Chapter 232: One wave after another! Unable to land!
While it was still afternoon in Qitai, Derbyshire in England, thousands of miles away, was still shining with the soft but slightly cool early morning sunshine.
In the Rolls-Royce engine test plant, an engine is quietly hanging in the air. This engine has no outer cover, and its components are clearly visible, showing the brilliance of this condensed essence of artificial industry to the outside world.
Not far from the engine, there were three figures , their eyes all fixed on the engine body.
"Is this the prototype of Trent 1000?" It was Song Xinyang who spoke.
Half a body length ahead of Song Xinyang stood a very tall blond-haired, blue-eyed man. He was the chief engineer of Rolls-Royce's aero engine department, Joe.
"Song, it's still a little short. It will take some time to debug. At least we need to ensure the safety of this engine under normal circumstances."
Unexpectedly, this person also spoke Chinese, but his accent was quite obvious. For example, the word "Song" sounded a bit like "xiu", but it was probably enough to communicate.
"Qiao, your Chinese has improved a lot recently." Song Xinyang said with a smile: "If it's just for communication, it's almost good enough."
Qiao laughed: "It seems that I will use this language in the future. It is always right to learn it, and it can also be used as a hobby to kill time. I heard that Chinese poetry is very interesting. When I learn it well, you have to teach me Chinese poetry."
However, Song Xinyang looked a little embarrassed when he heard this. Qiao saw Song Xinyang's expression and understood immediately: "I forgot that you grew up here. Looks like I have to ask Yang."
As he said this, he patted Yang Tian, who looked a little reserved, behind him.
In front of Qiao and Song Xinyang, Yang Tian behaved very restrained. When Qiao patted his shoulder, his whole body was tense.
Song Xinyang waved his hand and said, "Qiao, let's talk about the Trent 1000 first. I need to inform Xu Cang in advance about how long it will take to debug it."
"It's hard to say, at least two months."
"Two months? Is that so long?" Song Xinyang obviously underestimated the debugging time. In his estimation, he thought that the debugging could be completed in one month.
Qiao obviously saw Song Xinyang's disappointment: "Why, do you still think two months is too long? I'm already making a conservative estimate. It may take more than two months."
Song Xinyang sighed: "We are in a passive position now. We need to save as much time as possible. I can't help but be anxious."
"Didn't I just say that? At least we need to debug it until there are no problems under normal circumstances. Didn't Xu Cang, whom you mentioned, say that he would only participate in one actual machine test? We can't let him test it and the engine has problems before the test flight project is completed, right? Wouldn't that be a waste of opportunity?"
The Trent 1000 did not even have a prototype before. In order to allow Xu Cang to conduct actual machine testing, Rolls-Royce headquarters began to work hard to produce a prototype of the Trent 1000.
However, Xu Cang only promised one chance, so Rolls-Royce headquarters naturally had to be extremely cautious.
Song Xinyang heard some problems: "Under normal circumstances, what about abnormal circumstances? If the prototype is tested, there is a high probability that something will go wrong, right?"
"Who said it's a high probability?" Joe asked back.
"Hmm? Isn't it true that the prototype performs so well?"
Qiao laughed: "It's not a high probability, it's certain, there will be problems. I haven't seen the Xu Cang you mentioned, but from what I know, but from the current situation, he is powerful, but not to that extent, right?"
Qiao had seen some information about Xu Cang's handling of special situations. He himself could not fly, but he had a very good eye and could tell who was good at flying. He admitted that Xu Cang was very strong, but it was not to the point where he should bet the Trent 1000 on him.
You know, if something went wrong, not only would the Trent 1000 prototype be scrapped, but an Airbus 330 serving as a test aircraft would also have to be destroyed, and the direct loss would be quite large.
Not to mention, if the news of the failure of the Trent 1000 trial got out, it would have an extremely negative impact on the company's stock price.
From the perspective of Chief Engineer Joe, he actually felt that the headquarters' insistence on carrying out real-machine testing of the Trent 1000 was a bit of a gamble, and he did not really agree with it.
"Take a look at this." Song Xinyang took out his cell phone, tapped on it a few times, clicked on a video, and handed it to Qiao: "This is an internal video. It shows Xu Cang landing at a mountain airport. At that time, one engine was shut down and the other was surging severely."
"What?" Joe took the phone and watched the one-minute video in the phone. Finally, he screamed: "Holy Fuck! How the fuck did he do that?"
After speaking, Qiao felt that his words were a little rude: "Sorry, I got a little excited. This was done by Xu Cang, and it is indeed enough for the headquarters to bet on him."
Sure enough, no matter who you are, in which country, or what language you speak, as long as you are knowledgeable and have seen Xu Cang land in Yulong, you will be amazed.
Qiao returned the phone to Song Xinyang. It seemed that the aftertaste was still there. The feeling of it landing on the ground was indeed worth savoring.
"The higher-ups didn't just decide to take a gamble because they watched this video. Xu Cang's value has been preliminarily verified. At least Boeing is interested in hiring him as its chief technology officer." Song Xinyang put his phone back in his pocket: "We can still trust Boeing's vision."
Qiao laughed and said, "But now I'm afraid these two sides can't get along."
"What do you mean?" Song Xinyang's information channels were obviously updated slowly.
"Some time ago, a research report was published in the circle, which directly pointed out that there are problems with the structural strength of the 737 series aircraft fuselage. The arguments cited a lot of special situations that Xu Cang encountered at Jianchuan Airport, and the content was quoted in great detail. I guess Boeing must have suspected that Xu Cang provided considerable information. There may be no evidence, but suspicion is inevitable. Once the seeds of suspicion are planted, it will be difficult to eliminate them." Qiao stretched: "So, it's good enough for the two sides to maintain peace on the surface, and it's impossible to be the chief technology officer."
Song Xinyang has been coordinating the affairs of Trent 1000 recently and has not really paid much attention to what is happening outside: "That is actually a good thing for us."
"Yeah!" Qiao shrugged. "My friend at Airbus told me that representatives from GM and Lockheed Martin approached the leadership at Airbus headquarters and asked them to ban Spring Airlines, where Xu Cang works. It seems that not only Boeing, but GM and Lockheed Martin are also interested in Xu Cang."
Song Xinyang's eyes lit up: "That's great, doesn't it prove Xu Cang's value? But why did General Motors and Lockheed Martin look for Xu Cang?"
"General Electric's GENX engine and Lockheed Martin's HAWC project's ramjet engine both require a reliable tester. Perhaps that's the reason." Seeing his opponent anxious, Joe felt relieved: "Tsk tsk tsk tsk, it seems we're not the only ones who are in a dilemma. Hey, that's a good slang."
Qiao seemed to be in a good mood: "Song, if the test of Trent 1000 is really effective, we can use this opportunity to develop more comprehensive cooperation with Xu Cang."
"Hmph, haven't we given him the three-rotor technology and even the Asia-Pacific distribution rights? And this is still not considered cooperation?" Song Xinyang was very dissatisfied.
Technology transfer aside, it had little to do with him. But the Asia-Pacific distribution rights were an important bargaining chip in his hands, which could be exchanged for huge profits. In the end, it was directly given to Xu Cang, and Song Xinyang suffered a big loss.
"No, that's not enough." Qiao patted Song Xinyang on the shoulder: "I learn Chinese because I know that the Chinese market will become an extremely important part of the world's civil aviation landscape in the future. Maybe our allies can be nurtured there. GE and Pratt & Whitney are too strong now, and we must have an ally to share the pressure with us. This ally cannot be too strong or too weak. I think Xu Cang is just right. However, the premise of everything is that he can prove his value through the Trent 1000."
Song Xinyang felt a little shocked, but when he thought about it, although General Motors and Pratt & Whitney were competitors, they both shared a common hostility towards Rolls-Royce, and the pressure Rolls-Royce was indeed too great.
China has a huge market and a strong desire for independent research and development. It would be best to support a relatively strong local aero-engine company that is to some extent dependent on Rolls-Royce.
Firstly, it can share the firepower with Rolls-Royce; secondly, it can use this as a breakthrough to gain more Chinese market; thirdly, it can win the favor of Xu Cang and deepen the subsequent cooperation between the two. There are indeed many benefits.
However, as Qiao said, the prerequisite for everything is that Xu Cang can pass the Trent 1000 test.
…
In the sky above Qitai Airport, a plane painted mainly in white was flying through the canyon and was now flying along the canyon back to Qitai Airport.
"Xu Cang, how did you do it? On the radar screen, your signal dot was almost motionless." Now that the most difficult level has passed, the entire tower control room is filled with a joyful atmosphere. Wang Li even started chatting with Xu Cang on the radio frequency.
Xu Cang was in a good mood at the moment. When he was operating just now, the palm of his right hand holding the steering wheel was full of sweat. In theory, increasing thrust, taking advantage of strong headwind, and delaying airflow separation through the leading edge device can greatly postpone the timing of the actual triggering of the stall.
But theory is only theory. Fighter jets can test the edge of stall from time to time, after all, their maneuverability is completely different, but who would do that with a passenger plane?
Even Xu Cang would not do a stall maneuver on a passenger plane casually. In fact, even if Xu Cang wanted to, he couldn't do it in most cases. When the pitch angle of a large passenger plane reaches a certain level, the nose of the plane will pitch down due to the loss of lift, and it is impossible to cause such an exaggerated situation as Xu Cang just did.
All I can say is that Xu Cang had the right time, place, and people, coupled with extremely precise operation, to complete this astonishing aerial turn with almost no radius.
Chen Guoli was doing some simple approach preparations, but he couldn't stop smiling. Although Xu Cang was in charge of this matter, as long as he participated in it, he could get a lot of credit. He had already done his best in Tiandong Airlines and didn't have any personal interests. It was just that he was lucky enough to participate in such a big event. Chen Guoli felt that his life value had risen to a new level.
Flying in the reverse direction of the single-engine procedure is definitely not allowed under normal circumstances, but in an emergency, there is no need to worry about these. However, at this time, the aircraft must still strictly follow the single-engine procedure route and comply with relevant altitude restrictions.
The only thing to be thankful for is that as long as the initial climb gradient of the program does not exceed 5.2%, there will be no problem in finally descending with the most standard 3-degree glide angle.
Of course, if the single-engine procedure can set the initial climb gradient to more than 5.2%, it is estimated that the authority will not approve it. The initial 5.2% climb gradient is quite difficult for a single-engine aircraft, unless it is a completely unloaded aircraft.
However, in actual operation, apart from adjusting the aircraft, how many aircraft will fly empty?
You know, a 5.2% gradient requires a climb rate of about 800 feet per minute, which is really difficult to achieve given the common single-engine climb rate of 500 feet per minute.
Fortunately, there was no extreme situation, so the follow-up was relatively easy. Because Xu Cang's preset glide path was the most standard three-degree glide angle and 5.2% glide gradient, which just covered the trajectory of the single-engine program, that is, it was always guaranteed that the aircraft would be on the profile of the single-engine program.
In this way, theoretically, the vertical separation on the terrain can always be guaranteed.
However, this is not a true approach procedure but a single-engine departure procedure flying in the opposite direction, so there is a greater possibility of causing a terrain warning.
Terrain warning is not only based on the vertical distance between the aircraft and the terrain, but also on the closing rate. For example, if the vertical distance between the aircraft and the terrain is one thousand feet, but the aircraft is climbing, there may be no terrain warning, because the terrain warning system judges that the aircraft's movement trend is to increase the vertical distance.
But if the plane is descending, then a warning may be issued. The principle is the opposite of the climb just now.
Therefore, when designing the approach procedure, especially the procedure route of the final landing phase, it is necessary to consider the terrain warnings that may be caused by the normal final descent, rather than just ensuring the terrain separation.
Of course, Xu Cang couldn't take care of all this later, and he might have to manually turn off the terrain warning to prevent it from affecting his mental calculations and operations.
Moreover, one side of Runway 28 is relatively short due to the existence of the main ridge of Tianshan Mountain, only about seven nautical miles. However, in order to ensure the safety margin in horizontal separation, the procedure route turns right at five to six nautical miles.
This meant that Xu Cang would eventually have to cut in on the final approach to Runway 10 at more than five nautical miles. This short final approach, located close to the main range of the Tianshan Mountains, still posed a great challenge in terms of control precision.
Theoretically, Xu Cang could calculate the glide path in his head, after all, he had done it once in Jakarta. However, the airflow at Qitai Airport was very unstable, and the ground speed varied greatly, which put too much pressure on Xu Cang to calculate in his head.
In Jakarta, the airflow near the venue was relatively stable, and the ground speed did not change that much, so to some extent, it reduced the pressure on Xu Cang's mental arithmetic. But in Qitai, Xu Cang's mental arithmetic pressure increased suddenly.
No matter what, Xu Cang is not a computer, and it is extremely difficult to control it with his full concentration.
However, Qitai Airport does not have blind landing signal guidance on Runway 10, nor does it have a related approach procedure chart, but it does have one on Runway 28, and a reference table of altitude ratios is attached to the approach chart.
Although the directions are opposite, the glide angles on both sides are the same, so the reference table of the height ratio is also the same. This can be provided to Xu Cang to assist in correction, thereby greatly reducing Xu Cang's pressure.
Of course, the positioning point for this operation is still on the head of runway 28. There is a deviation from the head of runway 10, but the reverse three-degree glide path diverging from the positioning point of runway 28 is the standard glide path diverging from the head of runway 10. Therefore, even if Xu Cang uses the head of runway 28 as the positioning point, the actual height will only be higher than the three-degree glide path of runway 10.
It’s okay if the height is higher, as long as it’s not lower.
Moreover, Xu Cang was not going to land on Runway 10 in the end. He would eventually turn around and return to Runway 28, so even if the altitude was higher, it would not affect the final landing.
That's right, this is what Xu Cang came up with last night. Everything has been thought out, and it's all feasible, but it's ultimately unconventional and won't comply with regulations.
However, the single-engine procedure of Qitai Airport has left the design institute helpless, and looking for solutions within the scope of regulations will only lead to a dead end.
"This has to do with the mountain pass on the left." The subsequent operations were relatively simple for Xu Cang, and Chen Guoli was helping him with chores, so naturally he didn't have to spend too much time on it. He even started to explain it to Wang Li.
Xu Cang spoke simply, but he described his thoughts roughly.
Wang Li in the tower thought it was very exciting. To be honest, the biggest obstacle to the single-engine procedure is the downwash jet. The downwash jet comes from the southwest. As long as the downwash jet exists, the strong impact of the horizontal airflow at the mountain pass will also exist. The two are associated.
However, if the wind is from the north, it will not be able to do this. However, if the north wind blows, although there is no natural barrier like the Tianshan Mountains, there are still many lower mountains that can greatly weaken the north wind. If it really reaches the Qitai area, it will basically be useless.
So, upon closer thought, Xu Cang's method is really foolproof, and he gave the steps for the preparatory work, and he also put it into practice, so there is the possibility of subsequent optimization and promotion.
Compared to Wang Li who was happily talking to Xu Cang, Yue Sheng and Ma Cheng did not look that happy. However, Ma Cheng and Yue Sheng were a little different. Ma Cheng was more indifferent, while Yue Sheng was really a little unhappy.
Unlike Yue Sheng and Ma Cheng who did not react enthusiastically, Zhou Yanping seemed very interested and occasionally interjected a few words on the radio, his eyes shining like flashlights.
It is difficult for non-pilots to understand the excitement of seeing such a masterpiece.
Just as Wang Li and Zhou Yanping were getting excited, a messenger suddenly came running over from the corner and reported to Wang Li: "Stationmaster, the ground staff reported that the runway is covered with snow, and the preliminary measurement is more than 13 mm."
"Hmm?" Wang Li, who was still immersed in excitement, stopped talking and turned to look at the communicator: "How thick is the snow on the runway?"
"We haven't gotten the exact result yet, but we can be sure that it's over 13 millimeters. The initial feedback is 18 millimeters, and it's still increasing."
"Eighteen millimeters of snow?" Wang Li was startled, walked to the window, and looked down, only to see that the entire runway was already covered in white. Heavy snow was falling from the sky, and it had only been a short time since the runway was covered with such a thick layer of snow. The speed was too exaggerated.
Zhou Yanping frowned: "Eighteen millimeters of snow, it seems that it won't fall."
The reason why the communicator deliberately emphasized the value of thirteen millimeters is that according to regulations, once the snow depth on the road exceeds thirteen millimeters, aircraft are prohibited from taking off and landing.
The most critical thing is that the thickness of snow on the road surface is not the critical 13 mm, but far exceeds this value, and will increase later.
I was just paying attention to what was happening and didn't pay any attention to the situation on the ground.
However, the road surface conditions were not so bad when we took off just now. How long has it been? No one could have imagined it.
According to CAAC regulations, Xu Cang would definitely not be able to land. However, given the special circumstances, Wang Li would naturally not directly prohibit Xu Cang from landing. Moreover, if Xu Cang did not land on Qitai, where else could he land?
Wang Li turned around and looked at Bi Lin who was already lost in thought: "Mr. Bi, what do you think? What do you think?"
"Eighteen millimeters of snow is too thick, and forcing a landing is too dangerous." This is not a special case. The reason why the thirteen millimeters clause is stipulated must be for a reason. At least snow accumulation exceeding thirteen millimeters cannot guarantee safety, not to mention that the wind volume at Qitai Airport has exceeded the standard. However, the wind cannot exceed the standard and the snow on the roadside cannot exceed the standard at the same time. This is not an emergency measure, but a way to seek death.
If it was only 13 millimeters, Bi Lin might have accepted it, but 18 millimeters was too exaggerated, and according to the site staff, the thickness of the snow was still increasing.
We haven't reached the end of our rope yet, and we absolutely shouldn't take such a big risk.
Bi Lin glanced at the radar screen. The plane was not far from the airport, but it was not imminent. He still had some room for thought, so he replied, "You are the leader of this airport. How long will it take to clear the runway?"
Wang Li did not answer immediately, but looked at the communicator. The communicator seemed to have been prepared: "Stationmaster, the ground management just said that if we clean the entire runway, it will take too long, definitely more than an hour. However, if we only clean the ground end, it can be completed within 20 minutes. If there is enough time, they can also clean the middle end depending on the situation."
Indeed, the biggest impact of snow on an aircraft is the moment of touchdown. As long as the landing point can land steadily and the aircraft speed slows down, even if the aircraft skids, the worst that can happen is that it will slowly run off the runway, and at least there is a high probability that life can be saved.
"Twenty minutes?" Wang Li confirmed, "Contact the venue management. Are you sure it will take twenty minutes?"
This kind of thing cannot afford any mistakes. Xu Cang is floating in the sky alone. If he prepares for 20 minutes and still fails to finish on time, it will be easy for something to go wrong.
Wang Li didn't want the staff to be stubborn and just asked for a specific time.
However, the correspondent did not even ask: "Stationmaster, the field staff took the initiative to tell me. They said to give them 20 minutes, which is definitely enough."
Seeing the communicator so confident, Wang Li nodded and said nothing. It seemed that the field staff had already been mentally prepared when they reported.
"Wang Li, your soldiers are very good!" Even Bi Lin couldn't help but admire when he saw this.
Wang Li grinned and said, "Then Mr. Bi will let Xu Cang spend twenty minutes in the sky?"
"It's time to turn around. However, the Qitai Airport is surrounded by mountains, and he can't circle around with a single engine." Bi Lin thought for a moment and waved to Wang Li, motioning Wang Li to give him the microphone.
Wang Li was very considerate and immediately handed over the microphone.
"Xu Cang, there is a lot of snow on the track. The initial feedback is that it has reached 18 millimeters. The crosswind on the track has exceeded the standard, and 18 millimeters of snow cannot fall. The ground management said that they can clear the grounding end within 20 minutes. How about landing on the track and circling in place to spend some time in the sky. However, pay attention to the circling radius. Put down all the flaps and try to reduce the turning radius."
The area around Qitai Airport with the least obstacles is naturally the area near the airport. Therefore, Bi Lin asked Xu Cang to circle over the airport. However, he couldn't circle too far, otherwise he would be out of the airport's safety zone and might crash into the mountain, which was too dangerous.
The purpose of lowering flaps is to reduce speed as much as possible, thereby reducing the turning radius.
However, Xu Cang is now a single-engine aircraft. If the flaps are lowered without lowering the landing gear, there may be a landing gear configuration warning. However, Bi Lin believes that Xu Cang can handle these problems.
Soon, Xu Cang's voice came back on the radio: "If it's 18 millimeters, then it really can't fall. Okay! I'll go down to this area and then circle up, okay?"
At the beginning, Xu Cang had already agreed to Bi Lin's proposal, but at the end Xu Cang suddenly let out a soft "eh", which made Bi Lin's heart tighten and he was very worried that things had changed.
About twenty seconds later, Xu Cang did not reply, which made Bi Lin even more worried. He asked anxiously, "Xu Cang, what's wrong? Is there any problem?"
This time, Xu Cang finally spoke, but there was a hint of solemnity in his voice: "Dean, it seems that I can't wait for twenty minutes. There is a problem with my No. 2 engine. I can't wait even five minutes!"
