Zhu Jingyuan knew how to load weapons, but he still didn't answer directly, and of course he wasn't going to hold back on purpose.
Regarding the application of his creativity and ideas, Zhu Jingyuan has seriously thought about it in the past two days.
Now is the industrial age, not the time when industrialization has not yet started.
You don’t have to consider your own mature creativity at all, which will affect the ideological enlightenment effect of traditional craftsmen.
Nowadays, senior craftsmen in these big countries have received systematic education and training, and all have modern cognitive logic and ways of thinking.
Nowadays, in all walks of life in Ming Dynasty, there must be relatively mature processes in terms of exploration and research and development methods.
I just provided them with some ideas, and they couldn't stop thinking about it.
To put it bluntly, their creativity is just a suggestion from Party A. They usually get various suggestions from officials and users.
It's just that their requirements are more reliable, so they will trust themselves more.
How to implement these requirements is up to them themselves.
If you can make these senior craftsmen give up thinking completely with your own efforts, then you are really too arrogant.
To put it bluntly, there are so many senior craftsmen in the entire Ming Dynasty, but I can only come into contact with a few on a regular basis, and they cannot affect the overall situation at all.
When you introduce yourself, just add a little bit of guidance to guide your thinking process to cover up your certainty.
This prevents them from feeling like they are omnipotent and avoids blaming themselves for problems.
"I think Lao Zhao's idea is very reasonable. After the aircraft itself is formed, what we need to do in the future is continuous experimentation and improvement.
“Pilots discover problems, craftsmen solve them, pilots make reasonable demands, and craftsmen fulfill these demands.
"Now that pilots need to install weapons, craftsmen should figure out how to install weapons."
The craftsmen and test pilots nodded one after another, and Li Rui said directly:
"His Highness is very transparent in his reasoning and makes people understand immediately. I don't think it will be difficult to fulfill Lao Liu's request.
"Some bombs can be hung on the plane, but they don't need to be placed at the pilot's hand, as long as the pilot can control them.
“Several self-locking buckles can be added to the belly or sides of the aircraft, and corresponding buckles are welded to the bomb and hung on those buckles.
"The snap-on controller is the same as controlling the tail rudder surface. It is connected to the cockpit with a steel wire and fixed on a special movable handle.
"Ask the pilot to turn the handle, the buckle holding the bomb will be released, and the bomb hanging under the belly will be dropped.
“As for the machine gun, I think it can be installed in the middle of the wings, close to the side of the fuselage, and the fire can be controlled through the traction structure.
"It is not necessarily necessary to add an extra person, as that would greatly affect the load capacity of the aircraft."
Zhu Jingyuan nodded lightly as he listened.
There's nothing much to say about the way to hang bombs. It's already quite advanced and will basically be the same idea in the future.
The airborne machine gun plan proposed by Li Rui is also the most stable and least restrictive plan in history, but Chief Li's ideas are not broad enough:
"So since the pilot doesn't need to manually pull the trigger, can multiple machine guns be installed at the same time?"
Li Rui immediately smiled and said:
"Yes, we can install a machine gun on each side of the fuselage and make the traction structure together so that the pilot can control two machine guns at the same time."
Lao Zhao next to him was a little excited when he heard that two machine guns could be mounted, and then he was also a little confused:
"Mr. Li, if you put the machine gun on the wing, you can indeed use the wire to fire it, but how can the person piloting the plane aim?"
Li Rui was also stunned for a moment, then thought about it and said:
"Aiming is indeed a problem, but the target that the aircraft wants to attack will not be too small and accurate, and you will not be allowed to directly hit a specific person.
"They should all be strafing enemy positions and airships, or even shooting enemy aircraft. There is no need to aim too accurately at targets that are too small.
"We calibrate the sight as much as possible, and you have to do some practice to adapt to the firing space margin, and you should be able to complete the mission."
Lao Zhao scratched his head:
"Mr. Li, you said it's easy. Even if it can be achieved, the hit rate will not be high. It is best to install it in the middle, so that it can be directly aimed at the target..."
Li Rui also spread his hands:
"Isn't there no way around it? The machine gun can only be mounted on the side of the fuselage, which is convenient for installation and maintenance. If it is mounted in the middle, it will be blocked by the propeller..."
Lao Zhao also felt that what Li Rui said made sense, but he still looked at Zhu Jingyuan subconsciously.
The look in his eyes wanted to ask Zhu Jingyuan if he had any better ideas. After all, His Highness always had ideas.
Zhu Jingyuan felt a little want to laugh when he heard the discussion.
This is a typical conflict between pilots and engineers. Pilots demand ideal combat, but engineers can only accommodate reality.
Mounting the machine gun at the base of the wings is the safest and moderate choice, but combat does require adaptation.
Zhu Jingyuan nodded with a smile and guided him:
“I think the design of installing the machine gun at the root of the wing should be considered the most conservative and safe solution.
“This can be used as the main optimization direction to improve targeting efficiency as much as possible and reduce the difficulty of attacks as much as possible.
“But at the same time, we can’t just stop thinking.
"For example, if a machine gun is mounted on the nose, will it be blocked by the spiral?"
When the craftsmen heard this guidance, they subconsciously started discussing:
"Of course it's not certain that it will be blocked. After all, there are only two propellers."
"But some bullets will definitely hit the propeller, and the result will definitely be very dangerous."
"If the machine gun is installed farther away from the propeller, the distance from the pilot will become larger..."
"The effect is no different from installing it on the wing."
Zhu Jingyuan sighed in his heart, so he used a more direct method to guide him in two clear directions:
"Don't be bound by existing frameworks and understandings. Sometimes you just have to look for possibilities in impossible directions.
"For example, is there a way to mount a machine gun on the nose of the aircraft while preventing bullets from hitting the propeller? Is there such a way?
"Or is the machine gun mounted within the propeller range but not blocked by the propeller? Is there such a place?"
Listening to Zhu Jingyuan's obviously guiding tone, many craftsmen subconsciously turned to the plane not far away and started thinking about the propeller on the nose.
After all, they are all the best craftsmen, and they are certainly not qualified to work directly in the Ministry of Industry.
Without Zhu Jingyuan's guidance, various designs had been made before, and he was not a particularly rigid thinker.
Zhu Jingyuan's hint was enough to start their thinking.
So after a brief discussion and deliberation at the scene, a young craftsman spoke with some uncertainty:
"The only place that won't be blocked by the rotating propeller is... right in the middle. You can make a hole in the middle!
"So, can the barrel of the machine gun be installed in the middle of the propeller?"
A craftsman next to him immediately reacted:
"You mean the shaft? Make the barrel the shaft of the propeller? Let the propeller spin outside?"
Several craftsmen became excited, but some came out doubtful.
"How to deal with the problem of barrel heat dissipation?"
"How to arrange the structure of the gun body?"
“It’s not just the heat dissipation from the machine gun, but also the heat from the engine.”
"These are indeed problems..."
When Zhu Jingyuan heard this, he immediately understood that the plan proposed by this craftsman was commonly known as the "axis cannon".
Make the main shaft of the propeller hollow, install the barrel or barrel directly inside the shaft, and let the propeller rotate outside the barrel.
Many propeller aircraft have used this "shaft gun" in history. It can be said to be the most convenient airborne gun to aim and shoot, and it is the favorite of many pilots.
However, the shaft gun solution is good, but it has certain requirements for the level of industrial design and manufacturing technology.
Keys can limit engine design and installation.
Now Daming doesn't know if he can figure out this solution, but he can definitely give it a try.
Anyway, I have a simpler shooting coordinator solution.
