Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 455, Section 451: Pan Jiafeng's Wedding, Modeled After the German Bf-109 Fighter Jet

Taishan Airlines' new headquarters in Yangon has suddenly become bustling with activity.

The employees all received invitations to attend the wedding of Pan Jiafeng, a former employee of the company's shipping department, in three days.

Everyone at headquarters knew that Pan Jiafeng was Fang Wen's apprentice, so they weren't surprised that the general manager was personally arranging the wedding.

Fang Wen and Kuang Mingzhu also took this very seriously, considering everything about the wedding as elders.

After discussion, the couple decided to have a purely Chinese-style wedding.

The man is in Yangon, and the woman is in northern Myanmar.

At that time, Fang Wen will act as the wedding coordinator, taking Pan Jiafeng to the bride's family home in northern Myanmar to fetch his apprentice's fiancée and bring her to Yangon for the wedding in a lively and festive manner.

A wedding wasn't enough; the newlyweds also wanted a wedding house, so Fang Wen got them a large three-bedroom house in the Yangon Industrial Park.

With this plan in place, wedding preparations began.

At Yangon's sea airport, where the morning mist had not yet dissipated, the wedding procession prepared to depart.

Fang Wen, as Pan Jiafeng's mentor, served as the head of the wedding procession.

There were 15 people attending. I was in charge of the wedding procession, Shao Sichen was the photographer, and Manager Liu led the groomsmen.

After checking the number of people and confirming that there were no problems, Fang Wen said, "Let's get on the plane and bring the bride back."

The group walked into the plane.

Pan Jiafeng, the protagonist of the wedding, finished speaking with his parents and then jogged over.

“Master, my parents want me to thank you. Without your and your wife’s help, my wedding with Shen Shuyun wouldn’t have been so lively.”

"You're bringing this up again. Marriage is a major life event, so of course it should be handled properly. Let's go, let's set off."

Fang Wen helped Pan Jiafeng onto the plane and said goodbye to his wife and Pan Jiafeng's parents who were seeing him off.

He then flew the seaplane to the base in northern Myanmar.

Two and a half hours later, the plane arrived over the production base in northern Myanmar.

Today, the base in northern Myanmar, after large-scale construction by thousands of people, has a main ammunition factory, a semiconductor factory, and the Taishan Research Institute.

The second phase of the aircraft engine plant, the No. 2 aircraft manufacturing plant, is also nearing completion.

The current land area is much larger than when it was purchased from the local indigenous people.

The planes will land in a small, man-made lake in the middle of the park. That is the seaplane base in northern Myanmar, where planes take off and land to transport supplies and personnel.

But now, a large group of semiconductor factory workers and engineers are gathered at the airport.

The woman at the head of the group shouted, "As a member of the semiconductor factory in northern Myanmar, Shen Shuyun is like family to everyone in the factory. We're all here to help."

At this moment, everyone is in their own role at the wedding, and no one brings their usual duties into it.

As the wedding procession walked towards the semiconductor factory, Shao Sishen, with a Kodak camera hanging around his neck, photographed the scene along the way.

When they arrived at the factory, more than a dozen large tables had already been set up; this was the bride's wedding banquet at the semiconductor factory.

The wedding procession was seated at two tables while they waited.

Fang Wen led Pan Jiafeng into the inner room.

There, Shen Shuyun, dressed in a festive red wedding gown, was chatting and laughing with her parents.

Fang Wen smiled and said, "Pan Jiafeng, I don't need to tell you what to call him, do I?"

This is to get the apprentice to change his address.

Pan Jiafeng stepped forward and said, "Dad, Mom, I will take good care of Shen Shuyun."

Upon hearing this, the previous laughter and chatter vanished instantly.

The traditional scene of a daughter getting married is being reenacted.

Shen Shuyun's eyes were slightly red, and then her mother burst into tears, a truly heartfelt display of grief at her wedding.

This scene left Pan Jiafeng somewhat at a loss.

He turned back to look at his master with longing eyes.

Fang Wen didn't know either. Kuang Mingzhu didn't shed a single tear at his wedding, so why was she crying so miserably here?

But he has seen this situation in future TV dramas and short videos.

It's only natural for a mother to be heartbroken and cry when her daughter gets married for the first time in her life.

At this point, you can't stop them. Let the mother and daughter vent their emotions, and then find some of the woman's people to persuade them.

He then asked Pan Jiafeng to go out first, while he spoke with Shen Shuyun's father.

After crying behind closed doors for a while, Shen Shuyun came out at her father's urging.

The bride came out, and the wedding procession continued. After a pre-wedding banquet, the band played music, firecrackers went off, and Pan Jiafeng, along with Shen Shuyun and the wedding party, boarded the plane.

Afterwards, the plane flew back to Yangon, where a wedding banquet was held in the staff canteen on the second floor of the headquarters building.

All the employees at headquarters attended the banquet, and Fang Wen went on stage in front of everyone to give a wedding speech.

"Today, standing here, I am giving this speech as the groom's teacher."

As he spoke, Fang Wen looked at the newlyweds standing beside him.

"At this moment, I am filled with emotion. The image of that 18-year-old high school student comes to mind. That year, he and I accomplished the feat of bombing Japanese warships together. Time flies, and this young man became my apprentice, learning flight piloting skills, participating in company operations and management, and even joining the unit I formed to fight against the Japanese invaders. Back then, he was just a naive and ignorant young man full of enthusiasm for his skills, but now he has grown into a pillar of society capable of standing on his own, and has ushered in such an important moment in his life. I am very gratified. Pan Jiafeng, I have seen all the hard work and effort you have put into your studies and work. You are talented, persevering, and very brave. Now that you have started a family and established a career, I am sincerely happy for you."

Hearing Fang Wen's words, Pan Jiafeng became emotional; every word his master said came from the bottom of his heart.

The speech wasn't over yet; Fang Wen, as usual, spoke quite a bit today.

"Bride Shen Shuyun, from this day forward, you and Pan Jiafeng will embark on a new chapter in your lives together. Jiafeng is straightforward, and perhaps sometimes his actions are not entirely thoughtful. I hope you will be more understanding and forgiving in the days to come. As for Pan Jiafeng, you have married such a wonderful girl; you must cherish and protect her, and never let her suffer the slightest grievance. Husbands and wives should support each other, share joys and sorrows, and walk hand in hand through life's storms. In today's new era, although some old customs have been reformed, the moral obligations between husband and wife and the responsibilities within the family have never changed. May you two live in harmony and mutual respect, making your lives prosperous and your family warm and happy. I also hope that you will continue to excel in your work and life, and that you will soon have a child to continue the happiness and legacy of your family. Finally, I raise a glass to you both, wishing you a happy marriage, a lifelong union, and a long and happy life together!"

After saying that, Fang Wen raised his glass and drank it all in one gulp.

After his speech, the wedding banquet officially began.

Pan Jiafeng led his bride, Shen Shuyun, to one social gathering after another.

Fang Wenze sat back down at the main table with Kuang Mingzhu, Pan Jiafeng's parents, and several senior executives of the company, including Fang Shouxin, Manager Sun, and Shao Sishen.

Watching Pan Jiafeng socialize at each table, drinking heartily, Kuang Mingzhu couldn't help but whisper, "Won't your apprentice get into trouble if he drinks like this?"

Fang Wen suppressed a laugh: "No, he won't get drunk today."

Kuang Mingzhu suddenly realized: "That's not wine!"

"Of course not. Pan Jiafeng's alcohol tolerance is so low, he'd be knocked out after just two cups. To prevent this kid from making a fool of himself at his own wedding, I had the wine switched. This kid can't act at all, he's pretending to be so bold, he even has to drink his fill of water." Fang Wen couldn't help but laugh as he said this.

His hearty laughter led his tablemates to believe he was happy about the wedding, and everyone raised their glasses in celebration.

After the wedding banquet, Pan Jiafeng, who was drunk from drinking and soaking in water, got into the wedding car with the help of his bride and went back to his new house in the Yangon Industrial Park. No one followed him; Fang Wen wouldn't let anyone disturb his apprentice's wedding night.

Next, the young couple enjoyed some time alone, undisturbed by anyone. Because of his apprentice's wedding, Fang Wen stayed home for two days, and his wife didn't go to work during those two days.

But this kind of sweet, romantic life can't last, because adults have too many things to do besides relationships.

Two days later, Fang Wen left his home on the top floor of the new headquarters building, and Kuang Mingzhu returned to her position as deputy general manager.

Everything is back to normal.

Next, Fang Wen will focus his efforts on developing a new type of aircraft.

The new aircraft will use an improved version of the Shiro engine as its power source, which will also mark the beginning of Taishan's independently developed high-speed military fighter jet.

As for the Taishan strategic bomber, which is developed based on the DC-3, its production plan will be postponed until after the mass production of the new Taishan high-speed fighter jet, due to the lack of a supporting escort formation.

But what kind of fighter jet should we develop and manufacture?
Fang Wen had a template in mind.

That was the German BF-109 fighter jet.

This fighter jet is very famous in the history of World War II and was the main fighter jet of Germany.

Fang Wen led the Asian Air Force in battles against BF-109 fighter planes during the Spanish Civil War.

Fang Wen went to great lengths to get the crashed BF-109 fighter jet back to the International Brigades base.

In the following period, Fang Wen used mechanical sensing to perform an internal scan of the BF-109 fighter jet, obtaining a large amount of structural and equipment data about the aircraft.

Fang Wen recorded all of this information separately to prepare for his future development of fighter jets.

Now is the time.

He took out the document and, using the BF-109 fighter jet as a blueprint, made modifications that incorporated his own ideas.

The first step is to determine the design concept.

The core feature of the Bf 109 is its high-speed maneuverability, based on a lightweight airframe and low-drag aerodynamic layout.

Before mastering jet engines and their associated jet thrust technology.

The biggest improvements to aircraft performance lie in the materials and the aircraft's shape.

Fang Wen had already figured out the shape of the aircraft; his mechanical senses told him what kind of streamlined fuselage was best.

He could design a more streamlined fuselage than the Bf 109.

The main problem is still with the materials.

Having flown various fighter jet models, Fang Wen understood all too well the issue of the fighter jet's outer shell material at this time.

Modern fighter jets use duralumin alloy as the main shell material, and some Japanese fighter jets even have wooden wings.

Fangwen's seaplane series also extensively uses duralumin as the aircraft skin.

Gunships, on the other hand, sacrificed speed and maneuverability in exchange for the addition of bulletproof steel plates with higher protective capabilities.

Hard aluminum is not actually the best material. During high-difficulty tactical maneuvers such as turns, yaws, and rolls, the probability of cracks appearing in the fuselage is as high as 30%. Only someone like Fang Wen, who has a special understanding of the internal structure and condition of the aircraft, can minimize the problem.

However, if used by other pilots in high-intensity air combat, it would mean that one-third of the time, the fuselage would crack.

Cracks may not always cause plane accidents, but they can sometimes be extremely dangerous.

Therefore, better skin material allows pilots more room to maneuver.

This is also the fundamental advantage of the new high-speed fighter jet that Fang Wen wants to develop.

Therefore, Fang Wen's technical breakthrough began with the issue of materials.

The hard aluminum alloy that Fang Wen currently possesses is 2024 aluminum alloy purchased from an American aluminum plant.

This aluminum alloy is an improved version of Duralumin (an early hard aluminum alloy).

Its properties are quite good among duralumin.

But it still didn't achieve the effect Fang Wen wanted.

The BF109 fighter jet, however, used the older Dura aluminum alloy, which Fang Wen felt was even better than 2024 aluminum alloy.

Is there some secret involved?

In response, Fang Wen specifically contacted Lin Shuiwang in the United States by telegram, asking him to go to Alcoa to find out the situation.

After learning about the situation, Lin Shuiwang sent a telegram back.

The telegram explained that each airline had its own special heat treatment process when handling aluminum alloys.

These processes and technologies allow aluminum alloys to possess the strength and special properties required.

So that's how it is. That's the secret. That's why German aircraft are generally considered to be more powerful.

Fang Wen couldn't help but think of his own special ability.

Mechanical sensing should be able to understand the changes that occur in hard aluminum alloys during heat treatment!

Immediately afterwards, Fang Wen prepared to use the heat treatment process transmitted by Lin Shuiwang to produce a special aluminum alloy belonging to Mount Tai.

The heat treatment process is not complicated, and Fang Wen immediately began to implement it after acquiring the technology.

He used the reaction vessel from an oil refinery to build a high-temperature smelting furnace and began repeated experiments on 2024 aluminum alloy.

During the experiment, Fang Wen activated his mechanical perception and truly gained a detailed understanding of the aluminum alloy through the equipment.

It was a peculiar state that required a tremendous amount of mental energy to observe changes in the microstructure.

Although this resulted in a huge depletion of his mental energy, Fang Wen persisted because the rewards were equally substantial.

With this extraordinary research and development ability, he quickly understood the material changes during the heat treatment of aluminum alloys and attempted to design his own heat treatment process.

After repeated experimentation, he finally found the process formula.

The new heat treatment process consists of three steps: solution treatment, cold working, and natural aging.

First, heat the alloy to a high temperature of 500℃ to ensure that the copper and magnesium elements inside the alloy are fully dissolved in the aluminum base.

This takes several hours to allow the alloying elements to distribute evenly.

After rapid cooling, this alloy state can be called a saturated solid solution, which has low hardness, good plasticity, but unstable structure.

The next steps are crucial.

Cold working refers to the cold deformation of quenched alloys, such as stretching, bending, or rolling, at room temperature.

This process further enhances the strength of the aluminum alloy.

Finally, there is natural aging, which involves placing the cold-worked alloy at room temperature (20~25℃) for at least 5 days to allow the alloying elements in the supersaturated solid solution to gradually precipitate out and form new metallic properties.

Although the natural aging process is slow, it can achieve good overall performance, improving the strength, toughness, and fatigue resistance of the treated 2024 aluminum alloy.

(End of this chapter)