Chapter 56: Variable Bypass-Ratio

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“What the heck is this aircraft?”

Tang Rui widened his eyes, looking at the screen in a bit of confusion.

He had never seen this aircraft before.

But he was certain that this thing was the latest supersonic stealth reconnaissance plane from Yingjiang.

“The shape is different from the disclosed Dawn Goddess.”

The drone was trailing behind.

Using optical systems, it captured the aerodynamic shape and structure of the entire supersonic stealth reconnaissance aircraft.

Tang Rui looked at the 3D model on the screen, his brain calculating rapidly.

“Integrated forging technology.”

“Supersonic scramjet engine.”

“Long fuselage, short wings.”

Based on the aircraft’s characteristics, he pondered for a while and suddenly thought of a Yingjiang prototype.

HTV-3X Black Rain Swallow.

It was said that this prototype was used for technical reserves and verification in the development of the SR-72.

Outside the world, this prototype didn’t have much fame and paled in comparison to the Dawn Goddess.

But who could have imagined?

This thing had already begun secret test flights.

“What the heck!”

Just as Tang Rui was contemplating, this darn thing unexpectedly started accelerating.

He glanced at the map.

Realizing they were back within the country’s airspace.

No wonder it was accelerating; flying slowly would make it vulnerable to interception.

Tang Rui adjusted the throttle and made the drone catch up closely.

However, he quickly noticed.

The drone couldn’t catch up.

Even though he had pushed the speed to the maximum of Mach 4.2, it was still far behind the supersonic stealth reconnaissance aircraft in front of him, which exceeded Mach 6.

In less than five minutes, the reconnaissance aircraft completely vanished from Tang Rui’s sight.

Radar couldn’t detect it.

The optical tracking system could only capture a blurry spot.

Tang Rui eased off the throttle, exiting the powered state, allowing the drone to cruise at subsonic speeds.

He was quite frustrated.

It wasn’t for lack of effort on his part.

The main issue was the engines.

Turbofan engines and supersonic scramjet engines were on different levels.

An upgrade to the engines was necessary.

Tang Rui had decided that upon his return, he would reinforce the drone’s engines.

Three in the morning.

He forced himself to stay alert, controlling the drone’s landing.

Upon arrival, he looked at the system panel.

The drone’s experience points had already reached their limit.

[Item: Perfect Reconnaissance Drone +4]

[Experience: 87363/26000 (Upgradeable)]

[Enhancements: Fuselage, Avionics, Engine, Power Source]

[Traits: High-Precision Scanning]

[Origin Points: 5.64 (Enhanceable)]

Without hesitation, Tang Rui clicked on the upgrade button.

A blue light flashed.

Upgrade completed for the drone.

However, this time, the drone’s body didn’t change; it merely gained an additional trait.

Enhanced Stealth Performance.

Looking at the experience bar, Tang Rui found he could continue upgrading.

Clicking again.

Another blue light flashed.

Upgrade completed for the drone.

[Item: High-Performance Stealth Reconnaissance Drone +6]

[Experience: 3363/? (Non-upgradeable)]

[Enhancements: Fuselage, Avionics, Engine, Power Source]

[Traits: High-Precision Scanning, Enhanced Stealth Performance, Weak Radiation Signal]

[Origin Points: 5.64 (Enhanceable)]

Two consecutive upgrades.

The prefixes and attributes had changed.

Two new traits were added.

And it entered a non-upgradeable state once more.

Seeing the drone’s brand-new system panel, Tang Rui fell into contemplation.

Based on previous upgrading experiences.

If he wanted to raise the drone to level 7, he needed to enhance its equipment.

Moreover, he needed to enhance all equipment before leveling up.

The drone wasn’t a straightforward device.

Its components and systems were numerous.

A comprehensive enhancement might require dozens or even over a hundred origin points.

Thinking this over.

He felt a bit speechless.

This required an excessive number of origin points.

“Let’s enhance the engines first and see how things go.”

Deciding not to worry about it too much, Tang Rui chose to enhance the engines.

He selected the engine enhancement.

Instantly.

Several options appeared.

Structure Enhancement, Material Enhancement, Turbine Enhancement, Combustion Chamber Enhancement, Compressor Enhancement, and Nozzle Enhancement.

Among them, Structure Enhancement and Material Enhancement required 5 origin points each, while the rest only required two origin points.

After considering, Tang Rui chose Structure Enhancement.

Material enhancement was also important.

However, the issue was that even if he enhanced the materials, he’d have to start from scratch.

Whether he could produce results was uncertain.

Structure, however, was different.

After enhancement, he could directly apply a 3D scan to it.

So, for him, enhancing the structure would be more beneficial.

Whoosh.

With a faint light, enhancement was complete.

The structural enhancement of the engine wasn’t externally visible.

He placed the drone onto a car, drove home.

By the time he arrived, it was almost four o’clock.

His original drowsiness had vanished.

“Staying up is harmful to the body, but I’ll pull an all-nighter.”

Muttering to himself, he took the drone to the basement.

“Let’s get to work!”

Setting the drone on the workbench, he picked up tools and started disassembling the engine.

He wanted to know.

What exactly was the situation with the enhanced engine structure.

Half an hour later, one engine had been completely disassembled by him.

Holding a 3D laser scanning device, Tang Rui began scanning the engine from all angles.

On the computer screen next to him, as he scanned, the 3D model of the engine slowly appeared.

After completing the scan, he looked at the engine structure on the computer.

At first glance, he noticed a problem.

The overall structure of the engine now was overly complex.

“This is a variable bypass ratio structure combining single-spool (turbojet) and twin-spool (turbofan).”

Tang Rui examined carefully and found the engine’s overall structure had undergone significant changes.

Especially the variable bypass ratio.

This could be considered a sort of unconventional advanced technology.

What is bypass ratio, you ask?

Simply put, it was the ratio of airflow between the fan’s external bypass and internal core of an engine.

Current aircraft engines had fixed bypass ratios.

The F-22’s engine, for instance, has a bypass ratio of 0.29.

As for our J-10 and J-15, the bypass ratio falls within the range of 0.6 to 0.8, but the exact figure is unknown.

Now, here came the question.

Was a higher bypass ratio better, or a lower one?

The answer depended on the situation.

A higher bypass ratio was better for aircraft that didn’t need supersonic cruising.

For aircraft that would go into a supersonic cruise, a lower bypass ratio was better.

That was a general idea.

Understanding this much was sufficient for most.

Now, what about this advanced technology of variable bypass ratio?

When cruising at subsonic speeds, the engine would operate in a high bypass ratio mode. Additional air enters the combustion chamber, promoting more efficient fuel burning, increasing thrust, and reducing fuel consumption.

Upon reaching supersonic speeds, the valve would close, allowing only a small amount of air into the external bypass to manage cooling and enhance combustion.

This change increased the engine’s thrust-to-weight ratio and also saved fuel..