Volume 1, Chapter 54: Algorithm

The air in the conference room was heavy and still.

“No, it won’t work.”

The man sitting at the head of the long table was Deputy Factory Director Wang, in charge of production. He pushed the wind tunnel test application for the JY1’s improved version back to the center of the table.

“Director Wang, our timeline is extremely tight,” Du Yuze spoke up.

“Xiao Du, I’m not trying to make things difficult for you,” Deputy Director Wang pinched the bridge of his nose. “The factory’s small wind tunnel is fully booked until June next year. Even routine tests for several mature projects have to be squeezed in. Don’t even mention your improved model.”

“What about the national-level wind tunnels? HF-03 or FL-08?” Shen Qingyun couldn’t help but ask.

Deputy Director Wang glanced at him as if looking at an ignorant child. “I submitted the application report for you two weeks ago. You know what the response was? ‘Principally supported, please queue according to procedure.’ How long will that queue be? One year? Two years? No one can say.”

Old Li sat silently nearby; he had anticipated this outcome long ago. This was reality: technological breakthroughs are forever shackled by the chains of resources and procedures.

“So, the path is completely blocked,” Du Yuze concluded simply and directly.

“Yes, it’s completely blocked,” Deputy Director Wang spread his hands. “Unless you can conjure up a wind tunnel yourselves. My advice is to slow down the preliminary research on the improved model and the light aircraft, and first ensure the production tasks for the current batch of JY1s. That’s the top priority.”

“Trading production for research is like exchanging today for tomorrow,” Du Yuze said. “When tomorrow comes, what will we have to compete with others?”

“Then what do you suggest?” Deputy Director Wang grew impatient. “I have no resources here. That’s the conclusion. Without wind tunnel data, your design is just a castle in the air. You can’t risk the lives of prototype aircraft and test pilots, can you?”

The room fell silent again.

Shen Qingyun felt a wave of helplessness. They had solved the “internal problem” of electromagnetic compatibility, only to be slapped back to square one by the “external problem” of the wind tunnel. Deputy Director Wang’s words, though harsh, were facts. An aircraft that hasn’t been thoroughly validated in a wind tunnel is essentially a flying coffin.

“What if,” Du Yuze suddenly spoke, “we don’t have to use traditional wind tunnels?”

Everyone turned to look at him.

“What did you say?” Deputy Director Wang frowned.

“I said, we can turn the JY1 itself into a mobile wind tunnel.”

“Nonsense!” Old Li was the first to slam the table. “Xiao Du, this isn’t a joke! What do you mean by turning an airplane into a wind tunnel? What are you trying to do?”

“This isn’t nonsense; it’s called flight test data identification,” Du Yuze ignored Old Li’s outburst and turned to Deputy Director Wang. “Simply put, we let the aircraft fly, precisely control a series of maneuvers, use onboard sensors to collect real-time flight state data, and then apply algorithms to inversely calculate aerodynamic parameters.”

He paused, then added, “This is essentially a ‘flying wind tunnel.’”

The conference room was deathly silent.

Shen Qingyun’s mind went blank. This concept was even wilder than the foundational ideas in the “Distributed Modular Avionics Architecture” document they had studied three days ago. That was still theoretical, while what Du Yuze was proposing was to use a prototype worth hundreds of millions—and a human life—to put this unheard-of theory into practice.

“You’re insane,” Deputy Director Wang spat out three words. He wasn’t insulting him but stating a diagnosis. “Do you know what you’re saying? Using onboard sensors? Are those sensors accurate enough? Do you know what kind of extreme flight conditions such tests require? High angles of attack, severe sideslip, even approaching stall boundaries! You’re asking a test pilot to risk their life!”

“The physical precision of sensors might be insufficient, but we can compensate with software,” Du Yuze spoke calmly. “By fusing multisensor data and applying advanced Kalman filtering algorithms, we can reduce errors to a usable range. As for flight conditions, we don’t have to jump straight to stall boundaries. We can start within the safest envelope and gradually expand. Each flight provides more accurate data for the next.”

“Algorithms? Which textbook contains these algorithms? Who has verified them?” Old Li pressed, his face flushed.

“There’s no textbook—we’ll write our own. No verification—we’ll do it ourselves.”

“With what will you verify? The No. 01 prototype?” Old Li’s voice trembled. “Xiao Du, there are real people on board! Living people!”

“I never said we’d put people on board right away,” Du Yuze turned to Shen Qingyun. “Isn’t our UAV flight control system still here?”

Shen Qingyun’s heart stirred. He understood Du Yuze’s idea: first use an unmanned platform to verify the algorithms and testing process safely.

“The UAV’s aerodynamic shape, weight, and inertia are completely different from the JY1’s. How can the data be relevant?” Deputy Director Wang immediately countered.

“We’re verifying the algorithm, not the aerodynamics,” Du Yuze replied. “I want to prove that the ‘flying wind tunnel’ method itself is feasible. Once the method works, swapping the model to JY1 is just a matter of parameters.”

“Parameter issues?” Deputy Director Wang sneered. “Aircraft design is a matter of minute precision, but to you, it’s just a parameter issue? Du Yuze, you’re becoming more arrogant. Do you think solving a few technical problems means you can ignore all engineering principles and safety standards?”

“I respect the principles but refuse to be their slave,” Du Yuze met Deputy Director Wang’s stare head-on. “Director, let’s do the math. Waiting in line for wind tunnel time means one to two years of project stagnation. Our light aircraft project will be stillborn, and JY1’s improvements will lag behind. Two years later, even if we get the data, we’ll already be obsolete. That’s the first cost.”

“The second cost: if we go my way, the risk is high, I admit. We might blow up a UAV, possibly worse. But if we succeed, not only will we get all the necessary data, we’ll also establish an entirely new, wind tunnel–independent flight test system. The value of this system is greater than ten wind tunnels. We can cut the development cycle by more than half.”

“Now, which do you choose?”

Deputy Director Wang was stumped. He stared at Du Yuze, trying to discern whether he was truly mad.

This was a brutal choice: one path leads to predictable slow death, the other to survival through perilous risk.

“You’re gambling!”

“All technological breakthroughs are gambles,” Du Yuze said. “Was fitting a turbofan engine to an aircraft for the first time a gamble? Was first trying fly-by-wire a gamble? Everything we’re doing now is just betting on algorithms and computing power rather than on traditional steel and concrete.”

Shen Qingyun felt his heartbeat quicken. He realized he wasn’t just persuaded by Du Yuze but ignited.

The avionics document, those revolutionary ideas, were now connecting in his mind with the concept of the “flying wind tunnel.”

He suddenly spoke up, “Director, theoretically… it’s feasible.”

All eyes turned toward him.

“To achieve this real-time data calculation, extremely high onboard computing power and data bus bandwidth are required. Traditional federated avionics can’t do this because data is locked in different black boxes. But…” Shen Qingyun took a deep breath, “if we adopt a distributed modular avionics architecture, connecting all sensors and computers on a high-speed data network, computing power can be centrally allocated and data globally shared. It’s like giving the aircraft a central brain. This brain has enough capability to run the complex algorithms Du Yuze mentioned.”

His explanation grew clearer and more coherent.

“The physical modifications we’ve done these past few days to shield electromagnetic interference are just the first step. The avionics document Du Yuze gave us is the core. That ‘integrated avionics’ is the brain and nervous system of the ‘flying wind tunnel.’”

Old Li was stunned. Looking between Shen Qingyun and Du Yuze, he felt like a fool. These two young men had already connected everything on a level he hadn’t seen. They weren’t merely solving an electromagnetic interference problem—they were paving the way for this audacious plan.

Deputy Director Wang’s face shifted again and again. He had thought it was just Du Yuze’s wild idea, but now even his most trusted technical backbone, Shen Qingyun, stood with him.

He felt shaken but duty-bound to guard the last line of defense.

“Fine, even if your avionics system can accomplish this, what about the test pilot? Who would dare fly an aircraft validated in this way?”

“I will,” a voice came from the doorway.

Everyone turned. A tall, upright man in a flight jacket leaned against the door frame. He was the chief test pilot assigned by the Air Force to the factory. No one knew when he had arrived or how long he had been listening.

Lu Bingzhou entered, not looking at Deputy Director Wang nor Du Yuze, but walking straight to Shen Qingyun.

“The ‘central brain’ you mentioned—can it make the aircraft smarter?”

Shen Qingyun was taken aback and nodded instinctively. “Theoretically… yes. It can predict dangers earlier and, in some cases, make optimal decisions on behalf of the pilot.”

“For example, at the stall edge, it can help me stabilize the plane?”

“Yes, through precise control laws…”

“Good.” Lu Bingzhou cut him off, then turned to Deputy Director Wang. “I’m taking on this project.”

“Captain Lu! What nonsense are you talking about!” Deputy Director Wang was shocked. “This is a factory project, not yours from the Air Force! You have no authority to decide—”

“Of course I don’t have the authority to decide factory projects,” Lu Bingzhou smiled. “But I have the right to decide what I fly and what I don’t. Director, to be honest, the current JY1 flies like a stubborn mule. Your flight control is clumsy—like something from last century. If this Du kid can really give it a smarter brain, I don’t care if you want me to use it as a flying wind tunnel or dance at the edge of the atmosphere—I’m willing.”

He patted Du Yuze on the shoulder.

“Kid, I don’t care what algorithms or wind tunnels you use. I have only one question: Can what you’re doing make my aircraft react 0.1 seconds faster than the enemy’s missile lock?”

Du Yuze looked at him and said slowly, “My goal is to make sure the enemy’s missile never gets a chance to lock on you.”

Lu Bingzhou’s eyes lit up.

Deputy Director Wang slumped back into his chair, knowing he had lost. He was facing not just a technical fanatic but an alliance of fanatics, geniuses, and madmen.

“You… you must write a detailed report. Technical plans, risk assessments, step-by-step verification schedules… nothing can be missing.” His voice was dry.

This was a reluctant concession.

Du Yuze said nothing more. He picked up the documents on the table and exchanged a glance with Shen Qingyun.

The meeting was over.

As they stepped out of the conference room, through the hallway window they saw the vast final assembly workshop, where the silver-gray fuselage of the JY1 sat quietly.

“When did you first have this idea?” Shen Qingyun asked.

“When I was redeeming that avionics document.”

“So from the start, you never intended just to solve the interference?”

“Interference is just a skin disease,” Du Yuze stopped walking. “What I want is to replace the entire skeleton and nervous system. Now, we only need the heart.”

“The heart?”

Du Yuze didn’t answer. In his mind, the system interface flickered with an option he had temporarily ignored.

[Principles of Miniaturized Controlled Fusion Engine Technology—100,000 Points]

That was the ultimate “dragon-slaying technique.”

He turned around and said to Shen Qingyun and Old Li behind him,

“Give me that report. Three days aren’t enough—then a week. I want to see the first version of the ‘flying wind tunnel’ software architecture.”