Chapter 145 - 141 Soaring_1

April 19, 10:00 AM, B-level Base airport.

Representatives from 114 supporting enterprises supplying important parts for the An-1250, as well as representatives from Shandong Aviation, Xifei, Honda Aviation, Airworthiness Manufacture, Shenyang Aviation, and other design institutes under the Aerospace Industry Corporation, high-ranking officials from the Aerospace Development Committee, provincial governments, and central authorities, totaling over 400 people, gathered on one side of the runway.

Senior leadership, originally scheduled to conduct routine inspections in Rong City, heard that New Distant Factory’s super transporter, surpassing the world’s standards, was to have its trial flight today. They were specially invited and promptly made their way here.

Around him was a throng of provincial and city leaders, as well as the top brass from New Distant Factory, explaining to him the significance of this aircraft.

The senior leadership waved his hand, "I might not understand the technical parameters you’re mentioning, but this plane is much larger than the Y-20 I’ve seen. Placed anywhere, it’s like a small hill; even laymen can tell this is an extraordinary aircraft!

Chief Designer Androff, you are a citizen of China, and this plane was also manufactured in China, so I believe this is a large aircraft produced by China, and it can continue to be produced in the future, right?"

Androff: "My grandfather was a Tatar, and I am a Tatar too; originally from Mongolia, later sent to Moscow, and strictly speaking, I remember my surname is Borjigin. Now I feel I am Chinese.

This aircraft’s entire industrial chain, from screws to engine blades, except for me, is designed and manufactured entirely by Chinese engineers, without the mark of other nations."

Wang Xun: "I was responsible for the design and oversight of the manufacturing of this aircraft’s wing leading edges, ailerons, and other movable parts. The aviation engines are also derived from the development of our XW series by the Engine Development Department, with all eight engines entirely produced by New Distant Factory."

Senior: "A 33-ton thrust engine, that’s twice the power of the strongest engine our military is currently developing. You’ve solved this heart problem, that’s good."

Lin Ju then stepped forward and had two engineers bring over a hardboard covered in Xuan paper and ink:

"We have already named this aircraft ’Cloud Peng’. We hope you can inscribe its name."

Then, Lin Ju received the characters for ’Cloud Peng’ written personally by the senior leader. These characters were to be copied and enlarged, later to become the An-1250’s flight livery.

The current An-1250 had just a simple coat of bright white primer and a large number painted underneath the nose: B-4043.

The An-1250 had been pulled out at three in the morning for the trial flight, having only been fueled with 50 tons of fuel, enough to fly for a little while before having to come down.

With half an hour left until the scheduled trial flight, the senior leader continued to ask more questions:

"Such a large plane, what material are the wings made of, is there any strength issue?"

Wang Xun: "The wings of the An-1250 are made of high-strength composite material, but the main material is still aluminum alloy. We have implanted special fibers into its skeleton. After its internal fuel is filled, it has to withstand an extra load of about 500 tons, but the strength is completely sufficient."

Senior: "How much money did you spend on building this plane, and how many do you plan to make?"

Lin Ju: "Including research and development costs, each An-1250 needs about 4.8 billion yuan, and if we produce 10, the cost would drop to 3.5 billion. But there isn’t such high demand.

The former Union only planned to build two An-225s to transport the Blizzard spacecraft. We only need to transport large and extra-large rocket components, spacecraft, and large aerospace aircraft structures, and two aircraft rotating use is completely sufficient."

Senior: "So you’re saying, you spent 10 billion, just to save some time?"

Lin Ju: "Not just some time; this year we will implement a program with a very high launch frequency, with just heavy and super-heavy rockets likely to have no fewer than ten launches. Shipping by sea is too slow and can’t keep up."

Senior: "Can I hear about this plan later?"

...

"Control tower, Cloud Peng self-check complete, status good, ready for takeoff, ready for takeoff."

"4043, maintain status, waiting for take-off command, over."

A staff member jogged over to Lin Ju and the group of superiors, handing over the communicator.

"Mr. Lin, the plane is ready."

Because the engines of the An-1250 had already started and were warming up, the view from the crowd was distorted by the heat haze, and the piercing roar required shouting to be heard over it.

Lin Ju passed the communicator to a superior, who was surprised but took it nonetheless.

Lin Ju shouted, "Leader, this time I would like you to issue the first flight command for the An-1250. It will take off with our space dreams. Next time, I hope you will come again, in no more than two years, the C832 will take off! That one will serve as your personal jet, and you will personally order its test flight!"

Holding the communicator, his arms crossed over his chest, the superior said with a smile,

"All right! I’ll be waiting for your good news!" Then he picked up the communicator, took a deep breath, and said loudly,

"Permission to take off!"

About four or five seconds after the end of the speech, the sound of the engines noticeably began to increase.

Tao Changhong, standing next to Yang Wei, shouted hoarsely in his ear,

"Damn, this is unreal!"

Yang Wei turned his head, also shouting with all his might, "Even if it is a ghost, it’s one that can grind the millstones well!"

Before they could say more, the noise of the XW-30 engines grew louder, and people hurriedly put on their headphones, which had been prepared in advance, while thousands of base personnel watched the massive beast parked 700 meters away.

Inside the cockpit of the An-1250, the two test pilots sat quite apart, and the cockpit layout was interesting, resembling a horizontal "3" that semi-enclosed the pilots with switches surrounding them, much like piloting a spaceship.

The actual feeling was indeed like that; sitting at a height of 27 meters and looking at the runway, it felt as if the runway wasn’t as wide as the aircraft, and the ground scenery seemed proportionally shrunken, naturally giving a sense of looking down from above.

"Control tower, please report if the flaps are down."

"Flaps are down, visually confirmed to be in good condition, over!"

After the control tower confirmed that the An-1250 was in very good condition, the two test pilots dared to continue the operation.

Unlike ordinary transport aircraft, the An-1250 had excellent sound insulation. The noise heard inside the cabin when the eight engines were running wasn’t any louder than a commercial airliner, and because the plane was so heavy, it would be very stable in flight. Hence, the pilots might not be aware of issues with the wings without the help of sensors and ground support.

Receiving clear instructions, the captain increased the throttle power, while simultaneously releasing the wheel brakes.

Under the torque generated above the wings with engines running, the nose of the aircraft, which was previously pressed down because of the hydraulic shock absorbers on the front landing gear, suddenly freed itself. The nose tilted slightly upwards, and then the engines’ roar became increasingly triumphant, like a spirited horse breaking free.

Standing in the front row with slightly squinted eyes, a big shot slightly lifted his earmuffs to reveal a small gap, and the thunderous roar that filled the sky made him shiver and quickly cover his ears again reflexively.

The An-1250, with a mass of 440 tons, began to taxi on the ground, and people felt as though their legs grew heavier, as if bearing the pressure along with the ground.