Return to Hong Kong Island for a Century

Chapter 315 First Batch of 2200 Orders (Second Update)
Regardless, Nick was happy because he had been invited here today. These people definitely had ulterior motives. If the experimental data was better than the crowdfunding data, he would be accused of all sorts of things.

Because of the need to change workstations, all the TV stations moved to the studio.

Those media outlets that strongly supported America's own small aircraft are now in a very awkward position, and they are now explaining in their live broadcasts why no one has ever conducted bird collision experiments on small aircraft.

Because small planes travel at low speeds, the probability of them colliding with birds is low.

At this point, while popularizing science is correct, it has the opposite effect. Low probability does not mean no probability, right?

What about the wooden paddles? Why didn't you mention that?
CBS, on the other hand, used the topic of explaining the difference between wooden and metal propellers, and specifically mentioned that the propellers of the crowdfunded mini-airplane underwent a special process.

"When the propeller blades of the crowdfunded miniature airplane are subjected to overload, the entire blade will shatter due to the special manufacturing process, but because of the special process, it will not form scattered fragments."

"Instead, it will twist into a ball, and special processes have been used at the joints."

"The connection point will release the overload force on the blades, thus preventing the blades from being flung off by the enormous force."

This is actually a matter of materials technology. Some helicopter rotors shatter into countless pieces or filaments when subjected to enormous forces. This is certainly related to the composite materials themselves, but it is also due to materials technology.

That would be a disaster if it really shattered into countless fragments and then was flung away by a tremendous force.

In other words, after being damaged, the material itself will absorb most of the force it receives, leaving little force.

This mainly involves materials and processes, just like the easy-tear openings on packaged food, which are also a kind of process.

In fact, many mechanical parts do not necessarily have to be made that hard. Instead, they are made using temperature processes so that they will automatically break if the force exceeds a certain limit.

It doesn't break immediately when it does, but rather there's a process of releasing force.

Many industrial equipment, as well as other industrial products, are equipped with safety devices.

There are other measures in place to prevent more serious damage to the equipment.

For example, a machining center has a cutting head, a shaft, and a motor.

In the event of an accident, as the boss, would you rather see the cutter head break, the shaft deform, or the motor burn out?

The blade is definitely broken.

Therefore, when the equipment is overloaded, the cutter head will break down immediately, which minimizes the loss.

There's a reason why some pieces of equipment are more expensive than others.

This is because such advanced technology incurs an intangible cost.

Just like later car designs, in the event of a collision, the engine will infiltrate downwards instead of directly hitting the passenger compartment.

So if you see a car accident where the engine is missing, it's very likely a good thing.

Not only was the engine lost, but one side of the tire and rim were also lost.

This is because the engine is facing downwards, the tire explodes, then the wheel hub is lost, allowing the engine to be ejected from this side.

This means that the tire and wheel rim also bear part of the impact force.

Of course, the force of such an impact is great enough that not every violent impact will result in the loss of the engine.

The results will vary depending on the angle and force of the impact.

It's much better than the engine crashing directly into the cockpit.

The engine's connecting parts have been specially designed so that, at the moment of impact, the force is transmitted to the connecting parts, and the design of the connecting parts and the engine compartment allows the engine to move downwards.

On the one hand, it can absorb the impact force, and on the other hand, it can prevent the engine from intruding into the cab under the impact of a huge force.

Of course, this is not 100% safe; it only reduces the risk of injury caused by engine intrusion into the cockpit during an accident.

Any measure taken is aimed at reducing the probability of injury to people after an accident.

However, this is subject to various conditions; it cannot be assumed that if safety measures are in place, everything will be fine.

Moreover, the situations you encounter on the road with cars are unpredictable. Sometimes, even if you follow the rules, what if someone tries to hit you?
You are the primary person responsible for your own safety.

The material processing for propeller blades is too difficult for aircraft manufacturing companies at this stage, because it requires a massive amount of data to create a data model.

The force of the blade impact, the speed of the impact, as well as the connecting parts, the structure of the blade itself, and so on.

Li Song got this from a second-hand platform; the designers there just found the existing data.

As long as the processing and manufacturing technology does not exceed the level of this era, it is acceptable.

At the scene, engineers from several aircraft manufacturers repeatedly confirmed that the equipment was working properly, the bird strike procedure was working properly, and the supermarket's delivery list was also working properly.

Then, half an hour later, the lab switched to a Beechcraft engine.

The simulated bird collision also failed, under the watchful eyes of the audience and others.

Five 50-gram chicken legs sent the aluminum alloy propeller flying.

The audience erupted in an uproar. What?
Then the live stream had to stop.

Several companies had no choice but to quickly ask experts from General Electric to see what was going on.

General Motors has a dedicated bird impact testing laboratory.

However, public opinion has already been formed; after all, it's a live broadcast.

That evening, CBS broadcast the assembly process of the Panda plane at the crowdfunding club, and it successfully started up and made its first flight.

They also invited members to visit the crowdfunding club to experience it firsthand, because the price is determined by the number of orders placed.

These high-wing propeller planes are all pretty much the same. The Panda plane doesn't have a strut, and it has a more streamlined shape with a black and white fuselage.

It looks simpler and smoother than similar products.

Meanwhile, in Kansas, GM engineers arrived at the test site, took one look around, and quoted a price of one million US dollars.

The three small aircraft manufacturers had no choice but to accept the offer.

Once the general engineer signed the contract, he pointed out the most critical issue: the chicken legs needed to be thawed.

He even picked up a chicken leg and smashed it on the ground...

The people from several small aircraft companies were dumbfounded. What was this?

So they took a million dollars?

It's that simple?
It turns out the supermarket delivered frozen chicken legs, and since it was also very cold here at this time, these chicken legs were basically ice blocks.

When Nick received the news, he laughed out loud, never expecting the reason for his failure to be so simple.

Several media outlets that strongly support the domestic aircraft industry reported on the story overnight.

However, this did not stop the stock price from falling and orders from being cancelled. Although the reason was found, if they couldn't even do something so simple well, how well were they making the airplanes?
The next day, the mecha aircraft manufacturing plant started another live stream, and this time the data was excellent, but unfortunately, Panda Aircraft already had a bad reputation.

Nick rushed back to the crowdfunding club in New York because more than a thousand people were coming to see the Panda plane that day.

Of course, Nick also called Li Song and told him about it as a joke.

After receiving Nick's phone call in Hong Kong, Li Song chuckled. It's normal for experiments to have unexpected problems. Failure is the norm; success is rare.

The main problem is that these aircraft manufacturers are unwilling to spend the money. If they were willing to spend the money, they would go directly to General Electric's laboratory.

Of course, this definitely requires an appointment, as several aircraft manufacturers want to demonstrate as quickly as possible that their aircraft are safe.

BMW is already working overtime to produce the Panda aircraft, so the Panda aircraft's nameplate will say BMW manufacturing plant.

The engine nameplate also bears the BMW logo.

Of course, Li Song still tried his best to outsource some less important parts.

For example, the hatch, glass, instruments, and pesticide and fertilizer modules.

Originally, Li Song wanted to grant the license to the manufacturers in Amer for free, but the people in mainland China wanted to do it themselves to earn foreign exchange and indicated that they would give priority to the materials.

So Li Song handed it over to the mainland, but the quantity wasn't very large.

The landing gear, tires, and other components are all outsourced to other manufacturers.

Anyway, the landing gear of these small planes won't retract.

BMW's main production facilities include fuselages, wings, and powertrains.

Li Song is very much looking forward to seeing how many orders the Panda aircraft will receive.

Meanwhile, the crowdfunding club in New York is bustling with activity. The club is located in a suburb of New York, in a place that used to be a factory. The club consists of two large factory buildings, a runway, and is also close to the sea and a port.

Nick received a warm welcome upon his return.

"Nick, this plane is amazing."

"Yes, I never imagined that an airplane could be so simple. I brought my two children here to assemble our own airplane."

"Nick, you're amazing."

"Nick, you did a great job."

“Nick, I never expected that the East could produce such an excellent aircraft. The one-piece cast fuselage is simply a work of art.”

"Yes!"

"Nick, I need an airplane!"

"Nick!" Nick returned to the club and found the open space filled with cars, small planes circling low around, and many people watching from below. Some were waiting for the test flight, and two technicians were showing everyone all the parts of the Panda plane, all of them open for display.

“Nick, I’ve temporarily hired ten waiters, but I don’t think it’s enough,” said the club’s vice chairman, who was also a former congressman.

"Yes!"

"More than two thousand people came, and I think there will be even more tomorrow."

"How many orders are there?"

"Anyway, it's already over a thousand. Such a good plane, and so cheap. I don't think it's necessary to make it this good and then lower the price a bit, maybe that would be better."

“Yes!” Nick nodded.

The crowdfunding club has also attracted the attention of some media outlets, as well as local politicians, since those who can afford to buy small planes are not ordinary people.

The crowdfunding club had over three thousand members by the second day, and the small plane was being test-driven from morning till night.

Of course, you need a pilot's license to test fly. The layout inside is the same as other aircraft, and the operation is also the same.

Of course, there were still technicians on board. This small plane only travels at a speed of about 200 kilometers per hour, while some cars on the highways in America travel at that speed. Of course, airplanes have their advantages, such as straight-line flight.

Nick's CBS television station also broadcast the crowdfunding club's success, attracting even more viewers who quickly fell in love with the Panda plane, praising its superior technology, design, appearance, and materials compared to its competitors.

Most importantly, it's cheap!
Of course, CBS also sent these news materials to Hong Kong Island, and Phoenix TV in Hong Kong broadcast them every day, which shows that this is the influence of the boss. What do the bosses of other TV stations do?

At the end of February, Li Song received the first batch of crowdfunding orders for small airplanes, 2200 in total. He had enough money to pay for these in full, but he still needed to communicate with the bank about the remaining orders and wait for the safety assessment results of the airplanes.

Li Song gave Nick a direct answer: the price for 2200 aircraft was $15000 each, excluding shipping and pesticide/fertilizer modules.

If the order reaches 4000 units, the price can be $14000; if it reaches 5,000 units, the price can be $12500; and if it reaches 10,000 units, the price can be $10,000.

Li Song isn't competing for market share, he's crashing the market. Aramco's annual sales of small planes are only a few thousand.

The key question is, at this price, how can other aircraft manufacturers survive?

Would anyone buy other planes at this price?

Li Song originally just wanted to make a quick buck and leave, since in a few years Amer International would be at odds with the mainland and he wouldn't be able to do business in Amer International's market anymore.

Lost money?

It's fortunate that Li Song was willing!

This is much better than running any amount of advertising. If there were tens of thousands of such aircraft, and these aircraft have a long service life, it would be equivalent to running that much advertising for many years.

Nick answered the phone and immediately asked, "Mr. Li, about the yacht?"

"Wait a minute before we talk about that. If you talk about it now, won't those yacht manufacturers team up with the aircraft manufacturers?" Li Song quickly said on the phone.

“Okay!” Nick understood immediately after hearing it.

"I'll start working on it here, and once the plane issue is resolved, we can produce the finished product directly," Li Song said.

"Okay, okay, thank you for your trouble, Mr. Li." Nick chuckled to himself; the crowdfunding club already had over 60,000 members.

In America, as long as you have enough influence, there are plenty of people who will try to win you over. Nick had a crazy idea in his mind: why don't I run for senator too?

It's definitely better to become a city councilor first.

Of course, all of this requires the approval of the club members, as long as they approve.

How do you gain the approval of these members? Of course, by continuously bringing them benefits.

Li Song is a key figure.

Of course, Nick didn't know how the relationship between the US and mainland China would develop, since it seems that the relationship between the two countries is gradually improving.

It wasn't until after the Flying Bear military exercise this year that America truly began to accept the mainland.

It can be said that the relationship between Aramco and the mainland is entirely due to the bear; otherwise, it would not have been so good. It is precisely because of the easing of relations in recent years that China has gradually become the world's factory.

Although Aramco has tried to decouple from mainland China several times in history, supporting one neighboring country one moment and another the next, it has been unable to support any of its neighbors.

Furthermore, with Aramco's financialization, there must be a manufacturing sector to supply goods.

Of course, the most important thing is capital!

Capital is all about profit; politics cannot change the direction of capital, but capital can influence politics, especially in countries like Afghanistan.

(End of this chapter)