Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 402, 400: Fang Wen's high-altitude parachute jump, new loans and procurement.
The original price of $6 was negotiated down to $7.2 per aircraft.

Fang Wen was very happy. This was Taishan Aviation's first order in the military industry, which also meant that Taishan had finally made progress in the military industry.

There was an order for a total of four gunship aircraft, with the other three to be delivered within two months. The one he flew in would be sold directly as part of the battle.

Therefore, before leaving, Fang Wen had to teach the Republican pilots how to fly it and teach the first batch of gunners how to use the circling firing mode.

This was not difficult. Over the next two days, Fang Wen completed the technical instruction, and two Republican Army Il-16 pilots mastered the flight mode of circling the lighthouse. A platoon of soldiers specially equipped with this gunship aircraft also learned how to fire around it.

In subsequent live-fire training, Republican pilots successfully completed an attack on the city of Teruel in coordination with ground forces, using this gunboat.

During that offensive, suppressive air fire prevented the Nationalist troops, who were hiding in fortified buildings, from surfacing to fire, allowing the Republican forces to once again penetrate a corner of the city.

At this point, Fang Wen also prepared to leave.

He left five mechanics to be in charge of the aircraft's maintenance and repair, and took Gong Xiuneng on board the gunboat.

Republican pilots flew gunboats to northern Spain, over the Pyrenees Mountains, and quietly appeared over Toulouse in southern France.

Then, the hatch opened, and Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng, carrying parachutes, prepared to jump.

High-altitude parachuting is a skill that all soldiers and officers in the Independent Regiment must master, but Fang Wen, as the regimental commander, has the least amount of time for parachuting training.

Everyone thought Fang Wen was very skilled at skydiving, but in fact, it was his first time skydiving.

Faced with the strong winds, he jumped without hesitation.

Gong Xiuneng then jumped out as well.

The moment Fang Wen jumped out of the plane, his mind went completely blank.

But the next second, his heart started racing.

My body is falling at high speed, and strong winds are blowing against me. Because of the airflow, I am involuntarily spinning around.

Fang Wen recalled the contents of the airborne training manual he had written: bend your knees forward at a 45-degree angle and hug your chest with both arms.

He quickly controlled his body to perform the standard movements.

Then, silently count down the time in your mind and wait for the umbrella.

The feeling of weightlessness was fading, but the vineyard below was rapidly magnifying on his retina. At that moment, he felt like an aerial bomb crashing to the ground.

The countdown in his mind finally reached 10, which meant that he was currently in the twelfth second of free fall. His right hand groped for the parachute buckle on his abdomen.

The impact of the parachute opening caused my body to freeze eerily in mid-air, and the snapping sound of the taut parachute lines made my teeth ache.

The previously upside-down world suddenly returned to its original state, and the parachute unfurled into a full dome.

Subsequently, the high-speed fall turned into a gentle descent.

Fang Wen, with his hands on the parachute lines, twisted his body and looked around.

Gong Xiu was able to open his parachute from a distance of fifty meters.

Only then did the tension from Fang Wen's first skydive subside.

Actually, with his current physical condition and mental strength, dealing with skydiving is not difficult at all; it's just the psychological pressure he hasn't experienced before.

He then grabbed the parachute lines and controlled the direction of descent.

Starting from an altitude of 1500 meters, the speed gradually decreased, and it drifted over the city of Toulouse, past the spire of the Church of Saint-Cernan, and over the test airfield of the Devatina Aircraft Company.

Several people were already waiting for Fang Wen by the side of the track below, waving at the sky.

At an altitude of 800 meters, Fang Wen began adjusting the traction rope, assuming a rotating descent posture.

In the last thirty meters, I bent my knees to cushion the impact, and only extended my legs to run up just before contact with the ground. After a short run, the descent energy dissipated, and I finally landed safely and smoothly.

Meanwhile, Gong Xiuneng also landed smoothly.

At that moment, Emil de Vatina walked over from the runway and said loudly with a smile, "Fang, I didn't expect you to come to my company this way. I thought you were landing a plane."

As Fang Wen untied the parachute, he replied, "It's my fault. The telegram wasn't clear enough. I'm sorry to have bothered you."

“It’s alright.” Emil de Vatina walked up to Fang Wen and said with emotion, “If I were younger, I would definitely follow in your footsteps and go on adventures. You know, Paris is full of stories about your military adventures.”

"My military adventure story?" Fang Wen asked, puzzled.

"Come on, let's go inside and talk."

The two then went into the company's office building next to the runway and chatted about interesting things that had recently happened in Paris in Emil de Vatina's office.

According to Emir de Vatina, it was all just a coincidence.

The incident began when a German advisor working in China returned to Europe. Due to his political views, he could not return to Germany and remained in Paris.

Then the German advisor, who loved storytelling, recounted war stories from the East.

As a firsthand witness, he described the fierce battles fought in China to the French.

The battle involving hundreds of thousands, even millions of people was indeed very attractive, making him a celebrity in Parisian social circles.

Later, when large-scale battle descriptions became less appealing, the German advisor began to recount some specific battle stories.

Among them was Fang Wen and his Independent Regiment; the content mainly consisted of what was reported in the newspapers.

Perhaps it was the more compelling literary descriptions that made Fang Wen and the Independent Regiment's battle stories so popular in Paris.

After listening to Emir de Vatina's words, Fang Wen stroked his chin.

This is a good thing; we need international recognition to help our business develop further.

In the commercial world of the future, no one will dislike this kind of free promotional traffic.

This brand recognition can at least help him promote semiconductor products and let more French people know about Taishan Airlines.

He asked, "Emil, could I borrow a plane? I want to fly to Paris."

"I'm going to Paris too, let's go together."

The two walked out of the office chatting and laughing. Fang Wen was about to call Gong Xiuneng, who was waiting outside, when he heard Emil de Vatina say, "The plane isn't here. Come with me to another place."

Immediately afterwards, Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng got into Emil de Vatina's car and drove out of the airport.

The car drove towards Toulouse and came to the banks of the Garonne River, which runs through the city.

Driving north along the river, Émile de Vatina explained, “The military wants me to design a new carrier-based seaplane to replace the existing Loire 210 seaplane. I know you have extensive experience in this area, and I hope you can offer some valuable suggestions when you fly it later.”

I see. Fang Wen wanted to see the seaplane designed by his colleagues, so he immediately agreed.

Ten minutes later, the car stopped at a small seaplane base on the upper reaches of the Garonne River.

An experimental seaplane was docked there.

This thing looks a lot like the D500 fighter jet designed by Emil de Vatina.

(D500)

The wings have been modified, appearing to be folding wings, and are welded to the floats below.

Fang Wen frowned at this design.

He used a metaphor to describe it.

"It looks like a little bird wearing giant slippers."

Emil de Vatina nodded: "I'm not good at seaplanes. To achieve the buoyancy requirements, I can only make the floats bigger." Fang Wen didn't say anything; he planned to discuss it after he had flown the plane.

The three then boarded the plane.

This experimental aircraft has an expanded interior space.

The upper cockpit can seat one pilot, and the lower space can accommodate two more people, though it's a bit cramped.

In order to get Fang Wen's advice, Emil de Vatina didn't care about the discomfort and squeezed into the narrow space under the plane with Gong Xiuneng.

Immediately, Fang Wen started the aircraft and accelerated to take off over the water.

After takeoff, the plane flew north and took two hours to reach Paris.

The plane then landed on the Seine, attracting the attention of travelers along the riverbank.

After the plane landed, Fang Wen went ashore and spoke with Emil de Vatina, who had just emerged from the belly of the plane.

"Your seaplane design uses folding wings, which is very advanced, but the actual effect is not good and it has a significant impact on buoyancy. I suggest you change it back. In addition, although the large floats increase buoyancy on the water surface, they also generate more drag during takeoff. Furthermore, such large floats will affect the flight of the aircraft. A larger air contact area will generate more air resistance. I suggest you work on the watertight compartment design to minimize the volume of the floats."

Listening to Fang Wen's words, Emir de Vatina took out his notebook and took careful notes. Afterwards, Fang Wen said goodbye and left.

After leaving the path along the Seine, Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng hailed a taxi and headed directly to the Ritz Hotel.

In the lobby of the Ritz Hotel, the lobby manager took the initiative to greet Fang Wen.

"Hello Mr. Fang, the person you are meeting will not arrive in Paris until tomorrow. We have arranged a suite for you, please come upstairs with me."

Fang Wen nodded without saying anything, and followed the lobby manager into the elevator with Gong Xiuneng.

They were then taken to a hotel suite to rest.

In this era, there were no star ratings or classifications like presidential suites; suites were already the best accommodations available at the Ritz Hotel.

The exquisite and luxurious decorations in the room broadened Gong Xiuneng's horizons.

He couldn't help but ask, "Commander, these things must be very valuable."

Fang Wen glanced at it and replied, "Probably. Don't think too much about it. Take a shower first, and I'll take you out to eat later."

"Where do I live?" Gong Xiuneng asked.

The suite had two floors, but Fang Wen didn't choose one and made a bedroom on the second floor himself. Gong Xiuneng simply chose a room on the first floor.

After washing up and changing into clean clothes, the two carried the case containing the transistor radio out and enjoyed a sumptuous dinner in the hotel restaurant.

The next day, at 10 a.m.

The suite doorbell rang, and Gong Xiuneng went to open the door. A tall man stood outside.

"Please tell Mr. Fang that representatives from the three consortia have arrived. They are eager to see the results."

Immediately afterwards, Fang Wen, carrying a briefcase, went with the man to the top floor to meet with representatives of the three conglomerates.

The people who came were very important; they were the same people who had signed contracts with Fang Wen last time.

Edmund Morgan, Alexander Rockefeller, Victoria Mellon.

The three looked very energetic, which was somewhat inconsistent with their age, and they had obviously used a secret treasure to get rid of their illnesses.

Victoria Mellon spoke up, saying, "Fang, there are some things we need to make clear. Although your stuff is very useful to us, if we want to get the follow-up loan, we have to follow the agreed contract."

“That’s what I think too.” Fang Wen opened his briefcase directly. “The product I’m bringing this time will be epoch-making. I call it a semiconductor radio.”

As he spoke, he took out a ten-centimeter-long transistor radio from his suitcase, which had been optimized and made a little smaller.

Looking at the transistor radio, Edmund Morgan got up, walked over, took the radio, and asked, "Is there anything special about it?"

Fang Wen first demonstrated how to use it, and then explained:
"The core of a semiconductor radio lies in the use of semiconductor devices, which greatly reduces the size of the radio, making it much smaller than traditional vacuum tube radios and more suitable for home and personal use."

As he spoke, he took out another semiconductor radio. “Radio technology is impacting all of humanity, and everyone is benefiting from the convenience it brings. Television, radio, and telegraph allow people to access a wealth of information without leaving their homes. However, devices based on vacuum tube technology are bulky and inconvenient to use in daily life and work. Semiconductor radios are different; they can be held in your hand and run on dry cell batteries. People can carry them and receive broadcasts in any environment. I call them portable devices.”

Representatives from the three foundations discussed this matter.

They have a good eye; they saw the advantages of new technologies and equipment and realized the commercial value they bring.

Alexander Rockefeller asked, "You just mentioned semiconductor technology. Is it possible that this technology can replace vacuum tube technology in devices other than radios?"

Fang Wen nodded: "Indeed, but I will not promote this technology to the outside world. At present, there will only be Taishan brand semiconductor products in the world."

The discussion then moved on to how to profit from this new technology.

Fang Wen said, "I will launch a home portable transistor radio, as well as a pocket radio. All products will be exclusively manufactured by Taishan's factory and then sold through Taishan Airlines' European branch. As for the United States, I will give the sales rights to Taishan International."

At this point, Fang Wen had finished explaining the product and was now just waiting for the results from the three consortia.

The three conglomerates then discussed this matter.

They highly value new technologies and are aware of the wealth and changes they will bring.

Therefore, they not only wanted to be lenders, but also wanted to get involved.

Edmund Morgan asked, "Semiconductor technology, can you sell it?"

Fang Wen shook his head at this.

"No. At least until the war ends, I must guarantee the exclusive use of the technology. Only in this way can we ensure that the Japanese aggressors will not acquire this technology for their war of aggression."

The three foundation representatives expressed their understanding of this.

But they came up with a compromise.

"We do not require you to transfer semiconductor technology during the war, but you must obtain the right to purchase the technology first after the war ends."

I'm coming.

Fang Wen couldn't help but be moved.

Semiconductor technology will flourish after the war; we have only gained an early advantage. Scientists from other countries will surely be able to develop semiconductor technology in the future.

I could agree to that request and use it as leverage to get what I want.

He smiled.

"I want Pratt & Whitney's engine production technology, as well as more engines and other raw material supplies."

Given China's current industrial base, it's impossible for Pratt & Whitney to produce engines domestically. Fang Wen simply wanted to acquire some technological reserves.

His main objective was still to secure various resources.

It should be noted that after the outbreak of the full-scale War of Resistance against Japan, the United States declared neutrality and prohibited the export of weapons and military equipment loaded on American ships.

The supplies I obtained were all purchased in the name of overseas companies and then shipped to Yangon.

Even so, the procurement of supplies became increasingly difficult in the later stages, which was a good opportunity to acquire a new batch of supplies.

Without any hesitation, the three consortia agreed immediately, as the growth of Taishan Airlines was in their best interest.

With this, Fang Wen gained access to more channels for procuring supplies.

Therefore, he decided to use the newly acquired loan for large-scale procurement.

(End of this chapter)