Chapter 214: Major Procurement In The United States, Aircraft Engine, Propeller, Aluminum Alloy
Silver was completely sold off, and Fang Wen had a large sum of cash.
After deducting expenses and fees from various links, these funds totaled 8.5 million US Dollars, enough for various procurement.
If not enough, Taishan International’s funds could also be used for emergencies.
The total usable funds added up to about 12 million US Dollars.
Therefore, Fang Wen felt like a tycoon for this major procurement.
It wasn’t until he thoroughly researched a series of aviation company information for procurement that he calmed down again.
To establish an aircraft manufacturing plant, the first thing to understand was naturally aircraft engines.
The United Kingdom currently held the advantage in the aircraft engine field.
Rolls-Royce Company（Car manufacturer and professional aircraft engine manufacturer）
Bristol Aeroplane Company（Aircraft and aircraft engine manufacturer）
Germany, although restricted by the World War I Versailles Treaty from directly producing aircraft engines, had engine departments in BMW and Mercedes-Benz companies with production capabilities.
There was also Friedrichshafen Engine Manufacturing Plant（Friedrichshafen engine manufacturer）, which had produced engines for Zeppelin airships, famous for heavy diesel engines. Similarly due to the Versailles Treaty, German company products were prohibited from use in aircraft, so their products could only be used in locomotives, tanks, and ships, and it was also an enterprise that could switch to aircraft engine production at any time.
The United States side.
General Motors had the best engine manufacturing department in the United States.
There was also Pratt & Whitney Company, established just over ten years ago, specializing in aircraft engine production.
And Allison Engine Company, the 1710 engine producer that Fang Wen obtained through the Mafia.
Japan side.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries would provide engine equipment for various Japanese Army Air Force combat aircraft models in the future.
The choice of engine supplier is very important, and since entire aircraft manufacturing is a systematic engineering, getting this right would resolve other issues smoothly.
Fang Wen thought deeply about this.
Rolls-Royce Company, besides producing engines, also had a car brand ‘Rolls-Royce’.
Compared to the car business that could be sold freely, their aircraft engines were military equipment and required official approval for export.
Very difficult.
Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally named Colonial Aircraft Manufacturing Company, had close ties with the British government and was even harder to deal with.
On the German side, the Nazis were aggressive, clamoring to use all industrial power for military equipment, so how could they cooperate with outsiders at this critical juncture.
Thinking it over, Fang Wen surprisingly found that currently, the only place to obtain high-quality engines was the United States.
Among General Motors, Pratt & Whitney Company, and Allison Engine Company, Fang Wen first contacted General Motors.
Unfortunately, this large enterprise clearly stated that it was fully focused on developing the car engine field.
After hitting a wall with General Motors, Fang Wen turned to contact the other two.
Allison Engine Company could not provide the 1710 engine because the high horsepower of this 1710 engine was valued by the US military.
In the end, only Pratt & Whitney Company remained.
Fang Wen took this in stride.
The reason was that the Boeing 247 used Pratt & Whitney Company’s Wasp engine, which had very stable performance, and the first seaplane Fang Wen manufactured also used the same Wasp engine as the 247.
He had also researched the 1710 engine during this time, and it wasn’t a perfected product yet; even if used in aircraft, probably only he could handle it.
Truly mass-produced aircraft needed stability.
Immediately, he headed to Hartford, Connecticut.
Fang Wen piloted a Waco aerobatic aircraft from New York.
Northeast of New York State bordered Connecticut, and the aircraft arrived in Hartford in just over half an hour.
After the aircraft landed at the airport, Pratt & Whitney Company staff came to welcome him.
It was a bald man in a suit; after Fang Wen parked the aircraft in the rest area, he came over with a cordial greeting:
“Hello, I’m Joris Swan, director of Pratt & Whitney overseas sales department. Very glad you could come to our company.”
Fang Wen shook hands with him, “I hope this visit to Pratt & Whitney can reach a cooperation consensus.”
The other party smilingly led Fang Wen out of the airport, introducing the Pratt & Whitney Company situation.
From his words, Fang Wen understood that the other party currently had booming production and no shortage of orders.
Especially with the hot sales of the Boeing 247, their matching R-1340-S1H1G（550 horsepower） and R-1340-S3H1（600 horsepower） were in continuous production and supply.
This could be called a miracle for Pratt & Whitney Company; the first series of aircraft engines they developed was heavily used by a major manufacturer.
Fang Wen patiently listened to the other party’s words, occasionally responding with a sentence or two, maintaining a amiable communication attitude that made Joris Swan very talkative.
Joris Swan drove the car while talking, and by the time they arrived at Pratt & Whitney Company in East Hartford, he already liked this poised Eastern guest Fang Wen.
After getting out of the car, he directly took Fang Wen to the company’s engine exhibition lobby.
The lobby had various models of the Pratt & Whitney R-1340 engine.
R-1340-S1H1G 550 horsepower（410 kilowatts） and R-1340-S3H1 600 horsepower（447 kilowatts）, dedicated for Boeing 247.
R-1340-B— 450 horsepower (336 kilowatts) and R-1340-D— 500 horsepower (373 kilowatts), suitable for small airplanes.
Looking at the series of engine models, Fang Wen found another R-1340-27 600 horsepower, which was the P-26 engine model, but unfortunately it was marked as military engine and could not be purchased.
After viewing all engine models, Joris Swan smiled and asked: “These are the best civilian aircraft engines, suitable for various needs of your aircraft manufacturing plant.”
Fang Wen pretended to be puzzled: “Do you only have aircraft engines up to 600 horsepower?”
“Of course not, we’re also developing stronger engines. Do you want to see?” Joris Swan said mysteriously.
“Is that possible?” Fang Wen said in surprise; he had only wanted to probe the other party, but didn’t expect this response.
Joris Swan explained: “We just made a new series, and people from Boeing and Douglas Company are observing the test run. I can take you there.”
So that’s how it was, sneaking in with a major company inspection group to watch.
Fang Wen didn’t mind at all and followed Joris Swan to the engine laboratory.
（Pratt & Whitney R1340 aircraft engine, also known as Wasp engine, using models: Boeing 247, P-26 fighter series, Lockheed VEGA5, de Havilland DH-3 Otter, North American T-6 Texan, Sikorsky S-38, etc.）
In the engine laboratory, many people were onlookers, not just outsiders, but also Pratt & Whitney Company’s own technicians.
They were all looking forward to the birth of a powerful aircraft engine.
Fang Wen was among them, and Joris Swan beside him whispered: “This is the R1830 engine we just developed, 800 horsepower.”
Fang Wen nodded, seriously watching the test run process.
He saw the engineer start it from behind; with the engine’s roar, a puff of white smoke emerged, and the propeller connected to the front bearing began to rotate rapidly.
With mechanical perception, Fang Wen had a special judgment for aircraft engines and could gauge the equipment’s power consumption from the propeller’s rotation speed and blade size.
It was indeed 800 horsepower, and the subsequent engineer report confirmed it all.
But even so, the people from Boeing Company and Douglas Company who came to observe weren’t very excited.
After they left, Fang Wen said in surprise: “I think the engine is great, why did they leave.”
Joris Swan said regretfully: “They’ve already ordered high-horsepower engines from other companies, and they’re uncertain about the stability of our company’s high-horsepower engines.”
Hearing Joris Swan say this, Fang Wen had an idea; the Pratt & Whitney R1340 aircraft engine lacked some power, and his manufactured seaplane needed twin engines to maintain performance.
If switched to Pratt & Whitney R1830 aircraft engine, the twin-engine setup could become single-engine, and the twin-propeller design could become single-propeller.
He calculated in his mind that a single-propeller aircraft, with one less engine, would have a much simpler structure and relatively easier maintenance.
Operationally, single-propeller was easier, and costs would correspondingly decrease.
For people and groups who could purchase seaplanes, simple, practical, and easy to use was what they needed most.
Plus the performance brought by the 800 horsepower engine, it should be able to break into the Asian market.
Thinking this way, Fang Wen couldn’t help but ask aloud.
“Swan, can I purchase the Pratt & Whitney R1830?”
“You want to buy Pratt & Whitney R1830? This is an experimental model; even we aren’t sure if it can guarantee long-term stable operation.” Joris Swan said in surprise.
Fang Wen naturally knew this, but precisely because of that, he had the chance to beat those US aviation companies and obtain the usage rights to Pratt & Whitney R1830 first.
Moreover, he felt this aircraft engine had no problem.
He replied sincerely: “I’m willing to be the first procurer of Pratt & Whitney R1830, and during future aircraft manufacturing, I’ll maintain communication with you, passing on various actual operation data of Pratt & Whitney R1830 to you, which can be used for the next generation Pratt & Whitney R1830 development. In the future, I also hope you can continue providing better models of the Pratt & Whitney R1830 series engines.”
This was a proposal to develop in the direction of strategic partners, and once done well, it would benefit both sides.
Joris Swan couldn’t make this decision; he asked Fang Wen to wait and went to report to the higher-ups.
This took three days.
“Piston-engine aircraft engine test run, Pratt & Whitney R1830.”
Three days passed, and discussions on whether to agree to sales and cooperation with Taishan Aircraft Manufacturing Plant for Pratt & Whitney R1830 were being argued in the Pratt & Whitney Company board of directors.
At first, they thought Taishan Aircraft Manufacturing Plant had no reputation or production and didn’t want to cooperate rashly.
But later, they learned more.
The Eastern man named Fang Wen waiting at Pratt & Whitney Company was the owner of Taishan Aircraft Manufacturing Plant; he owned an airline company spanning Asia-Europe, which although newly established, had developed rapidly.
Then they learned about the relationship between Taishan Airlines and Taishan International.
Taishan International’s glory on the NYSE, they had also seen, and couldn’t help but view Fang Wen differently.
Ultimately, Pratt & Whitney Company’s board of directors felt cooperation was possible; this was undoubtedly a way to open the international market.
Once cooperation was confirmed, it was time to negotiate sales pricing.
Fang Wen, holding massive funds, couldn’t handle this situation alone; the follow-up matters should be left to lawyers and business negotiation experts.
Immediately, his private lawyer and Taishan International legal advisor John Harvey organized a negotiation team to come over.
As per Fang Wen’s requirements, they would negotiate with Pratt & Whitney Company for a long-term purchase agreement for 50 Pratt & Whitney R1830 engines.
Purchasing 50 units at once!
Pratt & Whitney Company people didn’t expect this.
They simply didn’t have this much inventory and had to change production schedules, assigning some workers from Pratt & Whitney R1340 production lines to the R1830 engine production line.
Both sides engaged in fierce tug-of-war over price.
Pratt & Whitney insisted on 30,000 US Dollars per unit, while Fang Wen’s negotiation team was only willing to pay 20,000 US Dollars.
Ultimately, both sides compromised, reaching an agreement at 24,000 US Dollars per unit.
Per the agreement, Taishan Aircraft Manufacturing Plant ordered 50 R1830 engines at 24,000 US Dollars each; Pratt & Whitney Company needed to deliver 10 finished units monthly to Taishan International, then transported by Taishan International’s ocean cargo ships to Asia.
With 50 high-power aircraft engines ordered, there was a production plan for 50 aircraft, and similarly, other aircraft manufacturing materials and equipment were indispensable.
For this, various procurement continued afterward.
US companies, freed from tariff restrictions, welcomed foreign procurement; even now, the entire US was thinking of expanding exports, giving Fang Wen an opportunity.
Fang Wen, holding massive funds, bought only the best when purchasing.
High-quality propellers came from Douglas’s propeller manufacturing factory; Douglas didn’t need that much propeller production capacity and was very willing for the propeller factory to generate more profit.
Fuselage aluminum alloy procured from Alcoa, the same source as Boeing 247 fuselage aluminum alloy material.
This company was currently the largest aluminum products and aluminum alloy producer in the entire US.
Fang Wen led the procurement team to finish propeller negotiations, then chartered a flight to Alcoa’s location.
With many people, the momentum was different; plus prior publicity and introduction, Alcoa already knew Fang Wen was a welcome Eastern tycoon, and they sent personnel of corresponding level to the airport for reception.
The group was taken to Alcoa headquarters for procurement consultation and negotiation.
After some exchange, Fang Wen directly asked: “What type of aluminum alloy does the Boeing 247 use? I want to buy the same.”
Aircraft alloy meant a big order; the negotiation personnel was very happy.
He had someone bring two samples and introduced:
“The aluminum alloy used in Boeing 247 is our company’s 2024 aluminum alloy developed the year before last. 2024’s alloy element is copper, with very high strength and excellent machinability, but poor corrosion resistance. Later we developed 6061 aluminum alloy, which although weaker in strength than 2024, has excellent processing performance, more suitable as welding material, good corrosion resistance, high toughness, and no deformation after processing.”
Hearing this, Fang Wen became interested in both alloys.
2024 had high strength and could be used as main skin material.
6061 was good for processing and could be used as intermediate material, fuselage frame, fuel tank, wall panels, and other structures.
He hinted to John Harvey to place orders for both alloys.
After buying engines, propellers, and alloy materials, there were also various components to procure.
No choice, China was in ruins with nothing, so procurement had to come from the world’s factory, the United States.
In the end, the money wasn’t all spent.
2 million US Dollars in procurement bought materials enough to produce 50 aircraft.
If all produced and sold, it would definitely be profitable.
It could also build Taishan Airlines’ industrial production capacity, laying the foundation for future production of other equipment, a win-win.
With this dream, Fang Wen couldn’t wait for the first batch of materials to be loaded onto the ship; he took a ship back to Europe early, then flew home on his own aircraft to Yangon.
He needed to fill up the aircraft manufacturing plant’s various staff before the materials arrived at port; otherwise, just him and five French aircraft engineers wouldn’t be enough.
