After all, the mechanical skills lodged in his mind, not native to this world, were rewards from the System—a thoroughly mature and highly advanced framework. While slightly ahead of the current technological era, they were still rooted in the lineage of contemporary American military technology. Moreover, they formed a comprehensive and reliable system.
In the Marvel universe, Tony Stark's Stark Industries had already become the largest arms manufacturer in America before his capture by the Ten Rings, thanks to these technologies. Considering these skills had been tested countless times by a genius like Stark—and given that even the USA's "Manhattan Project" had been completed by his father—it was no surprise that Richard Castle could effortlessly develop an engine upgrade method that left the two engine manufacturers in awe. Using his supercomputer to validate these ideas was a simple task for him.
Castle and the chubby sidekick had no say in the aerodynamics or external design of the B-2 bomber. The sidekick only needed to simulate, via the supercomputer, how the B-2 would perform with Castle's flight control system installed. Meanwhile, Castle focused on analyzing, with the help of his supercomputer and Jarvis, how dramatically the stealth bomber's combat performance would improve after significantly enhancing engine power and reducing fuel consumption. Although these improvements had already been estimated by Northrop Grumman and General Electric, an additional layer of validation wouldn't hurt.
Once Castle's third-party verification was complete, the 509th Bomb Wing stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri would be the first to upgrade their B-2 bombers. As the main contributor to both the flight control system and engine upgrades, Castle, alongside the sidekick, would join the technical teams from the two companies to implement these upgrades on the Air Force's prized assets.
Castle actually enjoyed this work.
Curiously, ever since receiving these peculiar skills from the System, his mindset seemed to have undergone an inexplicable change. Once a lazy, carefree man, Castle was suddenly filled with enthusiasm upon receiving this request from Northrop Grumman. While part of this excitement was due to the sidekick's incessant egging on, another significant reason was that Beckett had recently been promoted to captain of the 12th Precinct, making it awkward for Castle to keep tagging along to investigate homicides with her.
Unlike in the original series, where Castle opened a poorly managed private detective agency after Beckett's promotion, he now had more exciting toys to play with—like the U.S. Air Force's operational B-2 stealth bombers.
In the original storyline, when Beckett became captain, Castle's daughter Alexis had already graduated college. The struggling private detective agency was barely kept afloat thanks to Alexis' intervention. However, in this altered timeline, Beckett had reached her promotion years earlier, while Alexis hadn't even finished high school. Even though Castle still harbored a dream of becoming a detective, who could he rely on to support this endeavor?
Sure, he could count on the homebody sidekick and Ramsay, but Castle could handle his daughter's disdain. Being ridiculed by the sidekick and Ramsay, though? Absolutely not.
Thus, Castle set aside his restless detective ambitions, deciding to bide his time until Benjamin came into play. Unexpectedly, Northrop Grumman persuaded the U.S. Air Force to upgrade their B-2s.
Even his writing career had slowed. After publishing several novels based on Beckett's character over the past year and a half, his agent, Paula, advised against rushing out another installment to allow the earlier books to maximize their market impact.
With little to occupy his time, Castle eagerly accepted the chance to work on the B-2 upgrades. Spurred on by the sidekick, who was itching to get hands-on with military hardware, Castle threw himself into this fascinating project with gusto.
While Castle and the sidekick were busy testing upgrade ideas on the supercomputer in his estate, an agent operating under the alias "Park Jin-ho" had already infiltrated Alexis' high school, joining her class. Within days, the agent befriended the outgoing and sociable Alexis.
Unaware of this development, Castle continued to focus on his work. While he had tasked Jarvis with monitoring the safety of his mother, Martha, and daughter, Alexis, he respected Alexis' privacy in personal interactions. When Alexis first learned about her father's AI system and its godlike surveillance capabilities, she made him agree to specific boundaries.
Thus, Castle remained oblivious as the foreign agent slowly approached his target.
In early November, Castle finally submitted the results of his supercomputer simulations to the eagerly awaiting teams at Northrop Grumman and General Electric Aviation (correction: earlier references to General Dynamics providing engines for the B-2 were a mistake; the engines were actually produced by GE Aviation—apologies for the error!). As expected, Castle's validation report earned an immediate invitation. GE Aviation requested Castle to visit their headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts, to assist as the lead designer on a new generation of upgraded engines for the B-2. These engines would incorporate Castle's advanced modification techniques, boasting greater power and range.
GE Aviation's headquarters, founded by none other than Thomas Edison, was a testament to Edison's operational genius, despite his infamous rivalry with Tesla. With over a month left until Christmas, Castle decided that staying cooped up at home would only turn him into a homebody like the sidekick. With the sidekick enthusiastically pushing him to accept, Castle made arrangements at home and set off for Boston.
The upgraded engines for the B-2, with work relocated to GE's research facilities rather than Whiteman Air Force Base, reflected the complexity of the task. After all, the B-2 housed four GE F118-110 non-afterburning turbofan engines.
Before Castle's upgrades, these engines had a maximum thrust of 8,618 kg per unit, weighed 1,452 kg each, and had a thrust-to-weight ratio of 5.9. Designed to prioritize range over speed, they had served the B-2's needs well.
Using Castle's engine modification techniques—largely inspired by Tony Stark—these engines saw a 50% increase in thrust, significant weight reduction, and a thrust-to-weight ratio nearing 8. Even fuel consumption dropped by 17%, significantly extending the B-2's range.
This breakthrough underscored the revolutionary nature of Castle's methods. No wonder both Pratt & Whitney and GE were eager to secure this technology, even offering shares in their companies.
Globally, the aviation engine industry was dominated by Pratt & Whitney, GE, and Rolls-Royce. If GE could leverage Castle's technology to outperform Rolls-Royce, it would be a game-changer.
However, that ambitious vision could wait. For now, the priority was upgrading the Air Force's bombers.
Despite the improved engines, adjustments to the aircraft's balance and other components were inevitable. Fortunately, Castle's simulations had shown these issues to be minor and easily solvable with minor weight adjustments.
Arriving at GE's Boston headquarters, Castle and the sidekick were met by eager engineers from GE and Northrop Grumman. The engineers wasted no time, diving into the modification of the first test aircraft.
Unlike the engineers, Castle and the sidekick treated the project as playing with toys. The B-2's mysterious cockpit, finally unveiled before them, became their playground. When not consulting with Northrop Grumman's technical team on solutions, Castle and the sidekick were often found treating the engine-less B-2 as a giant plaything.
For Castle, it was a time of pure enjoyment, one he wished would never end.
(End of Chapter)
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