In a relaxed and happy atmosphere, the test aircraft in the sky also completed its test flight.
It circled twice over the test field, flew two more figure eights, and finally landed according to the procedure.
The craftsmen on the runway immediately came up to greet us and carefully checked the status of the aircraft.
As a flight tester, "Old Zhao" quickly ran over after getting off the plane and reported excitedly to Zhu Jingyuan and Li Rui:
"Your Highness, Chief Li, we haven't found any big problems, just a few minor problems that don't bother us. We can just take them apart and adjust them later..."
Zhu Jingyuan nodded slightly, and Li Rui continued to ask about the situation:
"Evaluate it yourself. Can you continue to do flight speed and distance tests?"
After thinking for a moment, Lao Zhao nodded:
"I think it's okay."
Zhu Jingyuan was listening on the side, and suddenly realized some possible situations, and forced it to show himself:
"Don't mind me, I can come again at any time, I regard the Ministry of Industry as my own department now.
"So don't force the test just because I'm here. If something goes wrong, you'll lose more than you gain."
Lao Zhao couldn't help laughing immediately:
"Your Highness, you really don't have to worry. It's just that a few functional parts are installed inappropriately, which has no impact on safety."
Only then did Zhu Jingyuan feel relieved:
"That's good……"
The test aircraft underwent inspection and simple maintenance. After waiting for complete cooling, the range test officially began.
Lao Zhao boarded the plane again, took off again and flew straight north.
At this time, a rigid airship was already waiting in the sky above the two star-shaped fortresses at the northwest and northeast corners of the capital.
In the area surrounding the old city of the capital, testing flying machines on a larger scale will definitely require reporting to the security forces guarding the capital.
The Ministry of Industry itself also needs their cooperation to help mark and measure the data of the aircraft. Now the aircraft itself does not have a speedometer or the like.
After the test aircraft arrived at the northwest corner of the old city, it turned to the east and continued flying, using the airship over the star-shaped fortress as the center mark.
At the same time, the power of the aircraft engine is adjusted to keep it near the upper limit of the optimal operating range, and the aircraft enters the maximum stable cruising speed.
This morning, apart from the old emperor, the flying machine finally appeared in front of non-designers and manufacturers.
Although the soldiers on board the airship knew today's mission in advance, when they looked at the plane that appeared in the field of vision, their expressions and moods were hard to calm down for a long time.
If it weren't for the officers on the airship who were watching, there might have been noisy discussions by now.
In fact, the captain of the airship who came out to cooperate with the aircraft test now has his eyes widened and is staring at the aircraft that is gradually moving away.
The wings of the airplane did not flap, but it could fly stably and continuously. This was quite disruptive to ordinary people at the time.
However, the current capital garrison is a truly elite force. Although they were surprised, they did not forget to record the data and time.
Lao Zhao's mood on the plane was very simple, just pure excitement and excitement.
Especially when I went around the airship and continued to accelerate eastward, I couldn't help but shout:
"This is called flying! Those airships and balloons are just floating!"
"The cruising speed of the machine I am using for the experiment is estimated to be over eighty kilometers per hour."
"The maximum speed of those airships is only eighty!"
"And the planes are much more flexible than them. They can stun them around corners. When they get to the battlefield..."
"Um...the question is...how should I attack them on the battlefield?"
"Are you going to install a machine gun on the plane? The question is how to install it, how to aim and fire..."
Lao Zhao suddenly felt confused again, but this did not affect him from flying the plane.
Ten minutes later, the plane passed the northeast corner of the old city and passed by the airship above the star-shaped fortress here.
While Lao Zhao recorded the time, he kept the plane motionless and continued to fly eastward at a constant speed.
But I started to pay attention to the fuel balance of the plane. When there was still 60% fuel left, the plane arrived at the border of Tongzhou.
Lao Zhao couldn't help but marveled for a while again, and at the same time, he immediately turned around and returned to the original route.
Pass the two fortresses outside the old city again, fly south in the northwest corner of the city, and finally return to the west test site of the Ministry of Industry.
Two airships from the two fortresses landed one after another. The officers cooperating with the test recorded the time when the aircraft passed and notified the personnel at the Ministry of Industry test site by telegram and phone call.
The craftsmen at the Ministry of Industry's test site got these two times and calculated them using the distance between the two fortresses to know the relatively accurate speed of the aircraft.
These data are very simple. Li Rui simply calculated the results in his head and immediately went to report to Zhu Jingyuan excitedly:
"Your Highness, the cruising speed of the plane when it departed was 82 kilometers per hour, and the speed when it returned reached 90 kilometers per hour.
“The error may be due to less fuel in the second half of the journey, the aircraft body becoming lighter, or it may be caused by the wind direction.
"But no matter what, even at this slower speed, it is already faster than the cruising speed of an airship. If the power is increased to the maximum, it can be even faster.
"According to the return plan I booked with 60% of the fuel capacity, using the average calculation of the two cruising speeds, the maximum range can reach 100 kilometers!"
Li Rui was quite excited when he shouted these data, but Zhu Jingyuan's eyes twitched slightly when he heard it.
The speed is around ninety kilometers per hour. In my previous life, I would have been annoyed by people even driving on the highway.
The battery life of one hundred kilometers is the level of better electric vehicles.
But you must hold back, never show a disgusted expression, and quickly adjust your mentality.
You can't hold it to the standards of the new century. Its speed is already the fastest in the world.
This thing appeared a hundred and twenty years earlier than the swordfish, which was thirty years earlier even according to the technological level.
To be able to reach the current level, it can be said to be very good among the aircraft before World War I.
Zhu Jingyuan quickly collected his thoughts and nodded solemnly with great approval:
"Yes, very good. In the future, we will replace it with a larger engine and prepare to turn the body into an all-metal one, including the skin, which can be made of aluminum."
Li Rui and the craftsmen nodded one after another. This direction was actually the direction they wanted.
The primary optimization direction in the future is to achieve faster speed, greater range, and a stronger fuselage.
Li Rui and Zhu Jingyuan were talking here, and Lao Zhao over there also landed in a plane.
After handing the aircraft to the maintenance personnel, Lao Zhao trotted all the way to Zhu Jingyuan's side, and gave another excited and anticipated report:
"Your Highness, Chief Li, the test process was all normal. The remaining fuel was 23% when landing. The maximum range is expected to be more than 100 kilometers.
"But I have a question, can we have weapons on our planes?"
Li Rui, Wang Zhenyi, and the craftsmen suddenly became energetic.
An aircraft must be equipped with weapons to be considered a weapon, otherwise it can only be used for reconnaissance, which is obviously not what the aircraft designers want.
Zhu Jingyuan certainly knew what he was doing, but he did not explain it directly immediately. Instead, he learned from the old emperor's method of doing things and first asked and guided them:
"That's a good question. Do you have any ideas?"
Lao Zhao immediately said:
"I think I could put a machine gun on it or drop bombs on the ground, but I don't know how.
“It’s best to mount the machine gun on the nose, but now that there is a propeller on the nose, can we mount it on the back and have someone specialize in shooting?
"I think the bomb can be hung next to the body, where it can be easily reached, picked up and thrown down."
The idea is so simple and crude, but this idea is already very "advanced".
Aircraft in history were first used for reconnaissance.
At the beginning of World War I, pilots from both sides of the war did not have any weapons, so they would greet each other when they met in the sky.
When no one can threaten each other, humans seem to become more friendly.
Until the French installed light machine guns on the aircraft.
The Germans had no precautions at all. When the planes approached each other, the French suddenly opened fire.
German pilot Aviatic became the first unlucky man in history to be shot down.
Then the era of air combat arrived.
Many pilots instinctively hit each other with their pistols, only to find that they can't hit them at all.
Later, someone got on a plane with bricks, not to hit the opponent's pilot with the bricks, but to hit the opponent's plane propeller, which was more effective than hitting someone with a pistol.
Someone put a bomb in the cockpit and flew to the place to drop it manually. This was considered the earliest bomber.
As for the rear seat gunner, it has been a standard feature of aircraft for a long time.
