On the second day after Song Che had a sudden idea, Lu Gu and other Zhi Niang were invited to Hangzhou to form a
"Special research and development team" researches the fabrics needed for hot air balloons. During this period, Song Che was busy preparing other materials, such as the fuel required for heating, which required strong firepower and burning resistance. Just in time, the oil was refined into
"Stone Candle" fits this requirement very well. As for the frame of the hot air balloon, Song Che drew the design and found a master lantern maker to complete it.
Back and forth, before I knew it, time flew by and it was already seven days later. Lu Gu is truly ingenious. He led a group of weavers to combine fine cotton and nylon strips to weave a special fabric that is no less than modern synthetic fibers. It is light, moderately breathable and tough, and is just right for hot air balloons.
"lampshade". After all the materials were prepared, Song Che first imitated the style of the sky lantern and carved a half-foot-sized hot air balloon one to ten. He hung a fruit basket at the bottom of the hot air balloon and put five stones weighing one kilogram inside. Then they burned stone candles to heat the air according to the pattern of lighting sky lanterns. In late autumn, the weather was cold, and the contrast between hot and cold made it obvious that the hot air balloon soon expanded due to heat. There was an upward trend, but it was not obvious. Song Che started from Remove a stone from the fruit basket and reduce the weight by one kilogram. At this time, the hot air balloon can float in the air by itself without being lifted. Seeing the situation, Song Che took another stone away, then pushed it gently, and the hot air balloon slowly floated Ascending, flying into the sky like a sky lantern, he quickly wrote down various data - a stone candle as thick as a bowl, the burning flame; a hot air balloon half a foot in size, which can carry a weight of three kilograms; Assume that an adult man weighs 120 kilograms. If a hot air balloon is to carry people to the sky, its volume must be expanded at least forty times... After converting a series of numerical values, the radius of the hot air balloon should be at least four to five feet. .
With accurate numerical statistics, it is much easier to rush the production. With the concerted efforts of all the weavers, the first balloon cover was completed in less than two days.
Song Che picked another sunny day with a gentle east wind. He first tied the four corners of the hot air balloon to the eaves and spread it as wide as possible.
The "cockpit" is a large basket about one foot wide. The four corners of the basket are fixed at the bottom of the hot air balloon, and four sandbags are tied around it. Song Che weighs 140 kilograms, and the sandbags are 40 kilograms. There are 30 spare stone candle fuels. Jin, the total carrying capacity is 220 Jin.
everything's ready! The wives and concubines were extremely worried.
"Are you crazy? You actually want to go up there yourself? What if... what if you fall?" Shen Wenjun had a big belly and didn't want Song Che to go.
This is indeed very dangerous, but looking at the whole world, who else knows the principles of hot air balloons besides him?
Of course, Song Che was not unprepared. He patted his backpack and said with a smile: "Don't worry, I have already prepared the air bag and parachute, and the east wind is blowing today. If the hot air balloon can fly into the sky, it will slowly float to the sea. Hangzhou Navy and I Say hello over there, they will escort the whole journey at sea. If the balloon is really out of control, I can save myself in time." Shen Wenjun complained in a low voice,
"The baby in my belly, Po Wen said it might only be in the next two or three days. I don't want anything to happen to you..." Song Che hesitated for two seconds, and his eyes became firm. He had to give it a try no matter what today. try.
"Don't worry, I can do it." He stopped delaying and shouted, "Light the fire!" The servants used torches to light the stone candles.
A large bundle of stone candles burned at the same time, and the heat wave released instantly filled the entire courtyard. About a quarter of an hour later, the heat filled the air and slowly rose into the air. Song Che took a deep breath, and under the watchful eyes of the family, he stepped into the basket resolutely. Then he ordered: "Cut the rope!" The servant cut the traction rope, and the hot air balloon lost its restraints and climbed into the air at a very fast speed.
Song Che felt that the speed was too slow, so he removed one sandbag and the speed increased significantly, but it was still too slow. He removed another sandbag and reduced the weight by a total of twenty kilograms. The speed finally reached a satisfactory level.
"Wow! Sir... Sir, he really flew!"
"I have always felt that our uncle is not a mortal. Look at him, he has indeed ascended to heaven, right?"
"My uncle, he won't really fly to the sky and become a god, right?" But not only the people in the Song Mansion, but also the entire city of Hangzhou, everyone who saw the hot air balloon looked up and opened their mouths, dumbfounded.
"Yahoo!" Song Che shouted loudly, waving to the people on the ground. At this time, it was sixty or seventy feet into the air, and it was obvious that the wind was getting stronger. Song Che quickly pulled down the spoiler and extinguished a stone candle to keep the hot air balloon balanced and fly overseas with the east wind.
After a while, the hot air balloon flew over the Qiantang River and flew out of the coastline. When the warships docked at the port saw the hot-air balloon in the sky, they quickly raised their sails and accelerated, chasing the balloon's route to escort it.
"Brother Song, why are you coming back then!" Fang Qi shouted at the top of his voice on the deck. The young man in the past is now the commander-in-chief of the Hangzhou Navy.
Since there is no propeller, the hot air balloon can only travel one way. When the fire is extinguished and the heat disappears, it will slowly land on the sea. This is why Song Che wants a warship to escort it, so that it can be recovered later when it falls in the sea. .
The role of hot air balloons on the battlefield is high-altitude bombing. In order to prevent them from being shot by strong bows and crossbows, the height of the hot air balloon must reach at least one hundred feet. Now that he has already flown, Song Che also wants to challenge it one more time. , so he added another 30% of the stone candles to make the fire burn stronger and the heat to be more abundant. The hot air balloon rose steadily, flying side by side with the birds. As the altitude increased, the airflow gradually became chaotic and the temperature suddenly dropped. The firepower of the stone candle seems to have reached its limit. If you want to fill it with heat again, you have to use technological fuels such as methane. In ancient times, this was obviously not possible.
Looking at the sea from a high altitude, the warship has shrunk a lot. Unless there is a cannon at this height, it is impossible to shoot down the hot air balloon.
This flying experiment can be described as a complete success. The chaotic airflow reminded Song Che that he could no longer fly, so he extinguished all the stone candles and planned to let the hot air balloon land freely, but at that moment,
"Hoo!" Suddenly, a strong air flow hit us. Since the stone candles were not protected, they were a bit fragile. They were caught by the strong wind, and several of them were broken. And by chance, the flames flew into the balloon cover. , burning a big hole in the edge of the cover!
The basket shook violently, and the sandbag hanging on the frame was accidentally blown off. After the weight was reduced, the balance was lost. The strong air flow was like a pair of ruthless hands, tearing the holes that were originally only as wide as the mouth of a bowl, and the heat continued to escape. The air pressure is momentarily unbalanced...
