Chapter 145: The Production of Large Aircraft

Inside the Fuyun Materials Technology Industrial Park in Yuanjiang Town, an oversized ultra-high-temperature calcination furnace was blazing fiercely. Even with the barrier of the thick furnace walls, waves of intense heat continuously surged outward in all directions, leaving the Fuyun Group employees working in the vicinity drenched in sweat.

This massive ultra-high-temperature calcination furnace was constructed by the Fuyun Group for a single purpose: to calcine the heavy framework of aerospace planes. The black-gold material is obtained by blending metal powders and ceramic powders with a specialized adhesive, followed by calcination under ultra-high temperatures.

Therefore, in terms of shaping, the material can be directly molded into the skeleton of an aerospace plane. The entire framework can be sent directly into the ultra-high-temperature calcination furnace for calcination, achieving one-step formation and eliminating numerous steps and complications.

Naturally, considering the sheer scale of an aerospace plane, crafting its framework from a single solid block of black-gold material required an equally massive calcination furnace. Specially designed and built, this furnace stood over fifty meters tall, stretched more than a hundred meters in length, and measured several tens of meters in width, rivaling the size of a large building.

Alongside the calcination furnace ran a wide roadway equipped with railway tracks, specially designed as a transport passage to haul the aerospace plane framework to Longling Town. A large, platform-like transport vehicle was built to travel along these laid tracks.

Top scientists Li Qianyu and Yao Tianyi from the Materials Science Research Institute of the Fuyun Group Research Institute were currently examining the data on their computers. Inside the gigantic calcination furnace, the temperature had already exceeded four thousand degrees Celsius, and the calcination of the aerospace plane's framework was basically nearing completion.

"Begin cooling down and prepare for the extraction."

Yao Tianyi reviewed the data item by item, nodded slightly, and gave the order to prepare for extraction.

Inside the colossal ultra-high-temperature calcination furnace, the temperature began to drop sharply, and the roaring flames gradually subsided, revealing a massive black aircraft. Of course, this was merely the framework and outer shell of the aircraft; the interior was hollow, featuring various pre-designed interfaces intended for the installation of other equipment.

The massive doors of the calcination furnace slowly opened. Although the internal temperature had dropped significantly, a wave of intense heat still rushed outward. On the lawn outside the giant furnace, a patch of meticulously landscaped green grass suddenly sparked with numerous embers. A trail of black smoke drifted past, and the grass instantly turned pitch black, scorched by the searing heat wave.

Several huge mechanical arms slowly extended into the furnace to support and lift out the massive aircraft framework forged from black-gold material. Although the black-gold framework looked immensely bulky, it was remarkably lightweight—one of the main reasons why black-gold material was perfectly suited as the primary core material for aerospace planes.

"Cool it down!"

Multiple streams of water were sprayed onto the pitch-black aircraft framework. Although the black-gold material appeared impervious, when the water hit its surface, rolling clouds of steam immediately billowed forth. The immense heat retained within the black-gold material was rapidly released, causing the temperature to drop precipitously. Under the sunlight, the material began to gleam with a metallic and ceramic luster.

A powerful exhaust system blew away the water mist. Soon, Li Qianyu and Yao Tianyi approached with a group of material researchers, holding instruments to begin inspecting the entire framework.

"Whew! I was previously worried that incomplete calcination might occur due to the massive size of the material, but now it seems those concerns were entirely unnecessary. All data and performance metrics indicate that it fully complies with the standards, and it can safely proceed to the next stage."

Several hours later, Yao Tianyi let out a heavy sigh of relief. The calcination of the black-gold material was the most critical step; the larger the structure, the higher the probability of issues arising during calcination, especially since this oversized ultra-high-temperature calcination furnace was being used for the first time and was equally massive in scale.

"Yes, it can be shipped to Longling Town now."

Li Qianyu nodded in agreement, and both she and Yao Tianyi signed off on the materials checkpoint. Because an aerospace plane was involved, a single flaw in any stage could lead to catastrophe. Losing an expensive aerospace plane was a minor matter; destroying precious astronauts would be a disaster.

Therefore, the Fuyun Group implemented a personal accountability system where every single component and material had to be signed off by individuals, ensuring complete traceability.

The gigantic aerospace plane framework was hoisted by mechanical arms and slowly transported onto a platform, which then moved slowly toward the specially constructed roadway.

This massive roadway was exceptionally wide, measuring several tens of meters across. It was fully enclosed with barriers on both sides to prevent people or animals from straying inside. The huge platform traveled along the railway tracks toward the Longling Town Aerospace Center.

In less than twenty minutes, the platform carrying the aerospace plane framework arrived at the aerospace plane manufacturing workshop of the aerospace center. Inside the vast and empty workshop, mechanical arms suspended the black-gold material in the air, initiating the intense and orderly assembly work.

This colossal aerospace plane stretched over fifty meters in length, stood more than thirty meters high, and spanned over thirty meters in width. Its framework was hollow, leaving behind precisely calculated empty slots.

Pre-prepared components were continuously brought in and assembled. These parts had undergone thorough upfront design, and many of them had already been pre-assembled, allowing them to be installed directly.

The first components to be installed were the landing gear struts, which were essential since the aircraft was designed for terrestrial takeoffs and landings. The aerospace plane was massive, and its tires were correspondingly huge, exceeding two meters in diameter. There were three sets of landing gear struts—front and rear—equipped with specially customized tires filled with inert gas rather than standard compressed air like automobile tires.

Next came the installation of the plasma engines. To guarantee sufficient propulsion, a total of six plasma engines were mounted onto the craft, providing ample thrust.

The entire general assembly workshop was exceptionally busy, with rows of mechanical arms operating non-stop. A team of several hundred people worked tirelessly for a full week. Gradually, the empty skeleton of the aerospace plane filled out and took shape, with all kinds of equipment fully installed.

By this time, the exterior of the aerospace plane proudly displayed the Fuyun Group logo alongside a giant serial number: "Hercules 1." According to the design, this aerospace plane possessed a theoretical transport capacity exceeding ten times that of the Stingray-class "Divine Arrow" aerospace plane manufactured by the state. Its colossal hollow cargo bay could even accommodate an entire building.

"Phew! It's finally assembled. I wonder if it can actually fly into the sky?"

Yu Liang gazed at the massive aerospace plane before him, overwhelmed by a deep sense of accomplishment. Being able to participate in the research and manufacturing of such an enormous aerospace plane was something to be proud of for a lifetime.

However, although every aspect seemed flawless, this was the first time such a large aircraft had been produced in this manner, and nothing had yet been verified through practical testing. Furthermore, an aerospace plane was a highly systematic and massive engineering project. Yu Liang's heart remained filled with anxiety regarding whether it could actually fly and successfully enter space.

"What use would it be if it couldn't fly?"

Li Feng appeared quite confident. The "Hercules 1" before him was a massive aerospace plane he had personally participated in designing. Right from the beginning, Li Feng had never intended to dabble in small aircraft; if he was going to build one, it had to be a large aircraft—specifically, one capable of flying directly into space.

To manufacture this large-scale aerospace plane, ignoring other factors, the preliminary investment alone was astronomical. Expenditures included the dedicated oversized ultra-high-temperature calcination furnace, the specialized transport passage, and dedicated transport equipment. Coupled with the fact that Li Feng had immersed himself in the project for seven long months from early November last year up to the present in May 2020, how could he face the civilization seed of a super civilization if he failed to produce tangible results?

"In terms of both time and cost, our aerospace plane has achieved a tremendous success. We manufactured it in just about ten days, and this is merely the beginning. We are not yet fully proficient; once we gain more experience, we can accelerate production even further. Moreover, manufacturing costs have been kept under one hundred million. If it successfully passes test flights, it will be an extraordinary milestone."

Chen Bin stood nearby, meticulously calculating the production time and costs. Because modular and framework designs were adopted, the quantity of components was significantly reduced, enabling rapid assembly and production while drastically lowering costs.

"Whether it can fly will be known with a single test. Load it with batteries and compressed air."

Li Feng nodded without hesitation and gave the order to prepare for the test flight. Because the aircraft was far too massive to undergo wind tunnel testing, Li Feng had already instructed Xiaoying to simulate the flight based on all operational data of the "Hercules 1," confirming that there were zero issues.

The side hatches on both flanks of "Hercules 1" slowly opened, and massive mechanical arms installed the fully charged magnetic-field batteries. Compressed air storage units utilized a similarly streamlined design for easy replacement, perfectly demonstrating the advantages of modular engineering.

After being fueled with energy and compressed air, the aerospace plane was slowly towed onto the giant runway at the aerospace center. Given the immense thrust generated by the aerospace plane, this runway had undergone special design and reinforcement; otherwise, a conventional aircraft runway would likely have failed to withstand the tremendous pressure exerted by the aerospace plane.

"Brother Feng, should we invite senior figures like Liu Shiying to observe?"

Inside the colossal command center, preparations for the upcoming test flight of "Hercules 1" were in full swing: applying for official state test-flight approval, linking to the national BeiDou navigation system for global positioning, conducting final inspections, communication checks, and low-power engine tests.