Chapter 79: Competitors

Amidst the crowd of thousands, the engine of the rotorcraft roared, and the fuselage began to move forward slowly!

Although from the external structure, rotorcraft and helicopters both have two propellers, one large propeller on top and a small one at the tail, in reality, these two aircraft have fundamentally different principles.

Simply put, a helicopter's lift rotor spins at a constant speed under the drive of the engine, adjusting the blade angle to obtain different lift, somewhat similar to a car's gearbox.

Then the helicopter takes off, controlling flight direction and pitch angle through the tail rotor and tail wing.

But it's different for the rotorcraft.

The rotor on top of the rotorcraft is unpowered, but it naturally has a certain angle with the horizontal axis of the fuselage, while the propeller at the back is the power propeller of the rotorcraft, providing horizontal thrust backward, propelling the rotorcraft forward and accelerating, then the top lift propeller with an angle collides with the wind, begins to rotate naturally, and provides lift, finally taking off slowly.

As for direction and angle control, it's done through the horizontal and vertical fins behind the rotorcraft's power propeller.

At this moment.

As the engine speed of the rotorcraft further increased, power transferred from the engine to the drive propeller, the blades cut through the air, and behind the rotorcraft, it was as if a gale was blowing, pushing the rotorcraft to start moving and accelerating!

"Buzzing!"

Amidst the roar of the engine, the speed of the rotorcraft increased, the top lift propeller collided with the air and began to rotate, and because of the downward angle of the blades, it obtained upward lift!

"It's flying! It's flying! It's really flying!"

"Haha, amazing! This is incredible!"

"Who would have thought that our machinery factory could make airplanes one day?"

"Exactly, to be honest, I want to try it too."

"Hehe, there will be opportunities in the future!"

At the moment when the rotorcraft left the ground, amidst the countless onlookers, the originally noisy discussions turned into uniform cheers, and thunderous applause spread like a tide!

For this factory, which was like a big family and had lived together for decades, the sense of belonging was unimaginable, and every progress of the factory gave them a strong sense of participation and pride!

The glory shone on everyone, and their cheers were entirely heartfelt!

"Very good! Very good! Steady the rudder!"

"Start turning! That's it! Slowly turn right, get ready to start landing!"

"Gradually reduce throttle! That's it!"

On the aircraft, feeling the strong wind blowing on his face, luckily wearing goggles, Chen Hang, who was flying the rotorcraft less than two meters from the ground, controlled his turbulent emotions, listened to the slogans shouted by the factory director through the loudspeaker, and operated in an orderly manner according to the training given by the factory director earlier.

In no time, the rotorcraft landed slowly again, the three rudimentary small wheels touched the ground smoothly without much impact, and then the aircraft began to decelerate while taxiing, and the engine of the rear drive propeller gradually slowed down.

The moment the rotorcraft stopped, the group of people behind Wang Ye rushed up, and the fastest runner was naturally Lao Chen!

"Hahaha! Well done, my son! Hahaha!"

"From today, my son is a pilot! Hahaha, isn't that amazing? Envious, aren't you? Hahaha!"

Rushing forward, Lao Chen carefully scrutinized his son. Seeing his son's excited expression, he couldn't help but become excited himself, and started to boast loudly.

The people around him also joined in, expressing their admiration, which was only natural because flying the helicopter for the first time was indeed an honor!

"Come on! Have a smoke! Have a smoke! Da Zhonghua! Never had one before?"

"I haven't smoked Da Zhonghua either! Come on, everyone! Take one! Just one each! Don't take too many!"

The next moment, Lao Chen somehow produced several packs of Da Zhonghua cigarettes. In this era, this brand was considered top-tier. No one knew where he got them from, but he began distributing them to the engineers around him.

Seeing this scene, the head of the technical department couldn't help but laugh and scold, "I say, Old Chen, were you already prepared to celebrate?"

"You even bought Da Zhonghua in advance? Haha!"

Instantly, laughter filled the scene. But Lao Chen, with his proud look, chuckled and said, "Of course! The plane was designed by the director, the parts were produced by us, and I, Lao Chen, inspected each one. There's definitely no problem!"

"Successful test flight was inevitable, right? Haha, the key is my son flew it well!"

"Hahaha!"

Hearing Lao Chen's hearty laughter, the head of the technical department, smoking his Da Zhonghua, jokingly scolded, "Pah, forgot how scared you were just now?"

"Shaking like a sieve?"

Instantly, the scene erupted into laughter again. But this time, no one mocked him further because everyone knew that every test carried risks, even flying just fifty meters high could result in a fatal crash!

"Be careful!"

With the voice of the head of the technical department, the scene became busy again.

A moment later, after both groups confirmed no issues, the rotorcraft glided up for takeoff again. Thanks to Wang Ye's excellent design, even with less engine power, the rotorcraft lifted off in less than thirty meters!

"Bzzz!"

The sound of the engine reverberated in the air. In the presence of over a thousand people in the factory, the rotorcraft gradually ascended, soon surpassing the height of all the buildings in the factory and hovering in the sky.

"How does it feel?"

On the ground, Wang Ye shouted through a megaphone aimed at the sky.

"It feels great! Amazing!"

"I can see almost half of the factory, and everyone looks tiny! Hahaha!"

From Chen Hang's voice, one could sense his excitement. His response made the crowd below envy, especially the young ones.

"Damn, I should have applied for this too!"

"Haha, with your courage, dare you fly that high?"

"Although I envy it, I have self-awareness. I'm afraid of heights; I definitely wouldn't dare to go up there."

"Hehe, it's okay! When I become a pilot in the future, you'll sit behind me, and we'll experience the feeling of flying together!"

"Yeah! I wonder if the future director will let us try."

In the crowd, the young people watched the rotorcraft flying in the sky, full of longing and aspiration.

Meanwhile, at the department store in Yuntai City.

"Hello, sirs?"

"What do you need? A fan or a washing machine?"

"Our fans are priced at 280 yuan, and washing machines at 360 yuan, no industrial coupons required."

"If you buy two at the same time, we can offer a discount of twenty yuan, so you only need 620 yuan to own a standing fan and a twin-tub washing machine."

"And we provide free delivery and installation."

At the booth of the Red Star Manufacturing Factory, due to the abundant supply of production materials and the overtime work of over a thousand people in the factory, the sales of fans and washing machines have become bi-weekly, on Wednesdays and weekends.

The frenzy of buying that once existed is no longer there. Although there are still many buyers, overall sales have calmed down.

"You can pick it up and feel it. Our appliances are very sturdy."

"Both the fan and the washing machine have a steel material proportion of over ninety percent. They are heavy!"

"Even a small girl like me can hardly lift it."

"You can try!"

Inside the booth, Xu Jiaojiao, wearing a custom sales uniform, was explaining fans and washing machines to a customer. When he heard this, looking like a middle-aged husband, he glanced at his wife and then chuckled as he lifted it.

"Hiss! It's heavy! At least forty catties!"

"Indeed, it's from a military factory producing weapons. The quality is guaranteed!"

After putting down the fan, the middle-aged man nodded approvingly to his wife, while Xu Jiaojiao took the opportunity to say,

"You're right. We specialize in military-grade quality, no compromises."

"If you purchase it and encounter any issues within a year of normal use, just call our after-sales hotline or register at the counter. We'll come to your place and replace it for free."

"If there are any problems within three years, we'll provide free pick-up, delivery, and maintenance."

In no time, this couple happily paid and left with smiles, while the young porters carried a fan and followed them, not only delivering the fan but also escorting the couple home.

At the same time, a group of four people witnessed the entire process from a distance. Leading them was a middle-aged man with connected brows, accompanied by two middle-aged men with graying hair, and a young woman who looked no more than twenty, with a remarkably delicate and charming appearance.

"In just a short time, they sold twenty-one electric fans and thirteen washing machines!"

"I never thought electrical appliances would sell so well!"

Among the four, the middle-aged man with high cheekbones, looking quite formidable, gazed sharply at the Red Star Factory booth in the distance, sighed, and said so, while the man beside him nodded.

"Isn't that right? If we had known these things sold so well, we should have started earlier!"

"And these things, I don't think manufacturing them is difficult at all."

"Why did we let them take the lead? The Municipal Committee bought six hundred units in one go, totaling a hundred and sixty to seventy thousand in payment!"

Before he finished speaking, the elderly man standing in the middle snorted disdainfully.

"Is the Municipal Committee's six hundred units a big deal? How many have they sold during this time? How much money have they made? Have you ever calculated?"

"I don't think the cost of this electric fan exceeds fifty yuan."

Just then, a passing customer nearby heard the voice and couldn't help but chuckle.

"Who doesn't know how to brag? Cost fifty yuan? Then you produce electric fans for us! How about selling them for sixty? I can't let you work for nothing, let you earn ten yuan, isn't that enough?"

"By then, I'll also act as a middleman. How much you have, I'll take how much?"

"How about that? When will your electric fans be produced?"

Upon hearing this, nearby customers and salespersons couldn't help but burst into laughter, while the faces of the four people changed instantly. However, the difference was that the other three were angry and disdainful, while the pretty woman wrinkled her brow.

"A summer insect cannot speak of ice!"

"Let's go, let's go back to the shipyard and discuss the issue of producing electric fans and washing machines."

"Since even Red Star Factory, a mere third-tier factory, can do it, there's no reason why our dignified shipyard can't do it!"

"After all, we still have a lot of steel, which is wasted if it just piles up there."

"Recycling waste, I think it's great!"

With a final disdainful snort, the old man led the group away from the department store. After a moment, they returned to their 212 Jeep. Just as they got in and closed the door, the pretty woman sitting in the passenger seat hesitated.

"Dad, I don't think this matter is so simple. We should study it carefully again."

Upon hearing this, the old man sitting in the back couldn't help but laugh, asking back,

"What's not simple about it? I think it's very simple. Isn't it just a few blades, an iron rod, a few iron shells, and an electric motor?"

"Can't our shipyard handle such trivial things?"

"If it weren't for the lack of production tasks, and the factory was about to run out of orders, do you think I would willingly do this kind of work?"

"Let's go! Let's go home!"

With that, the car roared off, heading for the Yunhai Shipyard!