From the perspective of aviation, innovation and
invention, creation and manufacture of novel things. When I was a child, this thought was buried by adults. After becoming a programmer, I gradually realized that there is too much hidden behind the word innovation. What does innovation require? What is the premise of innovation? Only by solving these problems can we bring up the question of what to innovate and how to innovate. Things have a beginning and an end, and things have an end. With the attitude of knowing what has been done before and after, I would like to talk about my own understanding of innovation.
Innovation takes a lot. But the three most basic ones cannot be missed. I think the three cornerstones of innovation are accumulation, courage and patience. When I was young, I had a strong interest in aviation. Then I want to give some examples from the aviation industry to illustrate innovation:
the aviation world can be said to be the blood of innovation. From the 1970s, American Brian Allen piloted a human-powered plane across the English Channel, completing the first successful human-powered flight in the history of world aviation. On April 27, 2005, the world's largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380, made its maiden flight. From airliners to fighter jets. From design to manufacture. Innovation is almost synonymous with aviation. But in this layer of iterative revolutionary innovation process. Some things in aviation seem to be standing still. The former Soviet Union's Sukhoi Design Bureau completed the test flight of the Su-27 multirole fighter in 1977. Later Su-30, Su-33, Su-34, Su-35, Su-37 followed the aerodynamic layout design of Su-27. The Su-33 introduced canards on the aerodynamic layout of the Su-27. Su-34 added canards on the basis of Su-27, and then changed the cockpit layout from tandem to side-by-side. When it came to Su-35 and Su-37, the canards were cancelled. The aerodynamic layout goes back to the days of the Su-27. Even on Sukhoi's fourth-generation fighter Su-57, we can still see the shadow of the Su-27. The Su-27 has a nearly perfect aerodynamic layout. Double vertical tail enhances yaw stability. The full-motion horizontal tail increases maneuverability. The slatted wings increase lift at low speeds. Wing-body fusion reduces flight resistance. These were pretty advanced designs at the time. As early as 1989, Su-27 made the amazing "Cobra maneuver". By the time of the Su-37 test flight in 1996, for nearly 19 years, the Sukhoi Design Bureau was not busy with innovation, thinking about "going further". Instead, he chose to follow and uphold.
In 1981, the U.S. Air Force spent $86.6 billion to launch the ATF bidding program. Lockheed Martin and Northrop participated in the bidding. This U.S. Air Force tender gave birth to the Lockheed Martin F-22. Boeing's YF-23 prototype was rejected. Compared with the F-22, the aerodynamic design of the YF-23 pays more attention to the stealth performance of the aircraft. Its V-shaped tail and the delta wing layout of the main wing, coupled with the wing-body fusion design of the whole fuselage, greatly reduces the RCS value of the fighter. Cooling of the engine exhaust through a half-open duct reduces the infrared visibility of the aircraft. Back to the F-22. The F-22 uses a horizontal tail plus a vertical tail that slopes outward. Doing so improves the maneuverability of the aircraft. However, due to the conventional layout of more airfoils, part of the stealth performance is lost. The F-22 has a binary thrust vectoring nozzle. It further increases the pitching maneuverability of the aircraft. In terms of power, both fighters use a double-release bureau. The intake duct of the F-22 is curved inward in an S shape. The YF-23 bends upwards. Both can effectively reduce the reflection of the engine fan blade to the radar wave. Both types of fighter jets were powered by Pratt & Whitney F-119 engines. The F-119 is a turbofan engine with outstanding performance and a thrust-to-weight ratio of 9. The YF-23 also used the General Electric F-120 turbofan engine. Because there is not much data, it will not be introduced. (PS: Fighter survival coefficient e2=[(10/wing length)*(15/full length)*(5/RCS)]^0.0625. According to some sources, the YF-22 has a wingspan of 13.1m and a total length of 19.65m. YF-23 has a wingspan of 13.30m and a total length of 20.60m. However, the RCS value is confidential data and there is no reliable source. Therefore, the battlefield survivability of YF-23 and F-22 cannot be compared. It can only be said that YF-23 pays more attention to stealth performance) The YF-23's avant-garde design didn't get Northrop a military contract. The bidding result was that the YF-23 was unsuccessful. For stealth performance, the YF-23 sacrificed maneuverability. The US military's ATF (Advanced Tactical Fighter) program needs an air superiority fighter. rather than a less maneuverable fighter for ground attack missions.
After the ATF bid, the U.S. military sought a lower-cost fifth-generation fighter. So the JSF (Joint Strike Fighter) program was launched. Participating in the bidding are Boeing's X-32 and Lockheed Martin's X-35. The bidding again ended with Lockheed Martin's X-35 winning. The X-35 was officially renamed the F-35. Its three models are the F-35A for the Air Force, the F-35C for the Navy, and the F-35B that can take off and land vertically instead of the AV-8. The aerodynamic layout of the F-35 is similar to the F-22. But all three ABC models use a single-engine layout. One of the most characteristic is the F-35B. During vertical takeoff and landing, the engine nozzle is deflected downward. At the same time the lift fan behind the cockpit is turned on. Two air intakes at the wing roots help maintain balance. Before that, the VTOL fighters that were put into actual combat were the British AV-8.
In the example of the first paragraph, the development and service of the Su-27 and subsequent models have experienced the collapse of the Soviet Union. After 44 years of the Cold War, the economy of the former Soviet Union was dragged down. There is not much economic basis to sustain the development of new aerodynamic layouts. Sukhoi Design Bureau chose to uphold. From this point of view, one of the cornerstones of innovation can be seen—accumulation. "Thick accumulation and thin hair" is the truth of many things. If the innovation does not have its own economic foundation and industrial technology foundation before doing in-depth investigation and research. Blind innovation will lead to further vacuuming of their foundation. The former Soviet Union suffered a lot in this regard. It was not until 2010 that the Russian fifth-generation fighter T-50/Su-57 completed its maiden flight. A full thirteen years behind the F-22. At the same time, innovation also requires great courage to support. Innovation often comes with the price of failure. During the development and application of vertical take-off and landing fighter jets. Experienced numerous crashes and failures. Innovation in aviation is often the result of the sweat of scientists and the blood of test pilots/pilots. High-end technology brings high risk. Aviation is like this, and aerospace is no exception. January 27, 1967. The ground test spacecraft of the Apollo moon landing program is conducting experiments. A wire that shorted out in the oxygen chamber ignited the fire. Burned three astronauts to death. But the Apollo program participants were not afraid of hardships. On July 21, 1969, humans successfully landed on the moon. Lack of courage in the process of innovation often means failure. But the courage to innovate alone is not necessarily successful. Apart from wisdom, what is needed most is patience. Edison's "genius = 99% perspiration + 1% inspiration" profoundly reveals the qualities required for scientific inquiry and innovation. Only unwavering belief can support innovation to success.
7 years of computer learning experience made me realize that I can't rely on my own temperament to always think about innovation and come up with my own original theories. There must be a solid foundation and foundation before innovation. That is to study and master and become proficient in what the predecessors have already studied. Once you have the opportunity to innovate, you must make yourself full of confidence and courage in the process of innovation. Meet challenges with patience. Our country has a rough history. In 1956, the Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of China put forward that the main contradiction in the country had changed from the contradiction between the working class and the bourgeoisie to the contradiction that the people could not meet the needs of economic and cultural development at that time. It also pointed out that the main task of the people of the whole country is to concentrate on the development of social productive forces. The Eighth National Congress also proposed to uphold democratic centralism and oppose the cult of personality. But these proposals were not followed up. In 1958, the Second Session of the Eighth National Congress put forward the general line and started the Great Leap Forward. The experience and lessons of the failure of the Great Leap Forward were summed up at the Ninth Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee in 1961 and the enlarged meeting in 1962. . . . In the spirit of historical materialism, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, that changed my attitude toward innovation. Am I afraid to innovate? Absolutely not. With the lessons learned, I will think more seriously before innovating. I will examine my accumulation, courage and patience, and then create new ones that are responsible for myself.
Some references:
"Aviation Vehicle Flight Dynamics" Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics Press.
"Overall Design of Aircraft" Northwestern Polytechnical University Press.
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