Sky-cracking Rider

Chapter 431 Section 427 - Friends Come from Afar

The most significant difference between civilian and military engines lies in the design of the afterburner construction.

The former doesn't include an afterburner, its rated output is capped at the threshold of maximum safety and economy, and even flooring the throttle keeps it within rated power.

The latter, for combat purposes, sacrifices lifespan for extra power output, as both training duration and actual combat time are much less than civilian operational hours. Designing for too long a life would lead to excessive costs and also affect the renewal of current equipment; therefore, the best technology is not necessarily the most advanced.

If military engines were to be used with reduced power requirements and operational standards, their fault-free operational lifespan could far exceed their original design parameters.

In some ways, they could also be used as universal engines.

The A-39B "Big Mouth Monster" light turboprop attack aircraft, which Chen Fei is most familiar with, uses the PT6A series engine—a quite mature universal engine, widely applicable, mass-produced, and inexpensive to maintain.

Because the afterburner design leans toward aggressive specifications, its stability could never meet the safety standards of civilian engines, thus if issues arise, they tend to be major.

Chen Fei attributed the cause of the crash to the afterburner, namely the main engine part, largely based on his own experience.

Although he started out mid-career, with numerous technical certifications and a wealth of experience accumulated through supernatural powers, he had by today earned the right to be called an industry expert, no longer the inexperienced rookie he once was.

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The furthest debris from the crash of the No. 2 prototype of the "Canglong" project reached over a kilometer away, almost extending to the airfield's residential and administrative areas. Multiple drones continuously flew back and forth, scanning the ground, searching for wreckage, creating plans of the debris field, and concurrently searching for the aircraft's black box.

Even in a crash, as an invaluable lesson, not a single shard could be overlooked.

The drones identified a black box with traces of orange-red, however, even with its special protective design, it wasn't completely fail-safe.

The found black box was not only shattered, but all the backup storage chips had turned to char.

A stir went through the wind barrier.

It meant that some data from the final moments of the crash were completely irretrievable, resulting in incomplete crash data for the No. 2 prototype.

"The mobility data from before the No. 2 machine matched the design specifications perfectly, why would there be a malfunction during the leveling out phase? That shouldn't happen!"

"Could it have been the Magic Array? I saw a flash of collapsing elemental energy when the aircraft went out of control."

"The final leveling data was a bit off, it could also be an electronic system failure, a technical flaw in the control system."

"How could it be the control system? The 'Canglong's' control system wasn't independently developed, it was a transplant from a universal system. If there were such severe technical defects, they should have been discovered under the same standards long ago."

"If it isn't a systemic or technical issue, could it perhaps be a human operational error? How is the test pilot doing?"

"He broke his thigh upon landing, he's in surgery... we probably won't be able to speak to him until the day after tomorrow."

"Let's rule out other problems first! Before the elemental energy collapsed, there was smoke trailing from the aircraft, focus on checking the fuel supply and the power supply modules."

...

Although the discussion was technical, no personal attacks were made, but the tone was becoming increasingly acrimonious. The dozen experts in the room disagreed with one another, eventually forming roughly four factions and engaging in endless debate.

"Um, I'm Shen Fei from the secretarial office; could you all please speak one at a time, so I can make notes of this discussion?"

Shen Fei squeezed into the debate with a smile that was awkward yet graceful, carrying a notebook and a pen, with a voice recorder also at work.

With many people speaking, voices overlapped, and even the voice recorder couldn't keep up, recording only the clamor; what was actually said couldn't be clearly understood.

"All right, all right, let's start over and clear our thoughts," President Sun Qiuguo said, raising his voice.

He looked toward Vice President Sun, who nodded in agreement.

The young woman who had just reached their side was the Deputy General Manager of the group company supporting the "Canglong" project and the only daughter of Shen Songling; both officially and privately, she deserved some courtesy.

"Let's start from the beginning and straighten out our thoughts!"

Given that it was Director Shen's young daughter speaking, Director-General Sun just made a courteous remark in passing.

After all, a military contractor was hardly going to compete with the Northern Weapons Industry Group, let alone have business dealings with them; the two were totally different worlds, not connected by any means.

"Sure, he's at Airport 310."

Too honest, Shen's daughter made an offhand comment turn into taking advantage of the situation.

"What? Here, at this place?"

Airport 310 being a military base, it was hardly a place where just anyone could freely enter, Director-General Sun Qiuguo exclaimed in surprise.

Could it be he's not just an employee of the military contractor but also connected to the military?

The experts were collectively flabbergasted.

"He drove me here; the main gate just let us through, and I don't know why?"

╮(╯_╰)╭ Shen Fei threw up her hands, her mind still filled with a giant question mark.

Director-General Sun Qiuguo said, "So that's how it is. Ask Director Shen if it's okay, and then bring your friend over for a look since it's all just junk anyway, nothing really matters."

There must be some military connection; otherwise, how could it be so simple to get through?

"Alright!"

Shen Fei turned around and found her father, Vice President Shen Songling of the corporation.

"Director Shen!"

"What's the matter? Secretary Shen!"

The father and daughter were indeed strictly business-like.

Secretary Shen tentatively asked, "The friend who drove me here might be able to help analyze the crash cause; should we invite him over for a look?"

Shen Songling immediately shook his head and said irritably, "Nonsense, how can we just let outsiders get involved with company secrets?"

Only his own daughter dared to speak so; anyone else would have been criticized by now.

"I've asked Director-General Sun, and he said we could have a look."

Shen Fei, considering another hand on deck as beneficial and seeing her father's constant frown, guessed the crash had dealt a significant blow to the entire project.

"Recklessness; aren't you afraid of 'Canglong' project's being leaked?"

Shen Songling was alert and did not easily relent.

"My friend is a pilot and maintenance technician with the military contractor, and also a Metal Ability User; don't worry, he's very tight-lipped. Oh, and 'Ah Mao' was a gift from him."

In Teacher Shen Fei's view, Chen Fei had never been a flamboyant person but rather very steady and low-key, always trustworthy and reliable. Read chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

She spoke and then stomped her foot.

"Aw!"

The black-furred wolf emerged from the shadow at her feet, grinning foolishly, smelling strongly of hotpot — leftovers and all, everything cheap went to it.

"Really... a supernatural power user? A Metal Elemental Psychic Power user?"

Shen Songling finally remembered, recalling the young man his daughter had mentioned meeting while teaching.

However, what he valued even more was the identity as a supernatural power user.

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