Chapter 523: Outperforming Others

Awkward.

Extremely embarrassing.

For a moment, Flamel felt that although he was still alive, he was already dead.

If possible, he would very much like to retract all the statements he just made.

This helicopter is obviously an improvement on the Dolphin, but Eurocopter does not have a corresponding model.

France has indeed considered designing an armed version of the dolphin, which is the AS365M.

Of course, the French army itself has larger Lynx MK4 armed helicopters and Tiger armed helicopters.

But some are still very attractive to small countries with low armed needs, or to paramilitary forces such as the coast guard.

After all, AS365 is sold all over the world, and the military or government agencies in more than half of the countries are users of this model.

Therefore, it is easier to get started in aspects such as pilot training and ground maintenance support, and there is no need to build an additional logistics system.

The idea was really good, but in the end it was abandoned due to the insufficient size of the whole machine and too many areas that needed to be modified——

Although armed helicopters theoretically do not need to be manned, the additional weapon systems and additional drag are a huge challenge to the performance of the helicopter.

What's more, quite a few tasks actually require a helicopter with both attack and transportation capabilities to complete.

For example, the MH6/AH6 and MH60L used by US special forces, as well as the more classic Mi-24.

In short, Eurocopter believes that the basic model of Dolphin is not enough to support it in completing such a mission.

Therefore, at this air show, Eurocopter only brought the traditional model AS365N1, which has the highest sales volume.

Of course, AS365M was not completely abandoned, but it was postponed until AS365N2 was finalized and continued to develop based on the new model.

result……

He actually saw the improved armed version of the Dolphin on the Chinese side in advance?

Le Maire took two deep breaths to calm down, forced himself not to pay attention to Cuarón's eyes and expression next to him, and strode forward to the helicopter's promotional board.

After all, it is the Singapore Airshow, so all promotional materials are at least bilingual in Chinese and English.

Cuaron followed closely, adjusting the angle to include the Chinese helicopter and Le Maire, who was standing in front of the exhibition board in the cold wind, into the frame.

The name of the photo is "AS365M Helicopter in Paris".

However, Le Maire did not pay attention to what was happening behind him.

His eyes quickly scanned the text in front of him and found the content that interested him most.

The usage logic of helicopters is different from that of fixed-wing aircraft. Values ​​such as flight speed and ceiling are not very important in most cases.

What restricts the functionality of an aircraft is often data such as maximum takeoff weight and available hover time.

"The maximum continuous output power of the engine is 496kW, the maximum take-off power is 535kW, and the maximum emergency power is 575kW..."

The power performance looks quite familiar to Le Maire.

Basically the data of Ahaye 1D1.

The models China had previously introduced together with the helicopters were the Arriel 1C and Arriel 1C1.

However, when there is a basic model, everyone's improvement ideas are basically the same, so it is normal to finally come up with improved models with similar indicators...

Unconsciously, Le Maire's understanding of the level of China's aviation industry has undergone tremendous changes.

It seems that it is not that surprising to independently develop an improved version of the turboshaft engine...

However, as a former senior executive of Eurocopter, Le Maire is very clear that the problem of the Dolphin helicopter cannot be solved by replacing it with a more powerful engine -

If it were that simple, several of the planned new models would have already been developed.

My eyes glanced at a few less core performance data and continued downward.

"The maximum available power of the rotor is 452kw*2..."

"The maximum duration of takeoff power is 5 minutes..."

Flamel's heart trembled violently.

Just like there is a gap between the wheel end power of a car and the output power of the engine, as an aircraft that mainly relies on shaft power, the power output to the rotor end of a helicopter cannot be the simple sum of the power of two turboshaft engines.

The most criticized aspect of the AS365 helicopter is that the transmission system design limits the power output.

The maximum take-off power of the Arriel 1C engine is about 470kW, but due to the limitations of the transmission system, the power output to the rotor end is only 390kW*2.

If you rashly replace an engine with a higher output power, the available power of the rotor will decrease due to a mismatch in the transmission system.

This was also the main reason why AS365M was shelved that year.

And now, since the Chinese people have written all these details clearly on the exhibition board, it is obvious that they are not hastily attacking the two new engines.

Instead, at least the transmission mechanism of the main reducer was redesigned.

Otherwise, there would be no special emphasis on the maximum available power of the rotor.

This thing is usually in the technical manual, together with the power output envelope.

It is data that only insiders will pay attention to.

In most countries, especially small countries, the people responsible for equipment procurement are not expert...

"But how is this possible?"

Flamel couldn't help but doubt life.

Although it is surprising to change the MiG-21 to look unknown to others, it is still reasonable.

After all, China has obtained some technical data of the MiG-21 since the 1960s, and has always been inextricably linked with the MiG Design Bureau before and since.

Moreover, the reason why the Soviets did not modify the MiG-21 was not because it could not be modified, but because it was not necessary.

The first prototype of the MiG-25 was a large MiG-21...

But the Dolphin helicopter is something else.

The French don't modify dolphins, not because they don't want to, but because they really can't do it...

With his mind in a state of chaos, Le Maire didn't even notice that the helicopter was slowly pushed backwards by several people after the tarp was removed.

It wasn't until reporter Caron walked to the side that he noticed that the helicopter in front of him, called HC (Helicopter-China) 9WY, was already preparing to take off on the designated apron a little further away.

Cuarón raised the camera in his hand and pressed the shutter, while Flamel continued to look down at the exhibition board.

At the same time, you are mentally prepared to endure the violent airflow and loud noise when the helicopter takes off.

However, the shutter sound kept ringing in my ears and was not covered up by the noise of the helicopter.

Sound, of course there is.

But overall it's softer.

There is only a high-frequency stable buzz, which is relatively friendly to the eardrums.

"Why haven't they taken off yet?"

"Did something go wrong?"

The moment before he raised his head, a dark corner of Le Maire's heart even began to expect that the helicopter would make a fool of himself at the air show.

However, the next second.

He saw that the helicopter had not only taken off, but was even hovering in mid-air, nodding in his direction.

"???"

Of course, Le Maire knew that this was just a routine greeting before the helicopter flight performance.

But under this situation...

It all feels like a provocation.

The more I think about it, the angrier I get.

"President Le Maire, I have a question."

Caron looked at the helicopter that had begun to move rapidly in the sky, and suddenly said:

"They put this model at the air show, obviously preparing to export it."

"So, in the contract we signed back then, did we authorize them along with the export license?"