I Found A Planet

On the 8th of April, major news suddenly spread like wildfire on the Internet. The first domestic large-scale passenger aircraft C919 announced that it had broken the ban on sales of advanced engines by foreign companies into Z country. It had successfully achieved mass production! The news caused a flurry of heated discussions on the Internet. Many netizens did not believe this to be true.

“How is this possible? It has only been a short time since the sales ban was implemented!”

“They probably bought the engine from the Russians. This really is the fastest way to solve the problem.”

“No, no! The news release said that the aircraft uses the domestic CJ-1000 large bypass ratio engine. The performances of its thrust, fuel consumption, working lifespan, and other functions are comparable to the LeapX engine produced by CFM International. Our domestic engine overcame the ban!”

“Impossible!”

Immediately, someone shook his head. “Absolutely impossible! Our engine sector lags behind their foreign counterparts by more than 30 years. It is impossible to catch up in just a few months. There is definitely something fishy about this news.”

“But Shang Fei Corporation has indeed solved the problem of engine supply. It has mass-produced a batch of 10 C919 passenger aircrafts in one go. You can see from the details of the picture. Look at the engine mounted under the wing. It is clearly different from the LeapX engine and the PS90 engine by the Russians. It seems to be a little smaller. It is doubtless a domestic engine.”

“Even if it is a domestic engine, its performance cannot be said to be comparable to the LeapX! It’s at least one generation behind! They used this outdated engine in order to adhere to the stipulations of the contract, not to default. In reality, its fuel consumption is terrible and it has no competitive edge at all… All the customers will definitely ask for a refund. This is the last struggle of a company in its death throes!”

“Scram! You’re just sucking up to the westerners. No matter how bad it is, the domestic engine is still our engine. We have to use it even if the fuel consumption is terrible! It doesn’t matter even if the flight ticket is expensive, I’ll buy it!”

“Yes, we must support domestic-made large aircrafts, we can bear it even if the price of the flight tickets are higher!”

Netizens said that even if the ticket price was more expensive, they would still take the domestic aircraft. All the employees in Shang Fei were very touched by the support of netizens. The company immediately issued a letter of gratitude. In the postscript, they expressed that the problem of the engine had been completely solved and the performance of the engine was indeed comparable to the LeapX engine. Its fuel consumption index was even better than the LeapX. They said, “Everyone, please rest assured regarding our domestic-made large scale aircraft.”

This reply made some of the netizens happy and excited. But there were more who remained unbelievers.

“Braggart!”

“Impossible!”

“Lies! Cheaters!”

There were also a small number of netizens who held a very clear stance. They were determined that this was a scam.

…

On the morning of April 9th, at Shanghai International Airport, an aircraft was parked at the end of one of the runways. A large portion of the aircraft was painted the red color of their flag. It was the mass-produced C919. The C919 would have its first passenger flight that morning. The aircraft would be fully loaded with 168 passengers before flying to another airport 2,800 kilometers away. Then, they would proceed with the return trip without refueling. This meant that they would take off and land twice. The total distance of the round trip was 5,600 kilometers.

Shang Fei Corporation attached great importance to this test flight. There were thousands of people standing on both sides of the airport runway. Except for the majority of media reporters, most of the audience was composed of Shang Fei’s leaders, employees, and their relatives.

Chen Jin and his mother, He Li, were also among the crowd who were sending off the plane. He Li asked, “Old Chen, do you really have to board the plane and personally participate in the test flight?” She was a little worried, and even grabbed the hand of her husband, Chen Gang. She shook her head slightly. A small part of her wished that he would not go.

“It’s okay, I have ample confidence in the plane that we made ourselves!” Chen Gang gave his wife a firm look. He had 300% confidence in this passenger flight test.

Chen Jin could not help but ask, “Dad, has the engine of this plane really attained a powerful standard? I remember that the maximum flight distance of the C919 was 5,500 kilometers at the very beginning. You have to fly 5,600 kilometers this time and complete two take-offs and landings, which consumes more fuel… Is this passenger flight test safe?” He felt that today’s passenger flight test was a little risky. If the fuel reserves were not enough, or… He shook his head.

“It’ll be fine, it’ll be absolutely fine!” Chen Gang explained, “Compared to the most advanced LeapX engine, the thrust of our engine is weaker by 5% but our fuel consumption is 10% less. It is an astonishing 0.432kg/kgf.h. Moreover, because our aircraft is lighter by 15%, the actual thrust-to-weight ratio is not small at all. The thrust is completely sufficient. The most amazing thing about it is its voyage performance. You may not believe it, but in the virtual factory simulation environment, the fully loaded C919 exceeded the 8,000 kilometer limit voyage. This was almost 50% more than the voyage that was designed at the very beginning. Although the fuel consumption during the take-off phase is a little higher, it will have no problem with two takeoffs and landings and a voyage of 6,000 kilometers. And we’re only flying 5,600 kilometers today. That leaves more than 400 kilometers available. In addition, through this flight test, we also want to say this to the vast number of netizens who showed their concern for this domestic-made large-scale passenger aircraft, our customers, as well as the foreigners who banned the sales of their engines to our country: We have succeeded with our engines! Our aircrafts are absolutely reliable!” Chen Gang was a little excited by now. He experienced an urge to let loose and vent his feelings.

Chen Jin nodded. The reserve of 400-plus kilometers was still a little risky, but it was sufficient. “Dad, go! Visit the great mountains and rivers of our motherland. Today is the day your dreams come true.” Chen Jin raised his two thumbs and watched him board the C919.

At 09:50, the tower issued the go-ahead for taking off.

“We are starting the engine…”

“We are about to taxi, accelerating…”

“Pulling up the lever. The landing gear is leaving the ground…”

“Increase the thrust; takeoff is successful!”

More than three hours later, at 1:01, the plane successfully landed at another airport 2,800 kilometers away. The plane remained at the airport for an hour and everyone had their lunch. All passengers and crew members boarded the plane again.

At 2:05, the plane taxied and took off again. It rushed towards the infinite sky with greater acceleration.

At 5:00, more than 100,000 live audience members had gathered at Shanghai International Airport. Millions more crowded in the area surrounding the airport. They held their breath as they looked anxiously westwards. The excitement was clearly etched on the faces of countless people. Some were clenching their fists or tearing up. They seemed like a group of radars as they collectively turned to face one direction.

The passenger flight test was a 360-degree live broadcast. Every possible angle was filmed by cameras. There were no opportunities to cheat under the watchful eyes of millions. If the domestic engine was working fine, then the plane would return. If the domestic engine was not working, then the plane…

Reality was louder than words! Action was better than any online post! And at that moment, everyone was watching anxiously.

Everyone prayed in their heart. Return, you have to return. No matter if the domestic engine works or not, the plane must return!

There were more than 160 lives on the plane!

Suddenly, a low humming sound was heard.

“Everyone, quickly look over there!” Someone exclaimed and pointed in one direction.

Everyone followed and looked in that direction. Exclamations arose in an instant as the audience became all astir.

“It came back!”

“Our plane has returned!”

Against the backdrop of the reddish sky and the amber sun that was slowly slipping below the mountains, a red-painted plane bore its way out of the sun like a fiery stream of light. As the engine roared louder and louder, it seemed to resemble the scream of a phoenix. It symbolized the rebirth and rise of an ancient nation!

With countless eyes witnessing this scene, the plane landed steadily on the runway.

“We’ve succeeded!”

“Wooaaaaahhhh!”

“Boo hoo hoo!”

Cheering, shouting and crying resounded…

The international airport was all abuzz, the city of Shanghai was all abuzz, and the entire land of Z country was caught in a sensation!