scoonts.theminotaur-第33章

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nd　two　men　below　reached　up　to　help　her　to　the　floor。
　Fritsche　scrambled　up　and　seated　himself　on　the　cockpit　coaming。　mander　Rob　Knight；　the　project　coordinator；　came　up　behind　him　and　stood　on　the　ladder。　〃What　d'ya　think？〃　Dr。　Fritsche　asked。
　〃Pretty　stealthy；　I　guess。〃
　〃About　the　same　RCS　as　a　bird。〃
　〃How　big　a　bird？〃
　〃You　aren't　impressed；　are　you？〃
　Jake　Grafton　took　his　time　answering。　He　examined　the　panels　on　each　side　of　the　seat；　then　fingered　the　switches　experimentally。　〃You　guys　tell　me　if　I'm　wrong：　what　we　have　here　is　one　of　the　air　force　stealth…fighter　prototypes；　a　version　the　blue…sky　boys　decided　not　to　buy。　It's　subsonic；　shoots　only　smart　weapons；　has　limited　maneuverability　and　carries　a　nonstealthy　belly　tank　for　training　purposes　that　can't　be　carried　in　bat。　bat　radius　unrefueled　is　about　six　hundred　nautical　miles。　Now；　that　is。　To　make　this　plane　carrier…suitable　it　needs　a　beefed…up　structure；　tail…hook　and　folding　wings；　all　of　which　will　add　at　least　a　thousand　pounds　of　weight…probably　fifteen　hundred　pounds…and　cost　us　speed　and　range。　This　killing　machine　will　lighten　Uncle　Sugar's　wallet　to　the　tune　of　about　sixty…two　million　bucks　a　pop。　If；　and　only　if；　it　can　be　acquired　on　the　most　economic…the　optimum…production　schedule。　Is　that　right？〃
　〃Well；　the　cost　factors　are　a　lot　more　plicated　than　you've　indicated；　but　your　summary　is　fair。〃
　〃Due　to　the　likelihood　that　the　five…G　limit　will　be　routinely　exceeded　by　fleet　aircrews　in　training　situations；　the　design　needs　further　modification　to　prevent　pressor　stalls。　That　involves　more　structural　strengthening；　puter…operated　secondary　intakes；　loss　of　some　stealthiness。　That　will　cost　an　additional。。？〃
　〃Five　million　a　plane；　assuming　an　optimum　production　schedule。　Ten　million　more　per　plane　if　we　buy　new　engines。〃
　〃Five　million　a　plane；〃　Jake　continued。　〃And　if　we　don't　buy　that　mod；　we'll　have　the　pressor…stall　problem　that　plagued　the　F…14　the　first　ten　years　of　its　life；　which　will　mean　a　higher　attrition　rate　than　we　would　experience　otherwise。〃　Attrition　meant　crashes；　planes　lost　in　training　accidents。　〃Yet　to　go　the　new…engine　route　will　take　ten　years　because　the　engines　don't　even　exist；　all　we　have　is　an　engineers'　proposal　saying　they　could　build　them　sooner　or　later　for　about　so　many　dollars　apiece；　subject　to　all　the　usual　caveats　about　buy　rates；　research；　inflation；　etc。〃
　〃Hiram　Duquesne　likes　this　plane。〃
　〃Ah　yes。　Senator　Duquesne。　Another　great　American。〃
　〃We　didn't　get　the　senior　vice　president　this　morning　because　she　tikes　your　nose；〃　Knight　shot　back。　〃Consolidated　has　about　two　hundred　million　dollars　of　their　own　funds　tied　up　in　this　prototype。　They　employ　twenty　thousand　people。　Consolidated　is　big　business。　They've　bet　their　pany　on　getting　a　stealth　contract。〃
　〃Yeah。　Stock　options　and　bonuses　and　pany　cars　for　the　executives；　jobs　for　the　little　people；　and　votes　for　the　big　people　in　Washington。　I　got　the　picture。〃
　〃Don't　be　so　damned　cynical；〃　Rob　Knight　said。　〃Listen；　Jake；　it　may　well　e　down　to　buying　this　plane　to　replace　the　A…6　or　doing　without。　Ludlow　and　Royce　Caplinger　have　to　be　goddamn　sure　they　have　the　votes　in　Congress　before　they　go　up　to　Capitol　Hill　with　their　hats　in　their　hands。〃
　〃That's　their　problem；　not　mine。　I'm　just　a　worn…out；　washed…up　attack　pilot。　I　didn't　understand　two　words　that　DeCrescentis　woman　said。〃　He　twiddled　some　knobs。　〃I　didn't　ask　for　this　job；〃　he　roared。　〃I'm　not　going　to　be　responsible　for　whether　twenty　thousand　people　keep　their　jobs！　Don't　lay　that　crap　on　me！〃
　Knight　retreated　down　the　ladder。　Fritsche　followed；　his　face　averted。　Jake　sat　alone　in　the　cockpit。　He　tried　to　imagine　how　this　plane　would　feel　to　fly。　With　his　right　arm　in　the　rest　and　his　hand　on　the　stick　and　his　left　curved　over　the　throttles；　he　thought　about　how　it　would　feel　to　look　through　the　HUD　at　a　Soviet　ship。　This　plane　had　to　be　able　to　take　on　Soviet　ships　in　the　Med　and　the　Indian　Ocean　and　the　Arctic　in　winter。　But　it　also　had　to　be　able　to　fight　in　brushfire　wars　in　places　like　Lebanon　and　North　Africa；　Afghanistan；　Iran；　Korea；　Vietnam。　Maybe　China。　Could　it？　With　million…dollar　missiles　and　a　five…G　restriction？
　When　he　had　recovered　his　temper；　he　motioned　to　Knight　and　Fritsche；　who　ascended　the　ladder　again。　〃What　would　Sam　Dodgers'　gizmo　do　for　this　plane？〃
　〃Lower　the　RCS　from　a　bird　to　a　June　bug。〃　Fritsche　frowned。　〃It's　so　stealthy　now　that　making　it　more　so　wouldn't　be　cost…effective；　at　least　not　in　the　lifetime　of　this　machine。　That's　just　my　opinion；　of　course。〃
　〃On　the　other　hand；〃　Knight　said；　〃this　plane　wouldn't　be　junk　if　Dodgers'　suppressor　can't　be　made　to　work　in　a　real　airplane。　Dodgers　knows　the　reflective　characteristics　of　that　tabernacle　wall　precisely　when　viewed　from　the　old　outhouse　by　one　radar。　Protecting　a　shape　as　plex　as　an　aircraft　from　numerous　transmitters　and　God　knows　how　many　receivers　situated　in　ail　three　dimensions…that's　another　thing　altogether。〃
　〃Tell　me　what　all　this　stuff　is；〃　Jake　said。　〃This　doesn't　look　like　any　cockpit　I　ever　saw。〃
　〃Both　prototypes　have　exactly　the　same　layout。　This　is　all　the　stuff　that　was　going　into　the　A…6G。　What　these　television…screen　things　are　are　Multifunction　Displays。　This　lower　middle　one　is　a　map　that　moves　as　the　plane　moves。　The　plane　always　stays　in　the　center。　This　should　do　away　with　the　necessity　for　the　crew　to　always　carry　awkward　charts　in　the　cockpit。
　〃Now　these　upper　two　MFDs　present　literally　all　the　information　the　pilot　might　wish　to　know；　or　the　info　can　be　presented　on　the　HUD。　A　touch　of　the　button　calls　up　engine　information；　another　button　calls　up　the　radar　presentation　from　the　rear　cockpit；　still　another　the　presentation　from　either　one　of　the　two　IR　sensors；　and　so　on。　Then　there's　a　variety　of　tactical　displays。。。〃　He　droned　on。
　Jake　was　astounded。　This　was　several　generations　beyond　the　A…6　cockpit。　It　was　technically　as　far　beyond　an　A…6　as　an　A…6　was　from　a　World　War　II　B…17。　〃I　had　no　idea；〃　he　muttered；　awed。
　Knight　showed　him　the　rear　cockpit。　It　was　equally　futuristic。　Instead　of　the　HUD　control　panel；　it　possessed　a　third　MFD；　so　three　of　them　were　arranged　in　a　row　right　across　the　panel。　Under　the　center　one　was　the　map　display。　〃This　moving　map…didn't　James　Bond　have　one　like　this　in　one　of　the　movies？〃
　〃Yep。　But　this　is　better。〃
　〃Mamma　Mia！〃
　The　BN　in　an　A…6　had　one　cursor　control　stick。　The　BN　in　this　plane　had　two；　one　on　each　side　panel；　and　instead　of　just　a　couple　of　buttons　sticking　out；　each　stick　was　festooned　with　buttons；　like　warts。　〃The　idea　is　that　the　BN　won't　have　to　reach　for　controls。　Everything　he　needs　is　on　those　control　sticks。〃
　After　Jake　spent　another　half　hour　walking　around　the　airplane　and　looking　at　every　inch；　he　asked　each　of　the　manders　what　they　thought。　One　plained　about　range　and　payload；　another　about　the　intake　problems；　a　third　about　the　difficulty　of　maintenance。　All　were　aghast　at　the　cost。　〃But　five　years　from　now　we'll　all　probably　think　sixty…two　million　dollars　for　a　plane　was　a　hell　of　a　buy；〃　Smoke　Judy　mented。
　〃You　know；〃　Jake　said　later　as　he　stood　in　the　doorway　with　Helmut　Fritsche　and　looked　back　at　the　all…black　airplane；　〃I　had　an　uncle　who　went　to　the　car　dealer　one　morning　to　buy　a　station　wagon　for　the　family；　and　that　evening　he　went　home　with　a　little　red　convertible　coupe。〃
　〃High　tech　is　sexy。〃
　Jake　thought　about　it。　〃It's　so　damn　neat　that　you　try　to　convince　yourself　that　you　need　it。　All　the　bells　and　whistles　and　doohickeys　and　thingamajigs。　And　the　day　you　have　to　bet　your　ass　on　these　gadgets；　they　don't　work。〃
　〃Shapes　and　absorbers　work。〃
　〃I　suppose。　But　how　is　Sam　Dodgers'　superconductive　puter　with　multiple　CPUs　going　to　work　after　five　hundred　catapult　shots　and　five　hundred　arrested　landings　when　some　kid　racks　the　plane　through　a　six…G　pull　to　evade　an　optically　aimed　missile？　How　are　all　these　MFDs　and　IR　sensors　and　ring…laser　gyros　going　to　hold　up？　Is　this　techno…junk　gonna　work　then？〃
　
　9
　
　Terry　Franklin　stood　with　his　back　against　a　pillar　and　tried　to　keep　his　face　pointed　at　Lincoln's　Second　I