Chapter 29: Chapter 29 Ma: I am not alone in my path!_1

"Oh?"

Lin Ju was somewhat puzzled. One aircraft for manned training, another for transport—how could that not be enough?

"You see, you said you were in a hurry, right? So, there must be a lot of zero-gravity training, correct?"

Lin Ju nodded. Time was pressing, so of course they needed to fly several more times.

Wang Zhi immediately put on a ’just as I thought’ expression:

"That’s right. Drawing 154 is an old airplane after all. To be honest with you, the maintenance process after each flight is longer and more meticulous than for new airplanes. High-intensity flying like current commercial aviation carries risks, especially when you have to perform continuous parabolic flights.

So, I suggest you’d better rotate between two aircraft to greatly improve safety and also reduce some wear and tear on the airframe. Moreover, the price is not expensive. Preparing a plane requires changing quite a few spare parts, roughly 1.8 million; thereafter, each flight—adding up the pilot’s, ground crew’s wages, and the cost of maintenance and fuel—comes to a total of ten... twenty thousand.

This price is definitely cheaper than what airlines would charge, and we don’t need to go through any approval procedures to fly; within area 96533, we can fly wherever we want. Even applying for a flight path is just a matter of making a quick call, very convenient, and we’d give it to you for free."

Lin Ju did some quick calculations. Three planes would cost 5.4 million to prepare, and at 200 thousand per flight, 5 million would cover 25 flights, more than enough to complete the training and have a special aerospace aircraft field.

This was in line with his target of investing 10 million in the budget, and it even felt somewhat cheap.

The few commercial airlines he had contacted either were unwilling or demanded exorbitant fees. An old 737 cost 350 thousand per flight, and they weren’t willing to make extensive modifications. Scheduling flight paths and times was also tricky; there was simply no sincerity.

Moreover, from a safety perspective, it was the right thing to do. While it’s true that properly maintained passenger planes can be used for forty or fifty years, with Drawing 154, well...

However, to show his capitalist nature, Lin Ju still had to bargain.

"Captain Wang, the cost for these three aircraft exceeds our budget. I’m afraid we can’t accept the price of 1.8 million per plane; that’s enough to buy more than half of an aircraft.

How about this: 5 million in one go for all three planes, what do you say?"

When Wang Zhi first heard Lin Ju haggling, he tensed up, especially knowing that he had initially quoted a high price, making him feel somewhat guilty. But as soon as he heard Lin Ju’s final offer, his face instantly stiffened, and he shook Lin Ju’s hand with a grinding teeth expression:

"Mr. Lin, this price does put us in a bit of a bind. But who can resist the deep bond between the military and civilians?

If it’s to prepare the airplanes, I won’t make any profit. From thereafter, if each flight could just yield a little extra to give our comrades a better meal, that would be enough."

Seeing the shabby state of the airport and recalling the remoteness of Ulanha Mountain deep in the grasslands, Lin Ju completely believed that Captain Wang, with his almost fierce appearance, had made up his mind to only earn a modest sum. Besides, they had waived the airspace application fees as well.

"Thank you, thank you, Captain Wang. It’s a stroke of luck for private companies like us to have you on board!"

"No need to thank me; this is all for our noble cause of manned spaceflight.

Hey, Zhang! Quickly go to the herder’s house and buy a few sheep. Tonight, we’re treating Mr. Lin to some of the grassland’s freshest beef and mutton! Remember to buy lamb, don’t bring back an old sheep!"

"Yes!"

Having no choice but to yield to the enthusiasm of the comrades at the Ulanha Mountain repair station, Lin Ju also stayed for a sumptuous meal of roasted whole sheep, tangy horse milk wine, and experienced the grassland customs of dancing and campfires.

When Lin, exhausted, fell asleep late at night in his room at the base, Wang Zhi, who had held back all day, returned to his barracks, clenched his fists, looked up at the sky, and laughed uproariously, startling the few officers who came to check on the situation enough to shrink their necks.

After laughing heartily for a good while, Wang Zhi turned to the several lieutenants and ensigns who came to him with a joyful expression, erasing the tough exterior he maintained during the day.

"C... Captain?"

"Oh, it’s you guys. Come on, grab another plate of peanuts, I’ll tell you how we made a fortune!"

The officers, upon hearing this, were also very excited—hastily brought over some snacks to accompany the drinks, eager to hear the details of the deal from Wang Zhi.

"Let me tell you, Xinyuan Company ordered three planes. Guess how much they’re willing to pay for the preparation?"

Watching the others shake their heads, Wang Zhi held up five fingers.

"Five million, a full five million! Deputy Chief Zhang, tell me how much we can make!"

"Hiss!"

The called-up deputy chief inhaled sharply and started calculating with his fingers:

"Sure, Drawing 154 is a bit old, but fixing the electrical piping will cost at most twenty or thirty thousand. The engines... ignoring inventory costs, let’s say one hundred thousand to refurbish each, spare parts can be coordinated with allies at no cost, labor... what we charge is peanuts. Refurbishing one aircraft and even upgrading its avionics wouldn’t exceed five hundred thousand, so for three, that’s one and a half million.

Five million, five... five million. Ah."

"Deputy Chief, Deputy Chief, what’s wrong with you!"

"Quick, pinch his philtrum!"

It took a good while for Deputy Chief Zhang to recover, as he clutched his chest, steadied his spirit, and asked again:

"What about flying, how much per flight?"

"Two hundred thousand! Our cost is at most seventy thousand, so we make a profit of one hundred and thirty thousand each time!"

"Ah!"

Deputy Chief Zhang collapsed once more.

...

The next day, Lin Ju was about to leave, and Wang Zhi expressed his regrets because one Drawing 154 had already been readied. If only he would wait a bit to test-fly it, Lin Ju could have experienced a ride back on a private plane.

Although the latter was tempted, just thinking about the several major accidents involving Drawing 154... forget it, life is precious, so he politely declined.

He needed to return to the factory to watch the test launch of New Yuan 1B.

New Yuan 1B, a two-stage liquid oxygen kerosene rocket, with a diameter of 3.5 meters and a height of 39 meters, also known as X1B.

It utilized the K120V type reusable engine: the K120 itself already had significant potential for reuse, only the ignition system was slightly modified, and after one week of ground tests, it was mounted onto the rocket.

Even more crucial were the four black struts clinging to the body of New Yuan 1B, which would serve as support legs when the rocket returned for recovery.

The core of New Yuan 1B lay in the recovery control system from the System Engineer and the RX01 data bus, which surpassed the current human standard 1553B.

Compared to the 1553B, it had a larger bandwidth, stronger anti-jamming capabilities, double the capability for dealing with multiple channels simultaneously, and comprehensively enhanced reliability.

The maiden launch of New Yuan 1B was very ambitious, aiming to test a new 3.5-meter rocket body, the experimental K120V type reusable engine, grid fin steering for precision landing, high strength support legs, and other features, with an audacity paralleling the Soviet Union’s launch of the N1 rocket.

But the System Engineers were brimming with confidence, because based on their experience and the System’s reliable technical data, the success rate for New Yuan 1B’s launch was 98.9%, and the recovery success rate was 97%; definitely worth the gamble.

Besides, testing everything at once is economical, right?

This last point finally persuaded Lin Ju, leading him to approve the launch of New Yuan 1B.

The launch should go smoothly; the recovery was in the wilderness, so even if it blew up, it would just be a few tons of fuel, and liquid oxygen and kerosene wouldn’t cause pollution; the local government could also approve it.

Three days before the launch, the rocket was undergoing final testing and preparations for transport in the assembly workshop. At the same time, New Yuan Aeronautics also made the launch public.

Having a real rocket on display instantly stirred up waves in the Aerospace community, and even Ma shared and liked it on Little Blue Bird:

I’ve blown up so many rockets; at last, there’s someone to share the jeers and taunts with me!