Chapter 144 - 140 Miracle_1

When the An-1250 was slowly towed by two tandem trailers from the final assembly hangar to the runway, everyone was shocked by this unprecedented giant aircraft.

What concept is a 136-meter wingspan? Fortunately, New Yuan had acquired enough land at the beginning, and the airport was spacious enough to consider expansion. However, once this aircraft appeared at the airport, it felt like a colossal ship moving on land.

Because the 130-meter fuselage was so long, the trailers had to take a large detour to make the aircraft turn, which also allowed everyone to get a good look.

Six wheels in two rows at the front, 13 tightly packed theoretical main landing gears on each side, and the usage of the largest custom tires, yet they still looked exceptionally small beneath the 27-meter-tall fuselage.

It was 10 a.m. now, the sun had already risen, but a large shadow was cast directly by the An-1250’s location. The visual impact of the massive aircraft could make one doubt whether they were seeing an illusion.

The head of Sichuan Rubber Group was completely dumbstruck and speechless, and it took quite a while before he dared to believe his eyes:

"Goodness, such a large plane, no wonder the tires only have a lifespan of 90 uses. Only these custom specialty tires could withstand such a large aircraft!"

Since the empty weight had reached 390 tons, the preparatory process for the An-1250 was also lengthy, but Yang Wei was not impatient at all, as he had far too many questions.

He directly asked Wang Xun from the aviation department:

"When did you start developing this aircraft?"

Wang Xun, "I’m not too sure, last year perhaps, the engines and the aircraft were initiated at the same time."

Yang Wei’s face was filled with disbelief, and he extended a finger:

"One year, one year and you went from initiation to making this huge aircraft. Even the design would take a year, right? And a 33-ton class aviation engine, such projects would need at least four to five years, just trial runs would take one year!"

Then he pointed at the An-1250’s nearly 60-meter wingspan on one side:

"Such large wings, no fatigue tests? No tests for endurance under severe conditions? Even the development of wing de-icing systems would take seven to eight months, right? Regardless of how much you shorten the development process, you can’t omit the testing phase surely!

Are you telling me you don’t perform various tests and just mount it and fly?"

Wang Xun thought to himself that you guessed it exactly.

Indeed, the development and manufacturing process of the An-1250 didn’t really involve any trial procedures; it was simply made, assembled and completed.

Why? Because during the development process, Lin Ju had entered all design parameters and working conditions into the System Research Institute in advance. As long as the funding was accelerated, success was certain, so there was no need for validation as long as production followed the technical results obtained.

But of course, this couldn’t be said to Yang Wei. Wang Xun thought for a moment:

"We used supercomputer simulations for testing, and actual trials are too time-consuming. Testing by flying is just as effective. Moreover, each of these two airplanes had a production cost of 5 billion, with all materials and processes exceeding standards, so there won’t be any problems.

Furthermore, this aircraft was designed by Chief Designer Androff, a genius. It’s also said that he is related by blood to the Antonov family. You see, the layout of An-1250 and An-225 are pretty similar."

Yang Wei: ...

What sort of absurd reasoning is this, to say that being blood-related to the Antonov family means you can build large aircraft? By that logic, the world would have descended into chaos a long time ago. Just take China for example; how many people would be qualifying as emperors?

However, he also sensed that Wang Xun was dodging the topic and didn’t press him further.

Since its establishment, Xinyuan Company’s remarkable technical achievements are plain for all to see. They have almost never failed, their R&D team works closely together, the boss fully trusts his subordinates with the budget, and there’s really no place that can do it like that.

Take Wang Xun, for instance—he knew that Wang used to work on the Stone Flight modified Yun-5. But on moving to Xinyuan, he became the deputy chief designer of the An-1250. Isn’t that disparity a bit exaggerated?

On the runway, the green composite-material-covered An-1250 finally positioned itself for takeoff, ready for the ground roll test.

A ground roll test is essentially a simulated takeoff. Except for not pulling up and braking to decelerate at the end, the procedure is the same as an actual takeoff and serves as a real test of the aircraft’s performance.

The test pilots of the An-1250, recruited by Xinyuan from the military, were two transferred pilots who previously flew the Il-76. After transitioning out, they started training as astronauts and served as flight school instructors. Then last month, out of the blue, they were asked if they wanted to be test pilots.

Both of them agreed and began learning about the aircraft they were to test-fly. But even after getting into the aircraft, they still couldn’t believe they were flying such a huge plane.

Since the aircraft was so tall and the cockpit was at the very top, the only way for them to board was by using an internal elevator—the thought of climbing the backup boarding ladder was enough to exhaust anyone.

Sitting in the eyes of this super behemoth, the two pilots’ visibility was not great; they had to rely on several cockpit screens, using cameras all around the aircraft to observe ground conditions.

But due to the adoption of the modified SC09 intelligent control system, which simplified most of the operations, this massive aircraft could, in theory, be piloted by just one person and could even fly automatically.

However, so as not to be too shockingly unconventional, pilots were still assigned.

The control tower instructed them to self-check the whole aircraft and start the engines. The two test pilots swiftly flipped various switches in the cabin, engaged the brakes, and then waited for the lengthy self-check process to complete.

For the people on the ground, they watched as the An-1250’s signal lights lit up one by one, occasionally flashing, followed by the eight XW-30 engines starting up one after the other for testing.

Once all the engines were started, even at minimal power, the shrill roar made the entire airport fill with noise, and everyone was forced to wear headphones.

Meanwhile, inside the control tower, Chief Designer Androff’s eyes filled with pride as he looked towards the An-1250.

The fuel capacity of the An-1250 is indeed outrageous; if fully loaded, it can reach 700 tons, requiring 140 fuel trucks and three full days and nights to refuel. By that point, its weight will reach 1090 tons.

If it’s fueled to maximum with no cargo, the XW-3 engines will consume about 3.25 tons of fuel per hour at startup. Once cruising, they’ll burn 2.4 tons per hour. By shutting down four engines and flying at half thrust, the aircraft could stay airborne for 57 hours at a speed of 840 kilometers per hour, covering a distance of 47,800 kilometers.

What does that mean? The Earth’s equator is 40,000 kilometers long.

The spare 7,800 kilometers is roughly the distance of a transoceanic flight.

In other words, flying from New Yuan Airport, the An-1250 could circumnavigate the globe without stopping—passing over the South Sea, across the Pacific Ocean, over the Americas, the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, Central Asia, and finally returning to New Yuan Airport.

This is the first miracle plane capable of flying around the Earth without any in-flight refueling or stops!

In regular use, for flights from Xinyuan to Qiongzhou, which is less than 2000 kilometers, the An-1250 only requires 120 tons of fuel to carry a 130-ton heavy H2 spaceplane roundtrip. However, it still takes 12 hours to refuel.

Therefore, any aviation professional will understand this represents an unprecedented advancement in the history of human aviation!