In 1978, I was admitted to Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 370 Project No. 10: First Flight 12 Years Ahead of Schedule!
Although Li Rui had given the driver a gag order, the Seventh Ministry of Machinery Industry also required those in the know not to discuss it.

Ultimately, news of Xie Wei hitting Li Rui still got out.

Therefore, when Xie Wei graduated with his bachelor's degree in 82, no company approached Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) to recruit him. In fact, the HIT Admissions and Employment Office recommended Xie Wei to several companies that had been looking for him since his sophomore year, but all of them refused.

Under these circumstances, Xie Wei had no choice but to stay at the university and pursue his postgraduate studies.

During Xie Wei's postgraduate studies, Harbin Institute of Technology's Industrial Engineering program began enrolling students nationwide in 82, 11 years earlier than the Industrial Engineering program appeared in the program catalog in 93.

Xie Wei’s undergraduate diploma clearly shows that it is the first undergraduate diploma in industrial engineering from Harbin Institute of Technology.

During his postgraduate studies, Xie Wei shifted his research focus to control science and engineering, a cutting-edge field nationwide that wouldn't appear on the professional catalog until the 1990s.

Xie Wei's punch to Li Rui not only caused the unit that was planning to recruit him upon graduation to give up, but also brought the school's blind expansion to a real halt.

Every day, he works on graduate students' research projects, occasionally scolds the incompetent undergraduate students in industrial engineering, and then shuttles between various projects. Otherwise, he discusses the development plan of the university-enterprise cooperation office with Ge Jianjun and others.

The management methods of the school-enterprise cooperation office and the management of key and complex engineering systems of the school are all included in Xie Wei's research projects.

"...I have always emphasized that industrial engineering must be based on basic science and engineering courses! Mathematics, especially calculus, is the foundation of analysis and the method for solving problems. If you can't even learn calculus, I don't know how you will come up with management solutions for systems engineering when you enter the workforce... After two years of study, out of 29 students in the class, only one passed the math exam, and that was just 60 points. I feel ashamed for you all!"

Xie Wei stood on the podium, facing nearly 30 students from the Class of '84, his face extremely grim.

"Look at the experimental class, and then look at you!"

The school's experimental classes still exist.

As the school's achievements gradually increase, the content of the teaching materials changes almost every year.

Industrial Engineering is a newly established course that involves too many fields. It is almost the most difficult course to study at Harbin Institute of Technology, except for the experimental class. Professional courses such as Mechanical Automation, Computer Science, and Electronic Engineering are only basic courses in this discipline.

The most critical issue is that each graduating class learns the school's latest research findings.

This was also thanks to Xie Wei's special status at the school.

Courses such as advanced mathematics, physics, and chemistry become the most fundamental of the fundamentals.

Those who teach industrial engineering are all big names at the level of department heads or academicians.

These big shots usually do research and supervise master's or doctoral students, but out of respect for Xie Wei, they also have to take time out to teach undergraduates.

For industrial engineering students who have almost no professional foundation and have so many courses that they have to express their opinions, these big shots who usually supervise graduate students will send them to class, and if they are not serious, they will be on a rocket.

Even with the utmost effort, one can only barely maintain the state of being on a plane during class.

If you don't know how to study, or if you slack off a little during your studies, you'll basically fail a course in a semester.

As for rebuilding?

No problem. Students who are repeating the course will be horrified to find that the course is still the same, but most of the content has been changed. The advanced knowledge they learned before has become basic knowledge, making it more difficult to learn.

Students in the experimental class, known for its high academic difficulty and vast amount of knowledge, none of them were willing to choose industrial engineering as their major.

It is now mid-86.

Xie Wei's first class of students, the Industrial Engineering class of '82, has grown from 36 students to only 14. They were fortunate enough to receive an extra year of training from the school for free!

83、84、85三个年级，招生总人数160人，现在还剩下91人……

Of the 42 students initially enrolled in the Class of '84, only 29 remain. Of the 13 who left, 5 transferred to the experimental class, while the rest entered some of the top-ranked undergraduate programs in the university.

These students immediately became top students when they switched to other majors...

After the math exam results came out, Liang Hongling threw a stack of bright red test papers in front of Xie Wei with a dark face.

"Look at your students! Like teacher, like students! They're always so lazy and irresponsible, and their students are just as bad! Each graduating class is worse than the last!"

Liang Hongling's words left Xie Wei with no choice but to awkwardly smile and offer no rebuttal.

The old lady still resents him for not studying math.

I don't know what project Liang Hongling worked on before, she didn't return to school until 83.

Upon seeing the exam content, Xie Wei's lips twitched repeatedly. The students were implicated because of him; much of the content was for graduate students.

"You are the worst class of students I've ever taught! You can't even understand the basics of math..."

Xie Wei repeated these words in front of the students.

Just like what every homeroom teacher said during his school days.

"..."

All the students lowered their heads, not daring to look Xie Wei in the eye.

The homeroom teacher in front of them, who wasn't much older than them, graduated from the school's first experimental class. There were even rumors that the school's experimental class was established because of him.

Even the principal and the party secretary had to put on a smiling face.

It is said that he was forced to stay at the university to teach because he assaulted the director of the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense.

Of course, there were many rumors circulating among the students about Xie Wei.

The real reason why students dare not speak carelessly to Xie Wei is that the professors who supervise master's and doctoral students at the university are always very kind and gentle when discussing technical issues with Xie Wei.

It seems there's no course in the entire Industrial Engineering major that Xie Wei doesn't understand.

A homeroom teacher who possesses both strong professional skills and decent martial arts abilities.

Not to be offended.

They're simply not to be trifled with.

"There will be no summer vacation this year. Everyone will have to retake math, and the required internships cannot be missed. If you still fail the make-up exams before the start of the semester, you'll have to prepare to be a fifth or sixth-year student... In our major, we don't allow students with poor grades to graduate. If you can't handle it, you can switch majors."

At this point, a cruel smile that sent chills down the spines of all the students appeared on his face. After scanning the room, he continued, "Whether you have objections or not is irrelevant. Class leaders, organize yourselves and get all questions answered. I will communicate with the relevant professors and set aside some time in a few days to answer your questions..."

After saying that, he got up and left the classroom without waiting for the students' reactions.

"Ow~"

As soon as Xie Wei left, a chorus of wails erupted in the classroom.

"That devil Xie never intended for us to live at all..."

"Heavens above, please take this guy away! He thinks he's smart, and he considers us all just as smart as him. It's outrageous!"

"Our math skills are almost on par with those of graduate students majoring in mathematics. Hey, class monitor, could you talk to the class teacher and say that we're not smart enough to learn so much advanced knowledge?"

All eyes turned to the class monitor, Zuo Ming.

Zuo Ming was the only one in the class who consistently passed Liang Hongling's math exams. He once asked to learn math from Liang Hongling, but she refused, saying that he was not suited for math.

"Classmates, whoever wants to go find him can go... I can't afford to mess with him."

Zuo Ming hurriedly shook his head, indicating that he couldn't go. "Last time I went to see him, even the doctoral students in electronic engineering were scolded by him so badly that they didn't dare to lift their heads. Professor Huang, who was standing next to him, even thought that Xie the Devil's scolding was too mild!"

"..."

Bitterness immediately filled everyone's faces.

Despite this, no one was willing to ask to change their major. Even in the experimental class, failing grades weren't this serious.

"I scolded them and told them to brush up on their basics during the summer vacation, what do you think?"

Xie Wei looked at Liang Hongling, whose face was dark, with a forced smile.

"I have no idea what you're thinking. They're not here to do research, but mainly for management. Do you really need to make their majors so difficult?"

Liang Hongling raised the question again, which had remained unanswered for a long time.

"How can I manage a project if I don't understand the technical aspects?"

Xie Wei said with a smile, "I was just worried that they wouldn't understand management in the future. With so many projects, management is only now catching up, and we're no longer experiencing delays in project development due to management issues."

"Aren't you afraid you'll end up having to change your major?"

Liang Hongling sighed.

Today's college entrance exam takers have a much stronger foundation than the three classes of students who graduated in the late 1960s when the college entrance exam was first reinstated, but there are fewer "gifted" students like Xie Wei and Xie Rou these days.

In recent years, Tsinghua University, Peking University, and the University of Science and Technology of China have also responded by sending admissions officers to major cities across the country to conduct preliminary investigations before the college entrance examination.

Harbin Institute of Technology is too cold in winter. Even though all the newly built teaching buildings are equipped with heating and the teaching buildings and dormitories are connected by heated corridors, it still doesn't have much of an advantage.

Some projects at major schools, such as Project 10, early warning aircraft, H-300 long-range rocket artillery, and even the Beidou satellite, which has already begun preliminary research, are highly classified and cannot be presented to attract students.

In this era where people study science and engineering to serve their country, neither Tsinghua nor Peking University can compare to the University of Science and Technology of China.

"It's not that bad. They haven't reached their limit yet."

Xie Wei grinned and said, "At least now they are guaranteed at least 7 hours of sleep every day, and the school cafeteria's offerings are much more plentiful than before... Compared to the previous three experimental classes, they are still quite a bit behind."

Liang Hongling didn't say anything more.

Xie Wei rubbed his aching head. Just as he stepped outside, he saw Zhang Mingqiu's assistant, Su Xinping, rushing towards him.

"Director Xie, Director Xie, we've finally found you."

Su Xingping looked anxious.

"What happened?"

"Principal Zhang asked you to come over, but no one answered the phone. I've been to several places."

Su Xinping took several deep breaths to calm himself down. "I don't know the specifics..."

"Xie Wei, hurry up, Project 10's maiden flight is the day after tomorrow."

As soon as Xie Wei entered the office, Zhang Mingqiu excitedly said, "Long Yaohua and leaders from the Air Force and other departments are going to observe the event on-site. You need to get ready."

"Oh?"

Xie Wei was stunned for a moment.

Then he became excited.

Project No. 10!
Almost from the time Xie Wei entered the school for his entrance exams in 78, he began working on various supporting technologies. By the time the project was officially launched in 80, the fighter jet finally made its maiden flight 12 years ahead of schedule.

"Okay! Okay! Okay! Let's set off right away!"

Xie Wei excitedly said "good" three times in a row, nothing else mattered. "As long as Project 10's maiden flight is successful and subsequent test flights are completed, our PL-4GG will have a test platform."

"..."

Zhang Mingqiu hadn't expected that he still couldn't keep up with Xie Wei's way of thinking.

Project No. 10 has received over 400 million yuan in investment from the Air Force and the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense in recent years, while Harbin Institute of Technology has invested over 600 million yuan. This does not include the funding for supporting technology projects.

If it weren't for the fact that Harbin Institute of Technology had received business from the military for its switchboards in the past two years, and that the microcomputer market was still doing quite well, resulting in the sale of over a hundred units, it simply wouldn't have been able to support the enormous expenses.

The maiden flight means we can start getting orders from the Air Force, right?

The funds invested in research and development will then have a chance to be recouped.

However, Xie Wei said that the PL-4GG already had a testing platform.

Xie Wei disregarded everything else at hand. Less than two hours later, he received a notification from Factory 122 that the Y-11 was ready for takeoff, so he and Liu Debao headed towards Factory 122.

After the first prototype of Project No. 10 was produced and the plan was validated, the other prototypes were all produced at Factory No. 132 in Chengdu.

Even the static tests were conducted at Factory 132.

It was all for the purpose of building the production line of Factory 132.

"Actually, the conditions at Factory 112 are better, and the school is also closer to Factory 112..."

Many people didn't understand why Xie Wei insisted on having the fighter jets for Project 10 produced at Factory 132. "Factory 132 has its own technical department, and it has never stopped competing with Institute 611. They are still persisting in improving the J-7..."

"This way we can train the team and accumulate experience."

Xie Wei replied.

They can't just say they're worried that if they put the J-10 in Factory 112 for production, Lockheed Martin will eventually be gone, and the J-20 and other subsequent stealth aircraft like the Ginkgo Leaf will be severely affected, right?
"Sigh~ We are still far behind the international advanced level."

Liu Debao sighed.

Project No. 10 has made many compromises in terms of technical specifications.

The core engine to be used in this project has not yet been successfully developed. As a result, Project 10 can only choose the WS-6G engine, which has a thrust-to-weight ratio of only 7.05, which cannot compare with the imported AL-31 and WS-10 engines.

"Once we have the foundation, we can make improvements little by little. At least there are no problems with the radar; the detection range has reached 110 kilometers."

Xie Wei comforted Liu Debao.

Many of the achievements of the J-9 project were directly applied to Project 10.

The matching pulse-Doppler radar problem remained unsolved. After Professor Liu Yongtan returned to Harbin Institute of Technology in 81 to serve as the school's director of radio, Xie Wei directly approached Professor Liu and personally participated in the design and development of the first active phased array radar in China.

Before Professor Liu Yongtan returned, the school had already begun developing an active phased array radar, but after Professor Liu returned, the investment was increased, almost to the point of spending money.

The test platform used was the J-8II fighter jet!

This has led Factory 112 and the Air Force to consider terminating the Peace Paradigm directly—the pulse-Doppler radar provided by the Americans, excluding the technology, plus fire control radar and avionics, costs as much as $1000 million per set!
If it weren't for Xie Wei's persuasion, this peace initiative, which started ahead of schedule in 82, would have been stillborn.

"coming?"

When Xie Wei's plane landed, no one came to greet him.

Fortunately, the plane taxied to the test workshop at the edge of the runway.

When Xie Wei and his group entered, General Manager Song and others were gathered around a prototype aircraft with a yellow epoxy zinc-rich primer coating on its exterior, conducting final checks before its maiden flight.

"Shouldn't we conduct more gliding tests?"

Xie Wei couldn't take his eyes off the yellow fighter jet that looked exactly like the one he remembered.

The PLA's modern air force will begin with this fighter jet, which is equipped with only one engine and has not yet taken to the skies!
(End of this chapter)