Chapter 1129 Do as I Say First

Champine's words are definitely not alarmist.

The main mainline aircraft models currently being operated by major airlines are basically Boeing 737NG and Airbus A320ceo.

They are not two specific models, but two generations of a series of aircraft.

And they are all facing the problem of falling behind the times.

Although the Boeing 737NG is called the "next generation", it is essentially a limited improvement of the second-generation 737.

Moreover, it is not an active improvement.

It was in the early 1990s that it was hit by the A320 and had no choice but to undergo a wave of repairs.

According to Boeing's plan, after 2010 at the latest, the Y1 model in the Yellowstone plan, which has the same technical level as the 787 (Y2) and is newly designed, will be put on the market.

The 737NG is essentially a temporary transitional model.

As for the A320ceo…

CEO is originally the abbreviation of Current Engine Option, and it has not been seriously replaced in 20 years.

Originally, if it were just two strong powers competing, it would really be possible to achieve a balance of power in this situation.

That is to say, everyone just makes do with it and sees who can't stand it any longer first.

However, around 2000, Canada's Bombardier Aerospace Company suddenly jumped out and said that it would develop a brand new C-series passenger aircraft to form an "ABC" competition with Boeing and Airbus.

Although it is nominally a regional aircraft, the first model of this C-series series is 120-130 seats, which covers the business scope of Airbus A319 to a considerable extent.

In fact, on the original timeline, due to limited investment and lack of determination, the research and development of this C series was intermittently, and it was not until 2008 that a relatively complete plan was developed.

But now, perhaps driven by the idea that "if China can do it, I can do it," Canadians are very ambitious and move quickly.

By early 2004, the C series had been put into a basic framework.

And because Bombardier has been involved in various passenger aircraft research and development projects for a long time and is a Western company, its experience and external conditions are much stronger than those of China. The performance of its newly designed aircraft is far better than that of two old guys who are patching things together.

I actually got orders for dozens of them.

Some of them even come from airlines that used to only use Airbus.

Now, the Europeans can't sit still.

You know, it was Boeing's attitude of ignoring the development of Airbus that allowed the latter to become bigger, and now it is even looking to replace it.

How could they make the same mistake again?

Therefore, it is imperative to completely upgrade the A320.

Once an aircraft of this level is replaced, it is likely to last another twenty or thirty years.

For an aviation engine supplier to remain invisible in the most mainstream market for such a long time, it will definitely bring extremely high risks.

Therefore, Bodi's expression immediately became serious:

"I will try my best to persuade the leadership to allocate resources in this direction as soon as possible..."

From a technical point of view, it is indeed much easier to build a smaller engine after having built a larger engine.

But specifically at the business level, if you don’t have enough time or funds, it will be difficult to compete with friends who have more experience.

Suddenly, the roar of the aircraft engine came from far away, interrupting Bodi's thoughts.

The A340 had completed all the test tasks planned for this flight and appeared in mid-air toward the end of the runway.

"Speak of it, Charles."

Bodi changed the subject:

"What's the current progress of the first A380 prototype?"

"The body parts will be assembled soon. Our plan is to make it public to the world next month, leave the factory and roll off the production line before the end of the year, and make the first flight early next year..."

"..."

…

at the same time.

At the Dassault Toulouse factory, a little further from the airport.

After bidding farewell to the two of them just now, Didier Casore didn't bother to take a break, and almost non-stop found the head of the production department, Shamussen Bain.

The latter was currently busy improving the production capacity of two new models of Rafale F2 and Falcon 8Z. It was not until Casore tapped him on the shoulder a few times that he noticed the other party's arrival.

"director?"

The confusion on Bain's face has not yet disappeared.

Casore was a little helpless:

"I informed the headquarters last week that I was going back to China...didn't anyone notify you?"

Upon hearing this question, Bain was stunned for a moment, then raised his head and glanced at the calendar next to him:

"Uh... I have been solving a process problem on the Rafale F2 production line these days. I may have made a mistake in the date."

As he explained, he rolled up the drawings on the table and pushed them aside:

"I remember you said that there are new production tasks to be handed over to us?"

Seeing him looking like a workaholic, Casore didn't have much to say. He just took a computer bag from the entourage behind him:

"Yes, it is also related to Falcon 8Z..."

As he spoke, he quickly took out his laptop and turned it on:

"The brand-new process cannot be solved by the assembly level of China, so we need temporary help."

Obviously, he completely believed the reasons that Liang Shaoxiu had spouted before.

However, Manager Bain on the opposite side frowned slightly and seemed a little unhappy:

"The new factory is putting two new models into production at the same time, and the operation of the production line is already very tight... If the production plan is changed temporarily, it may affect the entire production plan..."

Casore had just entered the power-on password and looked up to explain:

"This matter has a high priority, and the number of assembly parts is small, so the impact will not be great."

"But supervisor, any new process needs a lot of testing to determine the parameters before it goes into production. This has nothing to do with production... It is better to say that low production is more wasteful."

Bain's face showed a trace of doubt.

In his opinion, although Casore has worked in the design department for many years, he should not ignore such low-level problems anyway.

"Most of the parameters are determined... We just need to debug the equipment according to the actual situation."

At this point, Casore turned the computer screen and pushed it in front of Bain.

It is a complete assembly process description.

"The skin radius is 2723mm, the arc length is 300mm, the total length is 630mm, the positioning surface 1 constrains the degrees of freedom in the three directions of X, Y and Z, the positioning surface 2 constrains the degrees of freedom in the two directions of X and Y, and is divided into 25845 units in total, the type is shell unit..."

"The long stringer specifications are 42.3mm*30.0mm*630mm, and the positioning point 1 constrains the two degrees of freedom of X and Z..."

In addition to the somewhat stiff text description, the assembly model diagram and the operating parameter summary table are also attached.

In short, even if you only look at the first two pages of content, it doesn't look like a "new process" at all.

Instead, it seemed that they had been researching for a while, and they just took it for trial production...

Bain looked at Casore with some suspicion:

"For such a large-scale pre-connection process... the yield rate may not be guaranteed."

"Don't worry, just read on."

The latter replied:

"In addition, if there was no difficulty, I wouldn't come to you."

Production line management ability and worker technical level have always been the two strengths that Bain is most proud of.

Now that he was suddenly praised, he was a little inconvenient to refute, so he had to lower his head and look back at the computer screen.

"The pre-connection sequence between units: 11-12-13-14-15-21-22... The pre-connection path distance is 10567mm, the pre-connection points of unit 1 are set to 13, 6, and 20, the pre-connection forces are 39N, 44N, and 43N respectively, and the three-coordinate values ​​are (90, 23, 160); unit 2..."

"..."

Bain's expression gradually became serious.

As an old engineer who has worked in the production line for more than 30 years, he soon realized that this assembly process was not like the past, which only provided general guidance and required production personnel to adjust the specific operation methods according to the actual situation, but determined the number, location and order of connection points from the beginning.

But the problem is that even different individuals of the same model will have deviations and deformations during the production and assembly process.

Therefore, in the past, this was determined by technical workers based on experience.

It is also the fundamental reason why the aircraft production process has not been fully automated for a long time.

While this model seems to reduce the burden on the production line, it is equivalent to piling all the risks into the final assembly process.

"Supervisor, are you sure..."

Bain just started, and Casore didn't let him continue.

The latter actually had no idea in his heart, but there was really no better way at the moment:

"Do as I say first, as for the final situation... Let's talk about it after the product is offline!"

Although the two parties have the same administrative level, in terms of business relations, Casore, as the deputy director of the model, has the right to guide the work of the production end.

Therefore, when he finally made the decision, Bain did not continue to bargain:

"Then I will call a meeting with the production line engineers immediately."

"But it would be best if you explain the specific situation to everyone..."