Although little MacDonald's ability is slightly insufficient, his reaction is very fast. And growing up in a wealthy family, business negotiation is still not a big problem.
Little MacDonald reacted quickly, so he said bluntly: "Does Mr. Bao know about the DC-10 aircraft!"
In 1966, American Airlines proposed that in the 1970s, it needed a large passenger aircraft with good economy, the need for airport supporting facilities conformed to the general level at that time, and a passenger capacity of about 300 people. In order to meet this requirement, Douglas Corporation began to study the program. The original Douglas wide-body airliner design was a twin-engine underwing pod layout. With the FAA lifting the "60-minute limit" on three-engine aircraft in 1964, it was able to perform transatlantic routes, and to ensure that it could be used in relatively Taking off and landing on a short runway, the Douglas design was changed to a three-engine wide fuselage scheme at the request of the customer, adding a third engine at the root of the vertical tail, which is the most distinctive feature of the DC-10 July 1970 DC The first prototype of the -10 was shipped from the factory, and the first test flight took place on August 29, 1970. It was certified by the FAA on July 29, 1971 and delivered to American Airlines. The first flight was put into operation on August 5, 1971.
After the DC-10 was put into operation, it was found that there were some defects in the design. The more serious one was the design of the cargo door, which directly led to several accidents. The cargo door needs to be redesigned. By 1979, the DC-10 was involved in two major air crashes within a year, when aviation authorities grounded the DC-10 worldwide on safety grounds, damaging the DC-10's reputation.
At that time, Douglas and Lockheed each developed a three-engine wide-body airliner, and the two companies launched a lose-lose competition for the market. The DC-10 finally beat its rival Lockheed in sales due to its lower operating and maintenance costs. Sid's L-1011 Samsung airliner.
With the advent of the oil crisis, the cost of using three-engine airliners has risen sharply. In the 1970s, the Airbus A300 wide-body aircraft, newly designed by European Airbus, began to be delivered, equipped with two high-bypass ratio turbofan jet engines with greatly improved performance. The relaxation of ETOPS restrictions on twin-engine airliners has further broadened the route range of twin-engine airliners enough to fly transatlantic flights. The A300 is significantly better than the L-1011 and DC-10 in terms of performance and operating cost, and is very popular in the 250-seat wide-body airliner market. DC-10 gradually lost orders due to relative fuel consumption.
As an aero-engine engineer, of course I know the DC-10 airliner MacDonald Jr. mentioned. But this is definitely a big pit, and there is no advantage at all in the competition. It is not as stable as a Boeing 747 for long-distance flights and passengers, and the fuel consumption is too high for short-distance take-offs. This is definitely a tasteless product, not even a tasteless product.
What does little Macdonald mean, he wants to jump into the pit. I really think I'm stupid, this old boy is very bad.
Bao Zixuan said seriously: "What did Mr. Mike say, I am a graduate of aerodynamics. Of course I know this aircraft from McDonnell Douglas, but I don't know what you mean."
Little MacDonald heard from Bao Zixuan's tone that the other party didn't like this airliner. This is understandable, after all, the data shown by the DC-10 is not good.
But today is not for the DC-10 airliner, but for the research and development of subsequent models.
McDonnell Jr.: "The DC-10 can no longer meet the current aviation needs, so McDonnell Douglas wants to develop a new model based on the DC-10. The main reason is that it does not want the Boeing 747 airliner to dominate, I think you should understand What do I mean."
Could it be the DC-11 airliner, which is a bigger pit than the DC-10 airliner, and has a lot to do with the merger of McDonnell Douglas. But this passenger plane was not put on the agenda in 1986, or was it advanced because of its own appearance.
The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is a three-engine wide-body passenger aircraft produced by McDonnell-Douglas. However, its fuselage and wingspan are longer than those of the DC-10. Winglets are also installed at both ends of the wing, and the design of the wing section has also been improved. However, due to design flaws, many MD-11s were used in freight services after the MD-11 was discontinued in 2001, and the retired MD-11 passenger aircraft were also fully converted into freighter aircraft.
If the sales and performance of the aircraft are good, how can it be discontinued, and it will not be converted into a freighter. The DC-11 passenger plane can indeed put down 400 people when it is fully loaded, but there are countless accidents caused by its unreasonable design.
When Boeing merged with McDonnell Douglas, the main purpose was to prevent McDonnell Douglas from being merged by Airbus. Airbus' merger with McDonnell Douglas would be stronger than Boeing. This is what Boeing does not want to see. In addition, Boeing also values McDonnell Douglas's productivity and strong research and development strength, especially the research and development strength of military aircraft. And Boeing has never intervened in military aircraft since the end of World War II, mainly because the R&D strength of military products is not as good as others. You know, McDonnell Douglas is the main supplier of fighter jets to the US Air Force. The F-4 "Ghost", F-15 "Eagle", and F/A-18 "Hornet" are all from McDonnell Douglas.
The YF-23 was only almost selected by the U.S. Air Force, and McDonnell Douglas’s strength is so visible. Facts have proved that Boeing's acquisition is wise. However, in the research and development of civil aircraft, Boeing's models are more advanced than McDonnell Douglas, so after the merger, Boeing just completed the unfinished civil aircraft orders of McDonnell Douglas, and the excess production capacity was used to produce Boeing series aircraft and military aircraft.
But Bao Zixuan also knew that the US government would not agree to sell McDonnell Douglas to Heiyun Group even if McDonnell Jr agreed. This is related to the national security of the United States. Many military aircraft produced by McDonnell Douglas are in service in the US military.
In this case, the Boeing family cannot be dominated, or it will definitely receive strong support from the U.S. government. If McDonnell Douglas is involved, it may be another situation, and McDonnell Douglas cannot be caught in the research and development of the third-release aircraft.
Bao Zixuan: "If it is based on the DC-10 modification, then the Black Cloud Group is not very interested. If you want to compete with the Boeing 747, you need to redesign the aircraft. I studied aviation. When I studied at MIT, some professors questioned. The unreasonableness of a three-engine plane."
"The choice of three engines for a large aircraft is a disaster. The thrust of the engine is constantly increasing; the strength of aviation materials is increasing, but the weight is decreasing. This makes the three-engine and twin-engine comparison with no practical thrust increase, and the back is installed. The last engine also affects the aerodynamics of the entire aircraft, especially during climbs and turns."
Little MacDonald was a professional anyway, so of course he knew what Bao Zixuan meant. In 1986, the DC-10 was improved to the DC-11 because of limited funds, and the dead horse was used as a living horse doctor. Now McDonnell Douglas has not reached the point of exhaustion, and can develop a four-engine super-large passenger aircraft of its own.
The richest man in Bao knows that the Black Cloud Group does not have the strength to develop a super airliner. This requires strong technical accumulation, and McDonnell Douglas does not have these problems. It depends on what little MacDonald chooses. If he has three shots, let him play there by himself!
McDonnell Jr.: "You mean the production of a four-engine superjumbo, but that would be laughed at by Boeing; at the same time, it goes against the tradition of McDonnell Douglas."
Bao Zixuan was really defeated by this idea. Could it be that people's jokes don't follow science. It is said that the tiger father and the dog son are the most suitable for this kid.
In fact, it's also the fault of little MacDonald's usual big mouth, often mocking the high cost of Boeing's four-engine passenger plane in the media, which is a waste of resources. Now that McDonnell gave up the three-engine aircraft and studied the four-engine passenger aircraft, wouldn't that slap himself in the face!
Bao Zixuan said with a smile: "On the one hand, it is a project that clearly knows that it will lose money; on the other hand, it can produce benefits, but it is because of the problem of face that it does not make money. This is not the behavior of a successful entrepreneur; face is important, but it is in the interests of You can still give up a part in front of you.”
"The layout of the four engines is obviously more reasonable Why don't we use it. Is it because Boeing is using it, other people can't use it. You know it's not a patent, anyone can take it use."
"How good is Boeing's jokes, I hope Boeing can laugh when they beat them."
This sentence of Bao Zixuan's defeat of Boeing made MacDonald Jr. very interested. You must know that this is something that the old man has not done. If it can be achieved during his time in power, then no one dares to question his ability.
Little MacDonald: "I am very interested in this topic. I will ask engineers to conduct related research when I go back. If McDonnell Douglas develops a four-engine super airliner, would the Black Cloud Group be interested in joining?"
Bao Zixuan knew that little MacDonald was not a professional aircraft designer after all. Many problems still depend on engineers, which is very different from his father.
Bao Zixuan: "If it is a four-engine super passenger plane, the Black Cloud Group is of course interested. At the same time, it will also develop an engine according to its needs. Please rest assured, Mr. Mike."
With this statement, it’s good to see if the project is feasible. Now Little MacDonald has agreed with what Bao Zixuan said, that face is really not that important in front of interests.