Chapter 113

In the blink of an eye, it was already the end of December.

Hafei, inside the factory.

The first Dolphin Helicopter had been assembled, but starting from the rear fuselage all the way to the tail boom and tail rudder, the color was completely different from the front, as if it had been haphazardly patched together.

The front was green, the rear black, but the black texture was fine, giving an unconscious impression that this thing was formidable.

"The rotor fatigue life test has already been run tens of millions of times; the rotor remains good, and it looks like it could withstand double the fatigue life test." Qiewaliye said with feeling: "Oriental carbon fiber material, its performance is so strong, it's admirable."

"Yeah, if the fuselage covering used the same material, performance would likely increase a lot compared to our original material; perhaps the problems faced by our Black Panther helicopter could really be solved."

Auguste's face also showed a complex expression: "Let's just take off and see the effect; if the maiden flight is problem-free, then we'll install fire control and missiles as the Easterners said, and do a live-fire test to see the effect..."

"Hahaha, I heard the Zhi-9 is assembled; this is a big deal for our Air Force!" At that moment, a hearty voice sounded from outside: "Factory Director Zhang, you Hafei haven't disappointed us!"

"Old Lin? You actually came in person?"

A group of Air Force leaders walked in; the one leading, with a high nose bridge, blue eyes, and very fair skin, was clearly different from the others—there was only one such person in the entire Eastern Air Force.

Old Lin!

In 1927, he was born in Ha Cheng; his father was one of the Shandong migrants who went to Manchuria, his mother a Russian girl. Unfortunately, when Old Lin was just a few years old, his father fell asleep on a coal train and froze to death; not long after, his mother and younger brother died of illness, his sister was taken away, and he was taken in by a family surnamed Lin.

In 1938, at age 11, Old Lin joined the Eighth Route Army, thus beginning his military career; during the Liberation War, he studied aviation in the Northeast, transferring from the Army to the Air Force; he flew over the founding ceremony, participated in the Korean War, and in recent years fought in the south, intercepting enemy reconnaissance planes that had fled there.

Later generations still talk about how he knocked back a bunch of old Maoists and bought the first batch of Su-27s for the Air Force at a low price.

This old man is a senior Air Force general, also very concerned about the Air Force's modernization; hearing that the first Dolphin Helicopter had been assembled, he came right away.

At this moment, hearing Zhang Zhiqiang's question, Old Lin smiled and said: "Let's go back to my hometown and see; Ha Cheng's winter is just as cold as I remember from childhood... can our helicopters endure this bitter cold?"

"Of course!" Auguste said: "Our Dolphin Helicopter can take off normally in temperatures as low as minus forty degrees..."

"Good, then we'll wait and see!"

Amid the anticipatory gazes of everyone, the Dolphin Helicopter was towed out of the factory and brought outside; the bitter cold of over twenty degrees below zero could not stop the crowd's enthusiasm, as they all stood outside watching the helicopter's pre-takeoff preparations.

Twenty minutes later.

Hum, hummm...

The starter roared to life, puffs of black smoke spewing from the engine's exhaust nozzle, the rotor also being driven to spin in sync; thereafter, if the sound grew sharper, it would mean the engine had started.

But...

Ten seconds, twenty seconds, half a minute...

The starter stopped turning, and the rotor also stopped.

The engine failed to start!

"Switch to right engine start!"

For this twin-engine helicopter, normally the left engine is started first then the right; now that the left engine won't start, we switch to the right engine and try starting just one.

Hum, hummm...

Half a minute later, the right engine start failed.

The Frenchman grew anxious.

"How could this be? This... this must be an assembly problem!"

"Mr. Qiewaliye, this engine came as a complete unit; just hook up the fuel and electrical lines—how could this be our assembly problem?" Zhang Zhiqiang also grew anxious: "Besides, this assembly was carried out under the guidance of your French engineers!"

Qiewaliye said nothing; in front of the Eastern Air Force leaders, the engine's failure to start was deeply embarrassing, naturally prompting a blame shift, but now... it seems there's no way to pass the buck.

"Old Zhong, what do you think?" Old Lin looked at pilot Zhong Changshu, who had come down from the helicopter.

For the maiden test flight, the Chinese and French pilots each took a side, the French pilot operating, the Chinese pilot observing.

"When starting, the lubricating oil pressure was obviously high; I don't know exactly why. But... it's likely due to the temperature; I think we should tow it back into a heated hangar, remove the rotor, and then test."

"Alright, let's do that."

One hour later, inside the hangar.

Hum, hummm...

Ten seconds later, the left engine started; another ten seconds later, the right engine started—just like normal!

"Looks like it's just because the outside temperature is low; right, you French side didn't promise easy start-up at minus forty degrees, did you?"

Old Lin's tone was calm, but his tiger eyes fixed on the Frenchman, who dared not meet his gaze.

Those claims were, of course, bragging; after all, Western Europe's winters aren't that cold—encountering a takeoff at minus ten degrees is already rare for their helicopters, minus twenty never happens, let alone minus forty.

"Mr. Lin, this technical parameter isn't written in our contract." Auguste said.

"Not in the contract, so it doesn't count; empty talk is worth less than..." Old Lin's tone stern: "You French people, that's how you do business, huh?"

Auguste took a deep breath: "We're just... following the contract, nothing wrong; of course we can also help improve, boosting start-up capability in extreme cold, but... it'll cost extra!"

"Extra cost? Frenchmen, I solemnly tell you!" Old Lin's face darkened: "If we can't solve these problems, our future cooperation will be terminated; don't expect us to work with you French in any field again!"

Auguste gritted his teeth: "Mr. Lin, if you unilaterally terminate the cooperation, that will require penalty payments..."

Although the hangar had heating, the atmosphere was colder than the freezing outdoors!

"Everyone, calm down; understanding is supreme, understanding is supreme!"

"Understand my ass, understand what?"

"Understand the French's difficulties, huh? Their capability is just that; any talk of extra cost is pure pretense—the real problem is they simply don't know how to solve the engine start-up issue in extreme cold."

Old Lin's mouth curled with a scornful smile; indeed, that kid was speaking sarcastically!

"Their helicopters are just paper-thin, still need fixing; this engine, they actually don't understand it—better to rely on ourselves than on others; let's just do it ourselves!"

"Qin, we know you're great with carbon fiber materials, but this engine, you don't understand it!"