Chapter 189 The First Plane
The war in the Far East has entered a costly offensive and defensive battle. Most of the soldiers of the Manchurian Army have arrived outside the Lushun Fortress. They are determined to conquer this fortress that can determine the fate of the war.
The Tsarist Empire is also rushing to mobilize troops to Lushun. At present, the defenders of Lushun have exceeded 70,000.
Apart from this, there is not much movement in other areas of the Far East. Both the island nation and the Russian Empire knew very well that the fate of Port Arthur was the key to determining this war.
Before that, no matter how much territory they occupied, it was far less important than conquering a Lushun fortress.
This war of attrition is bad news for the island nations and Russia, but good news for the British Empire, the United States, Australia and the German Empire.
The longer this war of attrition drags on, the greater the losses will be to the island countries and Russia. At the same time, it can also create more demand for weapons, allowing these countries watching the war to make a lot of money.
For the German Empire, which was besieged on both sides, there was no better news than that the Russian Empire was focusing its attention on the Far East.
As long as the attention of the Tsarist Empire was dragged to the Far East by the island nation, a small France was not taken seriously by the German Empire.
July 1904, outskirts of the Capital Territory.
This was originally an industrial area belonging to New South Wales. After the establishment of the Capital Territory, it was divided into the Capital Territory and became the only industrial area in the Capital Territory and the most developed industrial area in Australia.
This industrial area currently hosts Arthur's military factory, automobile factory and engine factory, as well as an aviation laboratory specially set up to develop aircraft.
It can be said that this industrial area carries Arthur's hope for Australia's revival, and the technology born will also affect the entire Australia.
What would allow Arthur to take action in person would naturally be a major event that would affect the entire Australia.
Yes, since the AU-1 airship was successfully manufactured more than a year ago, Theodor Kobel and Ludwig Duerr have invested in the research and development of the aircraft.
To this end, Arthur specially allocated them one hundred thousand pounds of research funds and many talents attracted by the Victoria Award.
Australia's aviation research laboratory now has more than ten famous European aeronautics experts and aerodynamics experts, as well as dozens of outstanding talents in all aspects of aircraft and airships.
It can be said that Australia has attracted at least one-fifth of the world's top aviation talents, and this number and proportion are constantly increasing.
Although the Wright brothers were indeed the builders of the first airplane, before they attracted attention, all they could rely on was their own strength.
Australia has used the power of a country to develop aviation, and the speed and achievements achieved are definitely not comparable to the Wright brothers.
When Arthur arrived at the aviation laboratory, two experts, Theodor Korbel and Ludwig Duerr, were already waiting very respectfully outside the laboratory.
There were dozens of experts and scholars standing on both sides, and they were also very respectful to Arthur.
In fact, this is normal. Even the fastest-growing airship has not attracted much attention from around the world, let alone an aircraft that is in a barren period of exploration. Although these experts have some research in this area, no one supports them, and they have no benefits except being nominally pioneers in the aviation industry.
If Australia had not taken them in and provided them with job opportunities, I am afraid that most of these people would have given up their favorite industries.
With the joint efforts of these experts, Australia's first aircraft was successfully born.
Unlike the Flyer 1 and Flyer 2, which were simple aircraft originally built by the Wright brothers, the initial goal of the aircraft built in Australia was to fly smoothly into the sky.
To this end, Arthur racked his brains, crazily recalling the appearance and design of later World War I and II aircraft, and then gave the brief sketch he drew to Theodor Kober and Ludwig Duerr, asking them to make a refer to.
Unexpectedly, Theodor Korbel and Ludwig Duerr thought hard for a long time and actually built an airplane according to the design sketch.
Of course, the aircraft in front of me was an improved version after many tests, and naturally it was not as crude as it was at the beginning.
Arthur looked at Theodor Korbel, who understood and quickly explained: "Your Highness, this is the final product we came up with after many experiments and improvements based on the design sketch you gave us. We The aircraft adopts a single-engine, single-seat, double-wing design. It uses a new gasoline engine specially developed by Mr. Diesel. It is expected that the power can reach about 150km to 220km." "In order to enhance the endurance of
this aircraft, we have installed 150km on both sides of the aircraft. Two auxiliary fuel tanks were installed. This gives the aircraft a total range of more than 700 kilometers. Without these two auxiliary fuel tanks, the aircraft's range may only be about 400 kilometers." Theodor Kober explained.
Arthur nodded.
He is still very satisfied with the speed of aircraft development and the current data on the finished product. After all, this is a new idea for everyone, and it will take longer to realize it.
Judging from the current data, this is at least the result of the Wright brothers' research on aircraft for several years.
Before the U.S. military paid no attention to it, the Wright brothers' research and development process was very slow. It is reasonable for Australia to use its national strength to quickly overtake in corners.
"Can this plane be piloted now?" Arthur asked with slight interest.
Arthur has seen many large aircraft in later generations, but Arthur has only seen pictures of this aircraft that is still in the exploratory stage.
This also made Arthur very interested in the plane parked in front of him. What is the difference between this kind of plane and later generations?
"Of course, Your Highness." Theodor Kobel nodded and said: "Because there is currently no systematic pilot training method, the person who can pilot it can only be the person who is most familiar with this fighter jet. Please wait a moment Wait a moment, there is still some preparation work to be done before the plane officially takes off."
Arthur nodded and motioned for Theodor Korbel to go to work.
The real man who flew the plane was not Theodor Korbel, but Ludwig Duerr.
There is no other reason. Ludwig Duer is the designer of the aircraft balance system. He is most familiar with the aircraft control system and is naturally the most suitable person to fly the aircraft.
After about half an hour of preparation, Ludwig Duer put on his goggles and asked Arthur to take off.
First update, please support!
(End of chapter)