CHAPTER 431: CHAPTER 429: TRANSFORMATION PLAN

The several ground technicians were all seasoned professionals. Although dismantling an engine wasn’t an easy task, they managed to take down the entire engine along with the intake duct after some effort.

Even though Chen Xin had already looked at the design drawings of the Yun-9, there’s still a difference between blueprints and the actual object. Some things can only be ascertained by seeing the real object, or knowing how to proceed.

After seeing the actual engine, Chen Xin clarified his thoughts.

According to Chen Xin’s conception, a method that can be completed within a week while considering cost and modification efficiency is to install an air filter on the intake duct. This is the simplest and most practical approach, also the most economical.

It requires no major modifications to the aircraft, nor significant investment.

This scheme was also Chen Xin’s preferred option; a new type of air filter had already been arranged to be made, and now his task was to see if further improvements could be made on the aircraft itself.

After all, if only the air filter is installed, the aircraft engine will still be affected, leading to significant impact on aircraft performance.

And to mitigate these effects, naturally further efforts on the engine and intake duct are needed.

Without seeing the actual object, Chen Xin had no concept in mind, and system upgrades could not exert effectiveness, so he had to bother the ground technicians to directly remove the engine.

With the removed engine and complete intake duct, Chen Xin also had inspiration and direction in mind, making subsequent work relatively easy.

Having studied the structure of the intake duct, Chen Xin knew clearly that after installing an air filter, if he wanted to ensure the engine still had enough power, one way would be to increase the intake volume. As long as a balance between the engine’s needs, filter resistance, and overall intake volume can be achieved, actual needs can be met.

The simplest and most straightforward method to increase intake volume is to enlarge the intake duct.

This was naturally within Chen Xin’s consideration, but not the final choice, because although enlarging the intake duct is necessary, simple enlargement still presents some design issues, and isn’t a matter of just making it bigger.

Moreover, besides enlarging the intake duct, improving intake methods and air filter structure can also increase total intake volume, so it’s not about just sticking to one solution.

According to Chen Xin’s plan, he wanted to install a row of intakes at the leading edge of the wing without damaging the structure, allowing air to enter the engine from the wing.

After all, if the intake duct isn’t sufficient, adding more intakes will surely ensure total intake volume.

But such a design also poses many issues; adding intakes on the wing has never been tried before, and whether it will affect aircraft flight and lift, or compromise wing structural integrity, needs practical validation. It’s not something Chen Xin could just decide with a system upgrade.

Therefore, the most prudent way is still to improve the existing intake to enhance its intake efficiency, ensuring intake volume.

Besides this method which offers quick return and low cost, another equally effective approach is electric compensation, or directly converting the aircraft engine to electric.

Electric compensation was part of Chen Xin’s previous experience selling chemical equipment, where he sold air-cooled equipment driven by water pressure, facilitating fan operation to produce adequate airflow for cooling.

However, sometimes water pressure couldn’t meet operational demands, so a small electric motor would be added to provide power compensation, ensuring the equipment met operational requirements.

This method is equally applicable to engines, as automobiles have hybrid power, so using the same approach for aircraft isn’t unusual.

Moreover, now with Isotope Thermoelectric Batteries and micro nuclear reactors, achieving full electric propulsion on aircraft is feasible, providing multiple solutions to the aircraft’s intake issues.

What Chen Xin previously had staff work on was the air filter installation; the second was improving the intake duct; the third was equipping the aircraft with electric compensation assistance, and the fourth was full electric conversion.

This was the modification plan and scheme Chen Xin developed after spending the entire night reviewing the Yun-9’s design information, with the resource and time spent rising proportionally. Adding an air filter is simplest, full electric conversion is hardest.

But with Isotope Thermoelectric Batteries and micro nuclear reactors, full electric conversion has a solid foundation.

If full electric conversion were truly implemented, it could transform the current operational model of the national aviation sector, potentially restoring seamless national aviation.

After all, the primary reason restricting national aircraft flight currently is the excessive particles and dust suspended in the air. Using traditional engines inevitably entails dealing with engine damage from dust and particles.

As for whether suspended particles and dust would damage the aircraft itself once flying, that conclusion is definite.

With such high relative speed, even the tiniest dust will cause surface wear on the aircraft, but this is unavoidable, unless Chen Xin actually equips planes with Energy Shields, then such wear could be resisted.

However, as long as encountering overly large dust or particles is avoided, theoretically it wouldn’t greatly damage the aircraft.

It would just require the ground staff to work hard, ensuring maintenance after each takeoff and landing to prevent quick deterioration.

On this issue, Chen Xin wasn’t planning on resolving it, especially after just experiencing past events, having realized the principle of moderation.

Proposing the intake duct modification proposal and new air filter is still within normal bounds, but Energy Shields exceed typical understandings too much.

Even if truly pursued, it can’t be done right now, and at the very least, it requires gradual progression with preliminary technology before implementation.

While thinking this, Chen Xin naturally didn’t delay actual work, contemplating how to conduct full electric propulsion modification on the aircraft.

Full electric propulsion isn’t simply electric compensation; it’s a major aircraft overhaul, especially the engine part, which needs complete redesign, and the same goes for the aircraft’s wings.

After all, engines and fuel tanks are installed on the wings, so if transitioning to electric, the original engine and fuel tanks must be discarded, but how to accommodate new power equipment on the wings, and design the new electric drive engine, these are all questions.

Moreover, most critically, electric drive aircraft engines never existed before, and there’s never been such high-powered electric drive engines. Everything needs to be designed from scratch.