Cancel the cooperation with CFM Company on the integrated propulsion system? Great Xia wanted to develop its own 100% domestically produced propulsion system?
"The memorandum of cooperation for this project was finalized last year. Formal cooperation was expected to begin in two months."
Xu Qianren frowned deeply and voiced his concern. "If we change it now, I'm afraid it won't be easy."
When Great Xia Commercial Aircraft was established last year, the plan had already been set around the engine propulsion system provided by CFM Company.
Now that everything was ready, making such a massive change would be no different from throwing away more than a year of hard work.
He found that difficult to accept.
Zhang Yuli stared at him and repeated what he had just said. "This time, we will develop everything ourselves, including their engine integration system."
"We'll build a 100% domestically produced airliner!"
Xu Qianren looked utterly bewildered. "Dean Zhang, if we cancel our cooperation with CFM Company, then with Great Xia Commercial Aircraft's current independent R&D capabilities..."
"Developing a suitable engine propulsion system will take far too long. The C919 project can't wait that long."
If they could use a completely domestic propulsion system, who would want to use someone else's engines?
He didn't want to, and Great Xia Commercial Aircraft wanted it even less.
Xu Qianren saw the true faces of these foreign companies with perfect clarity. They might make things sound wonderful during the initial negotiations.
Right now, CFM Company was willing to meet nearly every demand from the commercial aircraft company. It had even produced a preliminary proposal for the integrated propulsion system at almost the fastest possible speed.
But that was only because the cooperation had not officially begun. Once they needed to mass-produce aircraft, companies like CFM would absolutely display their usual tricks—raising prices when they felt like it, restricting sales when they felt like it, and never loosening their grip when it came time to choke them.
But developing an economical and practical aero engine was easier said than done. Time waited for no one!
"Choosing CFM as a partner was truly a temporary measure born of necessity." Xu Qianren sighed. "In the future, we'll definitely switch to a domestically produced integrated propulsion system."
"To develop a domestic airliner as quickly as possible, we have no other alternative to choose from."
After all, as a joint venture between Gaul Aviation and Eagle Sauce's General Electric Company, CFM held more than 40% of the global commercial aviation engine market. Adding General Electric's original 15% share—
CFM International controlled more than 55% of the market. It was practically a giant in this field.
You could tell from its name alone. CFM Company's full name was International Engine Company. If they did not choose it as a partner, there was no better alternative.
Zhang Yuli and the others understood that perfectly well. "I know your concerns. Why would we rashly cancel the cooperation without being fully prepared?"
Meeting Xu Qianren's puzzled gaze, he took out a thick stack of freshly printed blueprints. "Take a look at these first, and you'll understand why I said that."
Xu Qianren picked up the top few sheets. The moment his eyes fell on them, he froze in place.
[New Flight Management Computer System (FMC) Analysis.] [New Commercial Large Thrust Aero Engine Analysis:] With 83% bypass airflow and 17% core airflow providing total thrust, the turbofan engine minimized fuel combustion in the combustion chamber to the greatest extent possible. IEC dynamically controlled N1 shaft speed, allowing the thrust from all core and bypass airflow to match the current flight condition. [Technical Specifications:] Fan diameter: 3.251 m. High-pressure compressor stages: 9. Low-pressure turbine: 6 stages. Maximum thrust: 520 KN.
"Gasp, this is...?"
Xu Qianren gave it a rough glance and immediately sucked in a sharp breath. "Gasp, this is... a design blueprint for a super-large civilian passenger aircraft?"
Although he held a management position at the commercial aircraft company rather than a research post, how could he not understand the value of these technologies?
That 520 KN thrust engine alone was already extremely close to General Electric's GE-115B, wasn't it?
"Now you understand why we're canceling our cooperation with CFM Company, right?" Zheng Lixing said cheerfully as he sipped his tea.
"I understand. I'll go back and notify the CFM Company representatives immediately!"
Xu Qianren nodded, so excited that his hands trembled slightly.
He fully believed that this technology was real.
Zhang Yuli and Zheng Lixing had no reason to deceive him over something like this. Besides, the notice summoning him to the Great Xia Academy of Sciences had come directly from the highest-level meeting.
With technology like this, who would still be willing to serve these foreign devils?
Get the hell out of here!
The next day.
Nine in the morning.
It was Saturday, Lu Ze's favorite day off.
In Eagle Sauce, in a small town outside LLNL Laboratory.
It was still that same coffee shop. Lu Ze sat quietly in a chair by the street, having ordered a cup of coffee.
He held a book in his hands, reading with absorbed fascination. "Whoa, there's even a move that falls from the sky like this?"
Of course, the title was definitely not The Plum in the Golden Vase.
"Sir, your iced latte." It was a female voice that sounded somewhat familiar.
"Alright, just put it on the table."
Still immersed in his book, Lu Ze replied without even looking up.
He lifted the iced latte and took a sip. A huge wave of bitterness instantly flooded his mouth. "Pfft, why is it still so bitter?"
"Is there something wrong with this coffee shop? Didn't I say to add sugar and milk to my coffee?"
As Lu Ze complained, a sweet laugh drifted into his ears. "Lu Ze, coffee isn't supposed to have sugar or milk by default. That's the only way to taste its original flavor."
"So, do you know why I never eat bitter melon?"
Lu Ze looked helplessly at the girl before him.
He had told her countless times that he did not drink coffee without sugar, but she simply would not listen and kept insisting that he try it.
Lucy wore a white shirt and jeans that showed off her perfect figure. With the sunlight behind her, even her hair seemed to carry a faint glow. She looked like the perfect fusion of cuteness and beauty.
Her head-turning rate was practically one thousand percent.
Lu Ze had already developed a bit of immunity to that kind of beauty.
Frowning, he forced down a sip of the unsweetened iced latte. "Lucy, what did you want to see me about today?"
If Lucy had not called him out so early in the morning, he would probably still have been sleeping in his dorm.
"Lu Ze, is Great Xia fun?" Lucy sat down and propped her chin on both hands.
To the Western world of this era, everything about Great Xia was shrouded in mystery.
Lucy had even asked him several times before whether people in Sichuan rode pandas to school every day, and whether he could give her one.
Come on, he himself had only seen pandas a few times!
"I think it's pretty good. At the very least, it's much better than Eagle Sauce." Lu Ze thought for a moment before continuing, "There are plenty of historical and cultural sites around my hometown—scenic spots, the thousand-year-old murals of the Mogao Caves, 'the spring wind never passes Yumen Pass,' and so on."
After all, compared to Eagle Sauce, whose history since founding was only a little over two hundred years, what part of Great Xia was not filled with famous historical sites?
(Please keep reading! Please bookmark!)
Before you continue