A shield cart was pulled by eighty horses. This power was not small, and it also reflected the huge advantages of the industrial era compared to the agricultural era.
I just thought that the "Broken Leg Crazy" Swordfish has 750 horsepower, the "Air Tractor" Yinwu has 1,000 horsepower, and the "Hellcat" F6F has 2,000 horsepower.
Modern families all have mobility cars with more than 100 horsepower. In comparison, the tanks at this time seem a bit shabby.
In fact, the internal combustion engine has just emerged, and many technologies are not yet mature, so it is normal for the power to not increase.
The Mark 1 tank that appeared in the latter part of World War I had an engine power of just over 100 horsepower.
The first aircraft equipped by the U.S. Army had only 30 horsepower.
After Zhu Jingyuan thought about it for a while, he said:
"The aircraft used for testing should be mid-range in terms of size and engine."
Li Rui followed Zhu Jingyuan's requirements and chose a test aircraft with a wingspan of 12 meters, a total weight of 420 kilograms, and an engine power of 32 horsepower.
When arranging craftsmen to pull out the plane, the upright Li Rui couldn't help but remind Zhu Jingyuan:
"Your Highness, the weight of this aircraft is already high, and we also need to modify the wings and install a rudder. I suggest that we replace it with a lighter and smaller engine."
However, Zhu Jingyuan didn't care:
"It's okay. I don't think the problem is big. Let's try it first. If it doesn't work, let's change it..."
Zhu Jingyuan could barely remember the rough parameters of the Wright brothers' first airplane.
It weighs 360 kilograms, has an engine power of 12 horsepower, and a wingspan of just over 12 meters.
Although the test machine in front of Zhu Jingyuan was heavier, its engine power had nearly tripled, and its thrust-to-weight ratio was at least twice as high.
The first military aircraft officially equipped by the U.S. Army was only of this level.
Moreover, the two Wright brothers were amateur inventors who repaired bicycles, and their assistants were the top designers and craftsmen in the world empire.
I also directly provided a truly mature airfoil, and the lift must be much higher than that of the Wright brothers.
So as long as nothing happens, it will probably be able to fly.
Hearing Zhu Jingyuan's determination, Li Rui could only shake his head helplessly and led the craftsmen to start modifications.
The structure of the original test aircraft is very simple, and it is equally simple to modify. The materials and tools at the test site are also readily available.
Although the original wings are arc-shaped, there are support structures underneath the arc-shaped structure. Now it's just a matter of pasting the skin on it.
The four steel tubes are tied longitudinally to the middle frame of the wings and fixed using locks and steel wires to form a simple aircraft fuselage.
Using steel pipes, columns, skins, and springs, two sets of movable wings are separately made, which are used as rudder surfaces for left and right and up and down swings respectively, and are pulled by steel wires to control the swing.
Two sets of movable wing rudder surfaces are fixed to the front end and tail of the steel tube fuselage respectively.
Pull the steel wire to the middle of the two wings and fix it on both sides of the pilot's seat. Use levers, pulleys, handles, and automatic buckles to make two simple rudder surface adjusters.
All the modifications took less than two hours in total, and it was almost 11:50 when they were all completed.
There are still ten minutes left before get off work. It’s time for dinner.
Craftsmen are not very enthusiastic about fixed-wing aircraft. Some do not think they can fly in the first place, and some have experienced too many failures and have become numb.
It's almost lunch time, and the craftsmen all subconsciously want to eat.
But now that the prince is watching here, it's not really time to get off work yet, so he can only continue to be patient and prepare for the test.
Everyone instinctively thinks that it shouldn't take long to test once, and failure usually happens very quickly.
On the contrary, if it succeeds, then there will be no time left, but it should not be that easy to succeed.
Two craftsmen dragged the modified aircraft to the end of the race in the middle of the test venue.
The craftsman responsible for testing the aircraft looked at the sky, roughly estimated the wind direction and sunlight angle, then climbed into the middle of the aircraft wings and sat down, and began to check the control equipment.
There were a few craftsmen around who looked bored, looking back in the direction of the canteen from time to time.
After the flight tester completed the inspection, he shouted to Li Rui, who was in charge of the on-site command:
"Appropriate——"
After hearing this, Li Rui looked at Zhu Jingyuan next to him and asked for permission to start the test. Zhu Jingyuan nodded slightly, indicating that he could start.
Li Rui took a deep breath, held a thin iron trumpet, and started shouting at the top of his lungs:
"Attention everyone, the test of fixed-wing flying machines is about to begin. No one is allowed to approach the test track——"
"Auxiliary team, prepare to start the engine!"
Li Rui shouted very seriously and formally, but the situation at the scene was actually very casual and there was no sense of seriousness at all.
No one paid much attention to this test. Zhu Jingyuan thought it would probably be successful, while others thought it was probably just a fool's errand.
The two craftsmen who were originally watching the canteen, after hearing Li Rui's shouting, carried something similar to the crank handle of an old-fashioned tractor, walked behind the wing and started cranking.
A few seconds later, along with a burst of fierce black smoke, a harsh "chug" sound was heard, and the plane's propeller also whined.
The craftsman responsible for starting the engine immediately ran away with the crank handle, and the plane began to slowly slide forward.
At this moment, a crisp bell rang, and everyone turned around subconsciously.
I saw a group of people coming out of other surrounding houses one after another, and the meal at the testing site finally arrived.
The two craftsmen carrying the crank subconsciously wanted to leave, but after taking a look at Zhu Jingyuan and his son, they forcibly resisted the urge to leave and waited patiently for the results of the aircraft test.
Other craftsmen who came out around also discovered the test here. Most of them shook their heads and left, quickly going to the canteen to eat.
There was chaos all around.
Many craftsmen who had just come out were chatting with each other in twos and threes. They did not hear what Li Rui said before, did not pay attention to the plane on the runway, and unconsciously walked to the runway.
In fact, this runway is not a regular flight runway. After all, the plane has not yet succeeded. It is just a few lines drawn separately on the cement floor in the middle of the compound of the test site.
There were no clear obstacles on both sides of the runway, and it was very close to other surrounding test sites. Coupled with the continuous failures, the surrounding craftsmen had long since stopped taking it seriously.
Li Rui could only hold the loudspeaker and keep shouting:
"Don't go near the runway, don't go near the runway...don't..."
And in this chaos, someone suddenly screamed:
"Ah - it's flying!"
Everyone was stunned:
"what?"
"what happened?"
Then there were screams one after another.
"Fly! Fly!"
"Fuck!"
"That thing is flying!"
"The big kite is in the sky!"
"How is this possible? This is really flying!"
"This thing can really fly!"
Zhu Jingyuan immediately turned around and found that the two big wings had slowly left the ground.
Then, amid cheers from the crowd, it continued to climb upwards at a slight incline.
As the plane got higher and higher, the cheers around it became louder and wider.
Everyone stopped, looked up at the sky and shouted.
There was so much noise outside that people in the canteen also ran out, and then the chef in the canteen followed. No one went to eat at all.
Everyone couldn't control it and cheered loudly together, turning the entire testing ground into a sea of noise.
Human beings really took off on their own!
And this is not just floating slightly, but actually flying in the sky.
Several minutes have passed since it left the ground. The plane is still flying in the sky, and it is flying higher and higher.
Airships and hot air balloons are able to float by reducing their own specific gravity so that their overall specific gravity is smaller than that of air.
The specific gravity of an airplane is greater than that of air. Just like a bird, it uses its wings to cut through the airflow and eventually flies by itself.
The principles of the two, as well as the feelings they give people, are completely different.
Li Rui's eyes were completely widened and he was speechless looking at the aircraft in the sky.
Surprisingly - it really was so successful!
His Highness Jingyuan is really a genius...
