Back in 1978, I was admitted to Northwestern Polytechnical University.

Chapter 85 Sending the J-10 into the Sky Ahead of Schedule

Inside a three-story building on Dashi East Road, Wuhou District.

The first floor has spacious rooms on both sides, which can hold hundreds of drawing boards. Qin Liang thought it would be spectacular to imagine so many people drawing together here. However... it is still too outdated. With the advent of the computer-aided design era, paper-based work will eventually be eliminated.

Second floor, small conference room.

"Back then, in order to meet the needs of homeland air defense, the Air Force proposed a target of 2.8 for both air defense and air quality. However, because the target was too high and could not be achieved, it was lowered to 2.5 for both air defense and air quality, and then further lowered to 2.2 for both air defense and air quality." After introducing the origin of the J-9, Mr. Song continued to introduce the development experience of the J-9.

Looking at the model of the ultimate version of the J-9 in front of him, Qin Liang shook his head helplessly: "Old Song, I think there are many problems with the design of this aircraft."

"Liangzi, you speak!" Old Song picked up his notebook, uncapped his pen, and began to carefully prepare his notes.

"First of all, the design direction was wrong. High altitude and high speed are outdated. Maneuverability is the key. The entire aircraft design should be centered around improving maneuverability!"

"Yes, in 1965, around April or May, Lao Ye led the people from the General Engineering Office to conduct research in the military. They traveled all the way from Anshan to Hainan Island. When they came back, they said that the military did not pay much attention to high-altitude and high-speed operations. What the military wanted most was mobility. Unfortunately, considering various factors, we ultimately decided to proceed with the interceptor aircraft."

"what's the situation?"

Old Song smiled wryly: "For maneuverability, the engine has to be powerful. Our WS-6 turbofan engine has a slow thrust increase and slow acceleration at transonic speeds, so its maneuverability is not good. The J-9 was originally designed as a high-spec version of the J-8. If it becomes a monkey version of the J-8, it will become a substitute."

When talking about airplanes, we can't leave out the engine. Currently, the biggest problem with domestic military aircraft is the engine!

"We need both high thrust and fast acceleration. I think a turbojet engine is better. We've already got our hands on the MiG-23 fighter jet, so we can easily reverse engineer and replicate its engine!"

The biggest problem in the development of the J-10 was the engine! The WS-6 engine was cancelled, and the WS-10 was launched. The specifications on paper looked impressive, and the J-10 developed by the 611 Institute was based on the WS-10. Unfortunately, advanced aero-engines are not so easy to develop!
Entering the 1990s, the J-10 was still only on drawing paper. As a result, the Air Force got anxious and insisted on replacing the engine with the third engine. The 611 Institute was unwilling at the time, because replacing the engine would require modifying the entire fuselage!
With a large air intake, the elliptical air intake became rectangular, the rear engine became thicker, and the rear fuselage was readjusted. The amount of work involved in the improvements was almost comparable to starting from scratch.

However... the effect was still quite good. If the engine hadn't been changed, the J-10 would probably have been stillborn. It wasn't until more than a decade after the J-10 entered service that the WS-10 engine truly matured!
Right now, the WS-10 is nowhere to be seen, and the WS-6, that dud, is still faking funding. Qin Liang is not optimistic about these and wants to send the J-10 into the sky as soon as possible. Using the MiG-23's engine is the most suitable option!
The R29-300 engine has an afterburning thrust of up to 12.5 tons and a military thrust of 8.3 tons, which is more than enough for the J-10! Although the turbojet structure makes it more fuel-intensive, its diameter is only 912 mm, which is thinner than the 1180 mm diameter of the J-10, thus reducing its frontal drag.

Therefore, in actual use, the R29 engine is not necessarily more fuel-efficient than the third-generation engine! The third-generation engine's thrust across its entire thrust envelope is not as good as the R29's.
"Liangzi, we're about to enter the 1980s. If we're still using turbojet engines..." Old Song frowned. Isn't that too outdated?

"In 1968, the Americans started developing third-generation aero engines. In 1974, the F100 engine emerged. It took six years, but even now, the F100 engines that are in service with the military have encountered many problems, causing great distress to the military. With their technology, they can't even develop an advanced aero engine in ten years. For us in the East, it would take twenty or even thirty years. Mr. Song, do you think we can wait that long?"

"Comrade Qin Liang, you don't know yet, our WS-6 turbofan engine has been on the test bench for many years, and it's just one step away from completion." A key engineer from the design institute spoke up from the side.

"When the West develops engines, they start with the core engine, researching it step by step. The core engine alone takes years to operate, then they put it in a shell and make it a turbofan. What about us? Our WS-6 turbofan engine was on the test bench in just one year, and then we spent over a decade finding problems. Gentlemen, I'm not trying to belittle them, but the WS-6 really isn't up to par! If you're going to entrust the heart of your new fighter jet to this thing... hehehe, then we at Northwestern Polytechnical University might as well not use our computers, what a waste!" Old Song took a deep breath: "You're right. Recently, relevant departments have been discussing whether to reverse engineer the R29 engine. Our Institute 611 will fully support it!"

"Well, it's not too late to switch to advanced turbofan engines when our domestic aero-engine technology matures. Right now, the R29 is the best choice for us. Once we have the engine, we can talk about other things, such as the air intake. Side air intakes are outdated. Have you considered under-fuselage air intakes?"

The most important feature of third-generation fighter jets is their ability to fly at high angles of attack, and the efficiency of under-fuselage air intake is the highest!

"And what about the canards? Have you considered making them movable, that is, using them as a control surface? They could both generate vortices and improve the aircraft's maneuverability..."

Everyone present took a deep breath. If it could move, it could be used as a rudder surface, which would greatly improve maneuverability, but... it wouldn't be easy to control!
"This will probably have to be done via telex!"

"That's right, we have to use fly-by-wire!" Qin Liang nodded. "Our Super-7 aims to achieve 80% of the performance of the F-16. Institute 611 is a professional aircraft design institute. The aircraft you design must have maneuverability exceeding that of the F-16! Otherwise... you might as well merge into Factory 132!"

Old Tu nodded repeatedly, "Liangzi is indeed one of our Factory 132's people!"
"Hmph, who do you think you are? Let's use telex then! Our Institute 611 will be the first to try it!" the engineer said angrily. "From now on, our Institute 611 will handle the design work, and Factory 132 will be our subordinate production plant! Old Tu, do you dare to make a bet with us?"

"I'm not fighting, it's none of our business."

Professor Song nodded vigorously: "Okay, as long as we can use the computers from Northwestern Polytechnical University, we can start preliminary research on this project!"

"Yes, Northwestern Polytechnical University will also do its best to help, especially our Class 5381, many students are willing to participate in the research and development!" Qin Liang said, "Especially Yang Wei..."

Northwestern Polytechnical University in distant Chang'an.

Yang Wei carried a bag of books in his left hand and a thermos in his right as he walked toward the cafeteria.

Suddenly, his nose twitched: "Achoo!"

"Yang Wei, what's wrong? Are you cold?" Tang Changhong asked from the side.

"It's okay, hurry up and go to the cafeteria. After you eat, you can continue studying. The final exams are coming up soon."

"Yeah, final exams are coming up soon, where's Qin Liang?" Zhao Zhijian chimed in curiously, "If he doesn't come to take the exams, then everyone's under no pressure. That guy's a total freak..."

(End of this chapter)