: "Mr. Xu, let's take the recent incident of flight 9951N. If the final result was caused by a plane malfunction, the insurance company would have to pay at least 50 million, which is the minimum amount. As for your previous emergency landing at sea on Shandong Airlines, the starting amount of compensation was in the hundreds of millions. It's not that we discriminate against you, it's that we can't afford to offend you."
The only good thing about 9951N this time is that the two most valuable engines did not suffer much damage, so the loss was much smaller. However, during the emergency landing at sea in Qizhou, the two engines were directly scrapped and the plane was immersed in seawater. It could only be sold as scrap metal. The loss was huge. The insurance company responsible for Shandong Airlines probably almost doubted their lives because of the compensation.
"What era is it now? Do you still believe in such things as gods and ghosts?" Xu Cang was still very thick-skinned. After the initial awkwardness, he quickly calmed down. However, he thought that the salesman's statement should be credible, which was a bit troublesome.
If several larger domestic insurance companies are unwilling to provide insurance to themselves, the subsequent operating pressure on the airline will be very great.
"Facts speak louder than words. You have to believe it even if you don't want to." The salesperson said helplessly, "Mr. Xu, I know this request is a little... not so good, but there is really no other way. The assessment department has already included you in the risk factor. As long as you are still flying, you will not pass the review."
Xu Cang slapped his forehead and said, "I really have become a risk factor. Why is that?"
"Mr. Xu, how about this?" the salesperson said, "If you still want to fly, we will add a clause when signing the insurance agreement. Our insurance coverage will not cover the flight you are taking, Mr. Xu, but the rest of the flights will be covered normally. We can reduce the premium as compensation for adding this additional clause."
Xu Cang looked very embarrassed. It could be seen that Taining Insurance was sincere to a certain extent, but they were afraid of his dangerous physical condition which could not be explained by science, so they wanted to buy insurance for themselves as well.
The salesperson saw Xu Cang's expression change and asked with some concern, "Mr. Xu, will this be a bit difficult?"
"It just feels a little strange." Xu Cang waved his hand: "Let me think about this matter."
The salesperson immediately handed Xu Cang a business card and said, "Mr. Xu, this matter is not urgent. Please think about it carefully and give me an answer when you have made up your mind."
"Well, thank you for the trip."
"It's okay, it's okay, it's as it should be."
After sending the insurance salesman away, Xu Cang returned to his room with a wry smile. He called Qin Xin and began by saying with a smile, "What do you think we should do about this?"
Xu Cang thought that Taining Insurance should have told Qin Xin the same choice, but Qin Xin hoped that Xu Cang would make the decision. But it was obvious that Xu Cang himself didn't know how to choose.
"What should we do? The key point of this matter lies with you. Of course, it is up to you to decide." Qin Xin smiled and said, "However, I have also talked privately with several other insurance companies, and the statements are the same as those revealed by Taining Insurance. It seems that your reputation is not very good."
"This is fucking unfair." Xu Cang slapped the table with one hand, making a series of rhythmic clapping sounds. "Although I can understand it, it always feels weird to exclude me on purpose. I'll think about it later. By the way, explain to the employees at the Erhai base that if Blue Sky Airlines contacts them and asks them to return, they don't have to pay any attention to it."
Qin Xin was pleasantly surprised: "Is it done?"
"If I take action, then it will be successful immediately." Xu Cang thought for a moment and asked about the aircraft leasing of Muhua Airlines: "Has Muhua Airlines contacted you about receiving the aircraft?"
"Not yet. However, they said that someone from the Southwest Flight Research Institute of AVIC called us and asked us to prepare to receive the aircraft. Xu Cang, is this something you did?"
"Mr. Chen is so fast!" Xu Cang was amazed in his heart, and explained: "We don't have the money to rent large passenger aircraft on the main line, and the price of short-term lease is still very high. We can only rent the smaller ARJ21 instead. I know someone at AVIC. Not only did they agree, but they also waived the short-term lease fee. We only need to pay for the maintenance costs during the period."
"Does the ARJ21 aircraft meet the requirements?" Qin Xin asked the question that Xu Cang had been worried about before.
Xu Cang immediately said: "I asked my master, no problem, as long as it meets the Part 121 standards, the ARJ21 will definitely meet the requirements. In this way, we can meet the basic requirements of the three aircraft."
Qin Xin was extremely excited after hearing this. She didn't expect that the annoying request for three planes could be solved so easily by Xu Cang. Then, Qin Xin changed the subject: "Xu Cang, when you return to Erhai after finishing the 9951N matter, we have to discuss the issue of the shares of the new company."
Now that the final hurdle to forming an airline has been cleared, it’s time to talk about it.
However, Xu Cang was a little surprised: "I didn't invest any money, what's the point of talking about shares?"
"Although you didn't invest any money, but in view of your contribution to the company, I voluntarily give you half of the company. This is what you deserve." Qin Xin said seriously.
To be honest, without Xu Cang, the new company would not have been able to get to this point. In name, Qin Xin was the boss of the company, but in reality, Xu Cang was the backbone of the entire company.
In this case, Xu Cang must be given the status he deserves.
But Xu Cang didn't care: "What's the point of dividing the shares? Isn't this too formal?"
"Why is this so awkward?"
Qin Xin was about to say something, but Xu Cang lied that his signal was bad and hung up the phone. He didn't like the gift-giving method very much. He obviously preferred another method, but it was not the time to say it yet.
Throwing his phone onto the bed, Xu Cang lay on his back with his arms and legs spread out, his eyes focused on the ceiling, his mind empty. A series of recent events flashed through his mind, and he felt that his life had been extremely fulfilling since his rebirth.
"Just live like this." Xu Cang murmured to himself.
…
The next morning, Xu Cang was awakened by a rapid phone ring. He opened his sleepy eyes, fumbled for his phone, and answered the call. Chen Jinwu's joking voice came from the other end: "Little kid, you are not still sleeping, are you?"
"Mr. Chen, isn't it normal for a 20-something like me to sleep in?" Xu Cang yawned, his eyes dry and astringent, feeling very uncomfortable: "Mr. Chen, is there something wrong?"
"I'm at the door of your room, open the door and let me in."
"Huh?" Xu Cang was startled at first, and the little sleepiness he had left disappeared in an instant. He jumped up from the bed, put down his phone, put on some clothes, ran to the door, opened it, and saw Chen Jinwu standing at the door.
Xu Cang was slightly surprised: "Mr. Chen, why are you here?"
Chen Jinwu raised his hand and showed Xu Cang a stack of documents: "ARJ21 lease documents. Although we have a good relationship and it is rented to you for free, the formalities cannot be missing. I saw that you were in a hurry, so I came here specially to bring you the documents. You have to sign it."
"Mr. Chen, please come in first." Xu Cang quickly welcomed Chen Jinwu into the room, and followed behind him and said curiously: "But I am not the boss of our company."
After Chen Jinwu entered the room, he threw the lease documents on the table in the room and said, "We rent it to you, not to your company."
Xu Cang said "oh" as if he understood something, and hurriedly made tea for Chen Jinwu: "Although I don't quite understand, but if you ask me to sign, I will sign it."
After making tea for Chen Jinwu, Xu Cang hurried to find a pen and asked casually, "Mr. Chen, why did you come all the way here?"
"It's not a special trip. ARJ21 has some things to deal with in the southwest, and I came here just in time to take care of them."
"What about the domestically produced large aircraft in Shanghai?"
When talking about this, Chen Jinwu's mood became less optimistic: "There are many difficulties. Now the funds are insufficient. We can only rely on time to make progress."
Xu Cang took out a pen and signed the lease documents under the guidance of Chen Jinwu. He handed the documents back to Chen Jinwu, and the two began to chat.
"Mr. Chen, when our country's large aircraft is launched in the future, will the FAA give us trouble during the certification process?"
Chen Jinwu obviously didn't expect Xu Cang to ask this question. He immediately realized that Xu Cang might have something else to say, so he asked, "If you have any questions, just say it directly. Don't beat around the bush."
Xu Cang laughed and no longer concealed it. He told Boeing that he wanted to ask for compensation for the defects in the Boeing manual. He also mentioned his concern that this would anger the FAA, which might affect the subsequent certification of domestically produced large aircraft by the FAA.
As a result, Chen Jinwu laughed for a long time after listening to him. "Xu Cang, although you are extremely smart, your vision is still a little narrow. The certification of domestic large aircraft by FAA is not a simple technical issue. It involves the relationship and game between the two countries at that time. What is FAA? In this matter, the only thing that can be influenced is the national will. Your trivial question will not have any impact on the certification of future large aircraft. Just go ahead and do it. Boeing made a mistake, and it is only natural for us to ask them for compensation. Why do you still have to look ahead and behind?"
After Chen Jinwu's advice, Xu Cang suddenly understood and said with a smile on his face, "Then I'll just go ahead and do it?"
"Why? Boeing has a lot of good stuff. Who knows, we might get something valuable." Chen Jinwu changed the subject and said, "By the way, Xu Cang! Did you watch the news yesterday?"
Xu Cang yawned: "What news are you watching? What's wrong?"
"Yesterday at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, there was an accident with the Concorde."
"What did you say?" Xu Cang stood up from his chair in shock and blurted out: "Air France 4590?"
"Did you see the news? Yes, it was Air France Flight 4590, which crashed right after takeoff." Chen Jinwu was quite emotional: "It's a supersonic plane, it looks like it's going to take a big fall."
Xu Cang, who was standing aside, sighed inwardly. This was not just a fall. This accident directly broke the wings of Concorde. Soon this supersonic passenger aircraft would disappear from people's sight.
Before that, he had seen the real Concorde at Jianchuan Airport. At that time, in order to expand the domestic market, the exhibition flight of the Concorde did not seem to have any effect.
At that time, Xu Cang already knew the future of Concorde . But when this moment came, Xu Cang couldn't help but sigh for the demise of this supersonic aircraft.
In Xu Cang's memory, the Concorde has not resumed flying after being grounded for more than 20 years. Perhaps it will disappear forever in the long river of history.
"No!" A thought suddenly flashed through Xu Cang's mind: "If something happened to the Concorde, then Rolls-Royce, as the engine provider..."
Just as Xu Cang had this thought, there was a rapid knock on the door. Xu Cang and Chen Jinwu looked towards the door at the same time.
Xu Cang frowned, but still walked towards the door. When he opened the door, he saw two people. One of them was Yang Tian, the engine designer of Rolls-Royce, whom Xu Cang recognized. The other was a middle-aged man in his forties. Judging from his position, this man was probably Yang Tian's boss.
The middle-aged man asked tentatively after seeing Xu Cang for the first time: "Mr. Xu Cang?"
"Ah, who are you?"
The middle-aged man stretched out his right hand and said amiably, "I am Song Xinyang, President of Rolls-Royce Asia Pacific."
Xu Cang did not shake Song Xinyang's hand. He did not like this way of greeting. He just asked curiously, "What do you want from me?"
Song Xinyang was very reserved and pointed inside the room: "Mr. Xu, there are some very important things. Can we talk in the room? It's not very convenient in the corridor."
Xu Cang hesitated for a moment, but still made way for him to come in. Song Xinyang and Yang Tian thanked him and entered the room, but they saw Chen Jinwu inside after just two steps.
When Xu Cang came back after closing the door, Song Xinyang looked a little embarrassed: "Mr. Xu has a guest."
"Yes." Xu Cang sat on the bed: "Is there anything inconvenient?"
Song Xinyang looked at Chen Jinwu, then at Xu Cang, and didn't know how to start talking for a moment.
Chen Jinwu saw that Xu Cang had something important to discuss and wanted to leave on his own accord, but Song Xinyang spoke first: "Since you are Mr. Xu's guest, there is no need to avoid him. It's not something to hide anyway."
Xu Cang laughed: "You are very generous."
"More praise from Mr. Xu, then we can get straight to the point?"
However, before Song Xinyang could speak, Xu Cang had already taken the initiative: "The Concorde crashed, and your Rolls-Royce stock is in a bad state now."
Song Xinyang was really embarrassed by Xu Cang's attack on his life point. He could only force himself to calm down and said, "Mr. Xu has seen it clearly. The Concorde accident has indeed put us in a bad situation."
When an airplane crashes, the first to be affected is the airline that operates the plane, followed by the aircraft manufacturer, and then the aircraft parts suppliers.
As an engine provider, Rolls-Royce was naturally not hit as hard as Air France, but the loss was still enormous, and the company's stock price fell so much that day that it was unbearable to look at.
"It's not bad, it's very bad." Xu Cang said with a smile: "General Motors has always been ahead of you, and in recent years, General Motors' CFM has developed very well, and you are about to be left behind. In addition, the Concorde accident happened, tut tut tut!"
Song Xinyang's face suddenly turned cold: "Mr. Xu, gloating over other people's misfortunes is not a good quality."
"Actually, I'm not very interested in your current predicament. I just want to know how you can get out of it." Xu Cang looked past Song Xinyang and looked at Yang Tian behind him: "Why, have you figured it out?"
Yang Tian lowered his head immediately when he saw Xu Cang looking at him, and Song Xinyang took over Xu Cang's words: "Mr. Xu, I heard that you are very interested in our company's CTi fan system. As long as you agree to cooperate with our actual machine test of Trent 900, we are willing to share CTi fan technology with you."
"What?" Chen Jinwu, who had been silent, suddenly changed his expression. He didn't know what the CTi fan system Song Xinyang was talking about was, but the Trent 900 engine was well-known, and it was Rolls-Royce's flagship product. Unexpectedly, Rolls-Royce invited Xu Cang to participate in the actual test of the Trent 900.
He already had some difficulty understanding this young man Xu Cang.
"Oh, so you guys are betting your chance of a comeback on the A380 project." Xu Cang laughed, "Are you so sure you can squeeze out the GP7200 engine?"
Speaking of this, Song Xinyang is full of confidence: "With the same thrust, our engine is nearly 400 kilograms lighter than the GP7200. Isn't this a huge advantage? As long as we gain the upper hand in time, we are confident that we can convince Airbus to remove the GP7200 option."
"Yes, the three-rotor Trent 900 is actually 400 kilograms lighter than the twin-rotor GP7200. As expected, in terms of preventing surge, the solution of strengthening the twin-rotors is ultimately just a patch-up, and the three-rotor is the fundamental solution." Xu Cang sighed.
Song Xinyang's eyes flashed with surprise: "I didn't expect Mr. Xu to know something about aircraft engines?"
"I naturally have the motivation to learn more about things I'm interested in," Xu Cang said with a smile.
Facing Xu Cang's smile, Song Xinyang always felt a little cunning. He was not very comfortable. He just wanted to complete the task quickly, so he urged: "Mr. Xu, I accept your previous request. Can you accept cooperation with us?"
However, compared to the impatient Song Xinyang, Xu Cang seemed to be at ease. He raised a finger and said slowly: "If it was before the Concorde accident, then I might consider it, but it's hard to say now."
Song Xinyang was shocked: "Mr. Xu, why did you change your mind?"
"Because you are in a hurry!" Xu Cang gradually stopped smiling. "You regard the A380 project as a desperate battle, so you must ensure that you have a first-mover advantage in terms of time. Naturally, you will further shorten the development cycle of the Trent 900. Then, wouldn't it be more dangerous for me to participate in your actual aircraft testing? Is this the same?"
"Damn it!" Song Xinyang cursed in his heart, secretly sighing that Xu Cang was so cunning at such a young age. Yes, just as Xu Cang said, they were indeed planning to shorten the R&D cycle again and directly use real machine testing as the main method of data collection, which meant that the risk of real machine testing would increase.
Although Song Xinyang was restless in his heart, he remained calm on his face: "Does Mr. Xu have any new requests?"
Xu Cang's eyes narrowed: "I want the technical data and process drawings of the Trent 900."
Hearing this request, not only Song Xinyang, but also Chen Jinwu beside him changed his expression. This was no longer just a simple exaggeration, it was simply a request that only a madman could make.
Previously, Xu Cang asked Boeing for the 737NG drawings, which only indicated the aerodynamic layout of the 737NG fuselage and the distribution and arrangement of the pipelines. However, he still had to figure out why it was done this way. Moreover, the drawings did not describe the core systems, such as the engine system.
Therefore, the 737NG drawings provided by Boeing helped Chen Jinwu and his team avoid many detours, but had little effect on key technologies.
However, Xu Cang's request is almost to get all the underlying data of the Trent 900. Basically, as long as the materials are in place, a Trent 900 engine can be perfectly copied. How can Song Xinyang accept this?
As expected, Song Xinyang flatly refused: "Impossible! Trent 900 is our most advanced product. How can we give away our flagship product to others?"
Xu Cang knew that Song Xinyang would never agree to this request. If he did, it would be like the sun rising from the west. So Xu Cang laughed and said, "This request is hard to accept. Let me change it! CTi fan technology is still in the concept stage. You are asking me to take risks for this technology that only exists in the concept. Now it is not enough. You need to add more conditions."
Song Xinyang's eyelids jumped: "Add what?"
"If you won't give me the Trent 900, then what about the Concorde's Olympus 593Mk610 axial-flow twin-rotor turbojet engine?" Xu Cang raised the corner of his mouth slightly: "And the three-rotor surge elimination technology, plus UltraFan's CTi fan system technology, I want them all!"
