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In 1985, during the honeymoon period between China and the United States, McDonnell Douglas of the United States threw an olive branch to China, hoping to provide our first passenger plane at a low price.
At that time, our personnel mistakenly thought that this deal was very cost-effective, so they invested trillions before and after.
Unexpectedly, the cooperation between the two sides was only halfway, and McDonnell Douglas went bankrupt due to the rupture of the capital chain, and all China's early investment was wasted.
After learning the news, many people on our side regretted it very much, and an old man named Ma Fengshan was even more sad and regretful.
Because, obviously, he has long seen that there is a problem with this cooperation......
It turned out that as early as when we negotiated with McDonnell Douglas Airlines, Ma Fengshan saw that there were many defects in the other party's aircraft.
He concluded that McDonnell Douglas's plane could not be used as a passenger plane.
So, why did Ma Fengshan dare to pour cold water on the cooperation between the two sides?
It turned out that at that time, Ma Fengshan was the absolute champion of China's aviation industry.
And before the start of cooperation, the "Y-10" passenger aircraft designed by him has been successfully test-flown and is planned to enter the mass production stage of development.
Unexpectedly, at this time, the Americans temporarily intervened, which directly led to the state stopping all research on the "Y-10" passenger plane.
Of course, the state cannot be blamed for this.
At that time, China's national strength was far less abundant than it is today, and the funds allocated to the "Y-10" project were tight.
Although there is already a foundation for successful test flights in the early stage, a lot of money will be invested in the later stage of the "Y-10" from test flights to mass production, which is like a bottomless pit that makes the national finances unbearable.
After weighing it, the country thought of a way to cooperate with the United States.
If it succeeds, we can change the McDonnell Douglas aircraft into passenger planes in one step and introduce them to China to solve our problem of lack of passenger planes.
The state had such a demand, and misjudged the strength of McDonnell Douglas, so it put aside Ma Fengshan's objections, and eventually incurred losses.
It was not until the loss was over that the country made up its mind to design its own airliner and no longer rely on other countries.
At this time, Ma Fengshan was obliged to go out of the mountain again.
Soon after, the "Y-10" project was restarted, and the heavy responsibility once again fell to Ma Fengshan.
People are looking forward to this aviation genius who can write another miracle as before.
The reason why I look forward to Ma Fengshan creating another miracle is because long before the failure of cooperation, Ma Fengshan has had many successful experiences like miracles.
Ma Fengshan, born on May 8, 1929, was born in the war and suffered from poverty.
Knowing that only knowledge can change the fate of himself and his country, he has had a high enthusiasm for learning since he was a child.
Among the many new things he learned, Ma Fengshan's favorite is airplanes.
This treasure can soar thousands of miles and shuttle through the clouds.
How does it do it?
How can it be manufactured?
A series of questions made Ma Fengshan more and more curious the more he thought about it.
From 1943 to 1949, he studied at Wuxi Daonan Middle School and Furen Middle School, which were among the best in the local area.
Whenever he went to a school, he couldn't wait to ask a local teacher about airplanes.
To his disappointment, the teacher was only able to tell a story about the plane, and did not touch on the principle and internal structure of the plane.
At this time, he realized that the aviation field was China's shortcoming at that time.
Therefore, his strong desire for knowledge and determination to make up for the shortcomings of his motherland drove him to choose an aerospace major in college.
In October 1949, he was admitted to the Department of Aeronautical Engineering of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
Ma Fengshan looks forward to having a teacher in college to let him learn dry goods.
However, even in the highest institutions, there was no one who could teach him at all.
What should I do if I choose a major that no one can teach?
Ma Fengshan decided to teach himself.
Fortunately, there were enough books on aerospace at the university, so he borrowed them all, nibbling on them day by day, taking notes one by one.
After a long time of hard work and forgetting to sleep and food, it only took two years to complete all the professional courses like a miracle.
In September 1952, the self-taught aviation genius was favored by Harbin No. 122 Factory.
At this manufacturing plant, he finally met top teachers.
It turned out that at the aircraft factory, where he was located, a group of Soviet specialists came.
Naturally, they became the object of Ma Fengshan's questions.
At that time, Ma Fengshan overcame the language barrier and asked Soviet experts whenever he had the opportunity, and he was both quick and diligent.
In just 6 years, he was promoted from a technician in the laboratory department to a deputy section chief, and later served as the leader of the pneumatic team in the design office, responsible for compiling the "Songhuajiang No. 1" test flight outline.
In 1959, Ma Fengshan began to participate in the imitation design of "H-6".
It was also thanks to this that he had the opportunity to study at the aircraft production plant "Tu-16" in Kazan, Soviet Union.
Finally, he came to the top place of the aviation industry, saw the gap between the motherland and the strong country, and wanted to return to China as soon as possible to complete the ideal of making up for the shortcomings of aviation for the motherland.
At this time, reality poured cold water on him again.
It turned out that the Soviets did not really want to train talents for China at that time.
Therefore, Ma Fengshan's school picks up simple knowledge to teach, and does not even let students take notes
Taking notes will affect their listening to the class, listen well in class, and send them the notes back later.In desperation, he had no choice but to recall the content of the class after class and write it down in his notebook.
This move preserves a wealth of learning materials for China's aerospace teaching.
After laying a solid foundation, Ma Fengshan returned to China to follow the Soviet team to develop bombers.
Everyone was in full swing, and suddenly, relations between the USSR and China broke down.
Soviet specialists were all withdrawn, R&D materials were taken away, and all related projects were deadlocked.
Without the help of the Soviets, China's shortcomings were undoubtedly exposed, and even what to do next was messed up.
Chinese researchers couldn't even think of a way out for a while.
In the midst of the wind and waves, Ma Fengshan stepped forward and took over the task of continuing to study bombers.
Who would have thought that this time, it was Ma Fengshan's notes that helped China tide over the difficulties.
Ma Fengshan repeatedly took notes and found a way to develop a bomber fighter.
In 1968, the first localized "H-6" was born, and the test flight was successful, achieving a breakthrough in the history of China's aerospace industry.
It didn't take long for Ma Fengshan to lead the group to break through the next "zero" of China's aerospace - the development of domestic passenger aircraft.
If China developed the first domestic bomber, it was with the help of the Soviets in the early stage.
Well, the development of the first passenger aircraft was completely on its own.
The lack of experience support, the huge amount of money invested, and all kinds of difficulties have made the country suspicious.
At this time, Ma Fengshan took the initiative to ask for help and made a vow that he would definitely develop a domestic passenger aircraft.
His enthusiasm impressed the relevant state departments, and soon after, the "Y-10" project was launched.
In the process of developing passenger aircraft, overcoming the drag generated during flight is a major difficulty encountered by Ma Fengshan's team.
Ma Fengshan thought of the method as ** video data.
* Different attitudes of different passenger aircraft flying in the air, judging the air resistance of different types of aircraft, and finding the most conducive aircraft structure to reduce drag through comparison.
During that time, Ma Fengshan locked himself in the house, and he didn't know how long he was closed, and finally finalized the aircraft construction plan with the least resistance.
Another problem in the development process is noise management.
After all, it is an aircraft that is going to carry people, and too much noise will not produce a good ride experience at all.
To reduce noise, choosing the right aircraft material is the key.
To this end, Ma Fengshan compared aircraft materials one by one, and selected at least 76 new materials before finally finding the right materials.
Approaching the end of the development, Ma Fengshan simply took the institute as his home, worked overtime and stayed up late, even if he overdrafted his body, he had to realize the dream of making up for the shortcomings of Chinese aviation.
According to later statistics, the "Y-10" has been reviewed seven times, and a total of 163 tests have been completed, including the overall aerodynamic layout of the whole aircraft and the ground simulation of each system.
In the wind tunnel test alone, 42 sets of models were made, and more than 11,000 times were blown.
On September 26, 1980, the "Y-10" aircraft made its first test flight at Shanghai Dachang Airport.
A year later, it conducted another test flight from Shanghai to Beijing.
At that time, 52-year-old Ma Fengshan was sick from hard work and was already in poor health, but he still insisted on participating in the test flight.
Not only that, but he also made a decision:
He was going to fly the "Y-10" plane himself.Hearing the news, everyone present inevitably showed worried looks.
At this time, Ma Fengshan smiled and comforted everyone: "Don't be afraid, there will be no problem." If even the chief designer does not dare to fly an airplane of his own design, then who will dare to fly in the future? ”
In the end, the test flight was successfully concluded, and even inadvertently created another miracle - to set a record for the ultra-low-altitude flight with the smallest altitude of a large passenger aircraft designed by China.
It turned out that during the flight, the altitude of the aircraft at an ultra-low altitude was only 60 meters, which was more than half of the original 200 meters.
At that moment, all the audience almost watched the "Yun 10" whizz over their heads.
It's a pity that reality once again played a joke with Ma Fengshan.
In 1985, the project was halted and later learned to have failed.
China's aerospace industry is like Ma Fengshan's child, watching the child who has just grown up suddenly fall so much, Ma Fengshan is anxious and distressed.
Later, he decided to go out again and restart the development program of the "Y-10".
However, when Ma Fengshan was hit in the past, he could still stand up with tenacity.
This time he was hit again, he was already an old man, and his body was sick from perennial fatigue.
It is impossible to work all night and rotate as before, so the progress of "Yun 10" has been delayed again and again.
In 1990, Ma Fengshan passed away, and he failed to see the quantitative production of "Yun 10", which became the regret of his life.
He died before he left the school, which made the hero cry.
On September 25, 2019, he was awarded the honorary title of "The Most Beautiful Struggler".
Ma Fengshan left with regret, which made the Chinese astronauts full of emotion.
Fortunately, at the same time, they took over the baton in Ma Fengshan's hands, inherited Ma Fengshan's legacy, and overcame difficulties all the way in the aviation industry.
So far, China has sent the "Y-20" to the sky, and has also developed "J-20", "J-16" and other fighters.
China's aviation industry has reached the height of international leadership.
In addition, although Ma Fengshan's life ended in regret, the knowledge and spirit he left behind for China's aerospace industry have effectively prompted future generations to complete his legacy, and will inspire Chinese astronauts to write more brilliant stories in the future.
I believe that if he learns, all his regrets will be relieved.
References. Ma Chenglin. Lifelong dedication to the aviation industry - Comrade Ma Fengshan, chief designer of the aircraftCivil Aircraft Design and Research,2005(01):13-14doi:10.19416/j.cnki.1674-9804.2005.01.004.
Zhao Guoqiang. The life of Comrade Ma Fengshan[J].Civil Aircraft Design and Research,2005(01):56-58doi:10.19416/j.cnki.1674-9804.2005.01.020.
Wang Huizhong. Ma Fengshan Blue Sky Dream Chaser[J].Large Aircraft,2014(05):106-107