Chapter 164 STOVL is useless? That’s because you are so beautiful.

Author: September Sauce

Chapter 164 STOVL is useless? That’s because you are so beautiful.

Chengdu, 611.

After giving the information, Chen Nian felt relieved, and the uneasy feeling disappeared. This also showed that he had indeed solved a potential risk.

Until then, he had time to check the system interface for the first time.

Sure enough, as he expected, this time he launched a bipolar counter-rotating lift fan, which also brought him an increase in source points.

Moreover, the number of increases reached an astonishing 2.3 points.

Now, the number of source points he has has reached 4.98 points.

Judging from the situation in the past two days, the average daily number of source points is also increasing.

According to his speculation, in the future, the number of his source points in the J-20 project team will increase significantly.

Of course, the premise is that he continues to study at the current pace and output results independently.

But that’s a story for another day.

As for now that the number of source points has reached above the safety line, he should consider how to spend the source points on hand.

According to the current progress of each project displayed on the "Task Manager", whether it is the Deep Blue 16 project or the high-speed rail project, they are all in the stage of digesting the early results. It is unrealistic for them to continue to accept new technologies.

Because, both in terms of infrastructure and personnel preparation, these two projects have almost reached their limits.

Even if Chen Nian comes up with technology now, it will be difficult to actively promote the progress of the project.

Therefore, the strategy of investing Yuandian in these two projects was first abandoned by Chen Nian.

So, if he does not have to focus on these two projects, his best choice is to continue to strengthen the J-20B project.

Didn’t it mean that there are no STOVL fighters?

Isn't it said that it is so useless that it can only play with the wind and bully the small countries that are being crushed?

Then solve it!

Judging from the situation of the previous F-35B, its main shortcomings are nothing more than a few:

It has a short range, a small bomb load, and a complex structure.

Among them, the most core issue is the short flight range.

The main reason for this problem is that during the take-off and landing stages of the aircraft, the engine operating at full power will consume a large amount of fuel. As a result, even if the aircraft takes off with a full tank of fuel, only one-third of the actual amount of fuel will be available after it takes off.

There are only two ways to solve this problem.

The first is to expand the fuel tank capacity.

This is the simplest and crudest method, but there are actually many different solutions for implementation.

For example, conformal fuel tanks, vertical tail-mounted fuel tanks, spinning ceramic thin-walled fuel tank technology, and so on.

These solutions can be used alone or in combination, but no matter which one is used, a trade-off must be made on the overall performance of the aircraft, which is a compromise solution.

If you are pursuing extreme combat effectiveness, the first path is not the best choice.

So, the second way is relatively more advanced.

That is, a variable cycle engine.

The so-called variable cycle engine is a multi-design point engine.

By changing the geometry, size or position of some components, it can adjust its thermodynamic cycle parameters, such as boost ratio, turbine inlet temperature, air flow and bypass ratio, etc.

The engine cycle working mode changes accordingly, allowing the engine to work in optimal condition under various flight conditions.

To explain in the most intuitive language, a traditional turbofan engine must make a trade-off between high thrust and high efficiency when designing. It cannot have both, nor can it be switched at any time, but a variable cycle engine can.

In this way, the engine can actively adapt to various working conditions as needed to maximize fuel efficiency.

According to the information Chen Nian had in his previous life, the fuel efficiency of some models of advanced variable-cycle engines can even be more than twice that of ordinary engines.

In other words, if the same tank of fuel can fly 1,000 kilometers using a turbofan engine, then it is possible to fly 2,000 kilometers or more using a variable-cycle engine.

Therefore, solving the problem of variable cycle engines is equivalent to solving the problem of insufficient range of STOVL aircraft.

Thinking of this, Chen Nian nodded with satisfaction.

He silently opened the system interface in his mind, then entered the analysis, silently reciting a noun in his mind.

[XA-100 adaptive variable cycle engine]

After a brief stagnation, the system immediately gave the request for analysis.

【XA-100】

[Analyzing source point requirements: 2.4]

Seeing this number, Chen Nian was disappointed at first, and then sighed with relief.

He had some expectations at first, thinking that after mastering the technology of the F119 engine, the price of variable cycle engine technology would be significantly reduced.

It is best to reduce it to less than 1 source point, so that he will not feel distressed when buying it.

But obviously, this thing is not as simple as he thought.

Although the core principle of the variable cycle engine is simply to adjust the size of the three ducts, to do this under extreme high temperature, high pressure, and high speed conditions, it is also necessary to ensure the stability of the engine structure, which has a great impact on materials and processes.

The requirements are still improved compared to F119.

Speaking of which, the system gave a price of 2.4 points, which is actually considered a discount.

Chen Nian hesitated for a moment, and finally made up his mind.

A thought quickly flashed through his mind:

"Start parsing!"

Subsequently, the source point was deducted, and a large amount of information poured into his mind, and began to be integrated with the original F119-related information at an extremely fast speed.

In just 10 minutes, Chen Nian had received all the information.

At this moment, he truly mastered the most advanced aviation technology at this point in time.

Even the United States at this time cannot compare with him.

Chen Nian let out a long breath. He knew that mastering the theory and technology did not mean that it would be easy to create things, but at least he had taken an important step in the "solution".

The rest is just going to take some time.——

However, now that the engine problem has been solved and the budget has been exceeded, why not just spend more and solve other minor problems as well?

This idea is like shopping in a mall. I originally planned to buy a bed sheet, but when I thought it didn't look good, I just bought a four-piece set.

Since I bought a four-piece set, I also need to change the pillows to comfortable ones.

The pillows were changed and the mattress was simply changed.

The mattress has been changed, the bed has to be changed, the bedroom has become smaller, and the villa has to be changed.

But now, Chen Nian is doing the opposite.

I bought a variable cycle engine, so I also need to install a conformal fuel tank, right?

Conformal fuel tanks alone are not enough, ceramic thin-wall technology is also needed.

Both of these things are available, lightweight materials are also arranged, and structural materials cannot be careless.

In addition, doesn’t it mean that the bomb load is insufficient? Wouldn’t it be enough to increase the power of the single-shot missile?

Analyze, analyze!

What the hell is PL-15? Give me PL-17!

After just one operation, the nearly 5 source points that Chen Nian saved during this period were completely spent, and it was not even enough.

In desperation, he had to postpone the analysis of the conformal fuel tank, saving 0.2 source points for PL-17.

Looking at the dazzling "0.05" source number, Chen Nian felt regretful and relieved at the same time.

Damn it, he was spending impulsively again.

However, this impulse purchase is at least worth it.

On the other side, the core members of the J-20 project team were at a regular working meeting.

Yang Wei looked at the latest submitted materials with a solemn expression.

He looked around in silence and then said:

"Now there are a lot of doubts about us from the outside world, especially after the United States publicly announced that it would abandon the F-35B project. Many people doubt whether it is necessary for us to develop STOVL fighter jets at this stage."

"This includes some superior leaders who can influence our projects."

"They are all experienced experts, and some even serve in the Army and Air Force."

"From their perspective, an aircraft with a combat radius of less than 300 kilometers is really useless."
To be continued...