150: Dragon Country’s military industrial heritage, dynamic display of Z-20!

From 9 AM, when the exhibition hall opened, the Long Country exhibition hall was continuously packed with visitors.

All members of the Long Country Aviation Industry delegation constantly introduced the various weapons and equipment on display.

According to the arrangements of the Paris International Air Show, during the morning of the professional visitor day, there would be a ten-minute aerial equipment flight demonstration every hour on the airport runway.

However, every person who squeezed into the Long Country exhibition hall simply couldn't bear to leave to watch the performance!

In their eyes, the various advanced weapons and equipment displayed and exhibited in the Long Country exhibition hall were far more interesting than the performances outside!

Especially the introductions by the Long Country delegation's main commentator, combined with military industry experts, further sparked their strong interest in these pieces of equipment!

Many countries, such as those in the Middle East, South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, signed purchase intention orders, preparing to negotiate detailed military procurement cooperation in the VIP room in the afternoon!

However, at 11 AM, when the broadcast at Le Bourget Airport announced, "Long Country Z-20 General Purpose Helicopter preparing for performance," all the personnel immersed in the Long Country exhibition hall instantly became interested!

They hadn't expected that the Z-20, the latest display from the Long Country military, would not only be a static exhibit but would also participate in the air show's dynamic display segment!

Minutes later, hundreds of spectators holding binoculars instantly appeared on the grandstand!

Even personnel in other countries' exhibition halls, upon hearing the broadcast, couldn't help but walk out with binoculars in hand!

At this moment, Long Country's weapons and equipment had almost reached the level of attention given to new equipment from the Soviet Union and USA!

The performance of the Z-20 General Purpose Helicopter instantly attracted the attention of the entire air show!

As hundreds of binoculars on the grandstand simultaneously turned towards the runway, the Z-20's main rotor's five composite material blades reflected a streamlined luster in the sunlight.

The Z-20 "Divine Eagle" had a matte dark green fuselage, its angular photoelectric turret at the nose resembled a hawk's sharp eye, and the rectangular portholes on both sides were designed with bulletproof glass, their edges riveted like armor seams.

The cockpit windshield was tiered and sloped, with wipers tracing semicircles on the curved glass.

The engine nacelle, protruding from the mid-fuselage, was covered with a honeycomb-shaped heat dissipation grille, and the silver-gray metal interfaces of the hardpoints under the short wings on both sides were exposed, forming an industrial contrast with the matte black hydraulic rods of the main landing gear.

Rivets were densely scattered like stars at the tail boom's transition, and the left-tilting tail rotor trailed a transparent air vortex when rotating.

The dynamic debut of the Z-20 once again brought a small climax to the professional visitor day of the Paris Air Show.

Unlike attack helicopters and transport helicopters, general-purpose helicopters play a multi-dimensional and irreplaceable crucial role in the military!

Generally, general-purpose helicopters possess powerful performance, with all-domain maneuverability and delivery capabilities in complex terrain.

Additionally, the "platform versatility" of general-purpose helicopters allows them to transform into various mission roles through modular modification!

This flexibility is unmatched by single-function equipment!

For example, when performing transport missions, a general-purpose helicopter can be an "aerial truck."

But when performing combat missions, it can transform into an attack helicopter by quickly adding weapon modules.

Furthermore, by adding different equipment, it can be converted into an anti-submarine helicopter, search and rescue helicopter, medical helicopter, electronic warfare helicopter, and so on.

This powerful "one machine, multiple uses" capability can significantly reduce the complexity of a military's equipment system!

It enhances the overall effectiveness of the troops!

If a country's military does not have an outstanding general-purpose helicopter, it would need to equip who knows how many different specialized helicopters to meet various combat needs!

Therefore, general-purpose helicopters are highly favored by superpowers, strong nations, and even small and medium-sized countries alike!

After the J-10 "Vigorous Dragon" fighter jet made its name, Long Country quickly launched the Z-20 "Divine Eagle" general-purpose helicopter, naturally attracting the interest of all countries!

Perhaps some countries cannot afford the third-generation J-10 fighter.

But even the smallest country absolutely needs an "outstanding" and "versatile" general-purpose helicopter!

And just as all the personnel at the air show looked towards the Z-20, the "Divine Eagle's" turboshaft-10 engine also erupted with a deafening roar!

The Z-20 took off almost vertically, instantly climbing to an altitude of 300 meters!

Suddenly, its fuselage began to rotate rapidly around its main rotor, like a top spun by an invisible giant hand!

This was precisely the "vortex maneuver," which only a few heavy helicopters in the world can perform!

But the Z-20, as a medium-sized general-purpose helicopter, perfectly demonstrated this highly difficult maneuver by precisely maintaining its attitude through its fly-by-wire control system!

However, before the crowd could exclaim, the Z-20 immediately exited the vortex state and demonstrated extreme maneuverability with a "Tai Chi Wave" maneuver.

Its fuselage undulated up and down as if lifted by ocean waves, completing three continuous wave-like flights within a 50-meter altitude difference.

Most astonishing was that during the second wave crest, the Z-20 pilot pushed the collective pitch stick to its limit, causing the helicopter to transition from a -15° dive angle to a +30° climb angle in just 2 seconds!

This almost broke the limit of a helicopter's transient response!

Such instantaneous G-force changes mean that the Z-20's airframe and rotor system must withstand at least 2-3 Gs of overload in a short period.

Whereas in normal flight, a typical helicopter only needs to withstand 1 G of overload!

This flight performance may seem like showing off, but it is actually a demonstration of the helicopter's overall powerful performance!

As the performance entered its climax, the Z-20 suddenly mimicked a classic attack helicopter tactic.

It executed a side-flight cut-in at 80 knots, then sharply pulled up its nose 30 meters above the ground, while the tail rotor deflected, causing the fuselage to roll horizontally 360° like a cobra!

During the roll, its mounted Tianyan missiles remained locked onto the simulated target, and the fire control system never lost its lock throughout the entire process!

On the grandstand, helicopter designers from countries around the world were all deeply impressed by this maneuver of the Z-20 "Divine Eagle" general-purpose helicopter!

Because the 360-degree aerial horizontal roll just performed should not be a maneuverability expected of a general-purpose helicopter at all!

After all, the function required of a general-purpose helicopter is "versatility," not "supremacy"!

Generally, only specialized attack helicopters designed for armed strikes are required to possess such extreme 360-degree roll capability to evade enemy missiles and instantly counterattack in aerial combat!

Even some specialized attack helicopters may not be able to roll as easily as the Z-20 general-purpose helicopter!

This means that after weapon installation, the Z-20 can easily possess aerial combat maneuverability no less than that of an attack helicopter!

Finally, the Z-20 concluded its performance with a "Tornado Landing" maneuver!

The Z-20's fuselage dived at a 45° angle to 10 meters above the ground, its main rotor speed sharply decreased to create a downwash, stirring up a dust storm with a diameter of 15 meters on the ground!

Just as the audience thought it was about to crash, the pilot suddenly pulled the collective pitch stick, and the five-bladed rotor re-accelerated, cutting through the air and emitting a terrifying shriek similar to a tornado!

The Z-20 "Divine Eagle" fuselage hovered for 0.5 seconds, utilizing ground effect, then vertically leaped 50 meters as if sprung, concluding its performance perfectly!

Throughout the entire flight performance, the Z-20's power system, flight control system, structural strength, and aerodynamic layout all achieved perfect performance!

A general-purpose helicopter does not need to demonstrate the power of its equipment or other functions; it only needs to demonstrate its most powerful flight performance!

Because whether for the air force, navy, army, logistics transport, or civilian use, it will be modified with different modules according to demand!

And what the Z-20 "Divine Eagle" precisely demonstrated was the incredibly powerful flight performance of an aircraft!

This eight-minute performance completely reshaped the world's understanding of helicopter technology!