After the outbreak of the war, stimulated by military appropriations of more than 10 billion yuan, almost every enterprise in the empire with the ability to produce armaments joined in military production and switched to producing lucrative weapons and equipment as well as military supplies.
Driven by profits, especially the high profits brought by war, companies have a passion for technology research and development that is beyond people's imagination. Even many unknown companies will have unexpected imagination.
Bingzhou, located in the central part of the empire and adjacent to Paraguay Province, has always been the most important agricultural state in the Ming Dynasty because of its dense water network and flat land. Although it is an agricultural production area, it does not mean that there is no industry. In the industrial zone in the western suburbs, there are dozens of flour mills, biscuit factories, canning factories and other agricultural products deep processing factories. After the outbreak of the war, these companies' business is also extremely prosperous. Every day, trains are loaded with flour, compressed biscuits and canned food, which are transported to various parts of the empire and shipped to the front line or overseas markets via the east and west coast ports.
The demands of war stimulated development in all aspects. Hundreds of billions of yuan in military appropriations were like a strong wind that blew everything up. However, the pig in the wind... was still weapons and equipment. All companies involved in the production of weapons and equipment flew up in this strong wind.
However, this is not the case for all companies. At least for Blue Sky Glider Company, the war did not bring much business to the company. In fact, with the emergence of airplanes, gliders, like airships, seemed to become outdated.
However, even though it was outdated, when the car drove into the company and saw several gliders on the apron, Wu Anpeng's eyes still burst into a strange look.
"Old classmate, you probably haven't seen a glider for a long time."
“From graduation until now.”
When he said this, Wu Anpeng's tone seemed a little lost, after all, he had compromised with reality and gave up his personal hobby.
Zhao Dekun noticed the strange look on his old classmate's face and knew he had found the right person.
Like most glider companies, the Blue Sky Glider Company only has a few simple wooden factories. After parking the car, Zhao Dekun led Wu Anpeng into the assembly plant. What hit them was the unique smell of wood mixed with paint, the buzzing sound of the drill, and the unique "bang-bang" sound when the cloth was stretched.
After entering the factory, a large glider with a wingspan of nearly 30 meters appeared in front of Zhao Dekun.
"Shou Li, is this the large glider you were talking about?"
Facing this large glider, Wu Anpeng became completely excited, as if energy was oozing out of every pore of his body.
Like Zhao Dekun, he was the first generation of glider pilots in the Empire. They were alumni of Nanhua University and joined the glider club at the same time. The only difference between Wu Anpeng and Zhao Dekun was that after graduation, Wu Anpeng continued to engage in his research on power machinery, while Zhao Dekun founded the Blue Sky Glider Company and continued to pursue his dream - aviation.
In fact, it was very simple for Zhao Dekun to devote himself to his feelings. His father was a second-generation immigrant. At that time, everything in Nanhua was in a turbid and hazy state. On the vast land, sparks of opportunity shone everywhere. Although his father lost his family business in Hangzhou, he soon accumulated a fortune by doing small businesses, and then invested in industries and established factories. Like many early immigrants, they lived in the most vibrant era in the history of the empire. In that era, as long as they worked a little harder, they could change their destiny and become successful.
Zhao Dekun has the capital to pursue his ideals and devote himself to his passions because of his superior family background. But for Wu Anpeng, who comes from an average family, although he likes flying and aviation, he can only be a mediocre mortal - a power machinery engineer.
After all, compared to the uncertain future of the former, the income of a mechanical engineer is extremely considerable. With the considerable income, Wu Anpeng not only married a beautiful wife, but also bought a villa in the suburbs, had a luxury car, and his children could also receive education in the best school district.
For a hungry man, bread is undoubtedly more important than his ideal. So he chose bread and gave up his ideal.
Now, standing in this factory and looking at this large glider, he seemed to be back in his youth again, and his suppressed love for the sky made him excited again.
"Yes, that's right."
Zhao Dekun nodded and said.
"This glider is larger than the military's Type 16 glider, which can only accommodate ten soldiers and has a load capacity of no more than 1,000 kilograms. But this glider is 15.81 meters long, has a wingspan of 24.50 meters, is 4.40 meters high, has a wing area of 64.4 square meters, and weighs 3,200 kilograms empty. It has a huge fuselage and can carry 2,100 kilograms of supplies or 21 fully armed soldiers."
Wu Anpeng said as he listened to his old classmate’s explanation.
"A glider this big can only be released from the air using an airship."
It is impossible for a large glider to take off from the ground with a car towing it. The only way to release such a glider is to release it from an airship.
"Yes, and it can only be a large airship. My original goal in developing it was to use it to replace the Type 16 glider, but..."
Zhao Dekun said as he walked up to the large glider.
"Although its test flight was successful, in the future, the sky will definitely belong to powered aircraft. Gliders are destined to be eliminated, so..."
Looking at Wu Anpeng who was looking around the cabin through the cabin door, Zhao Dekun expressed his thoughts.
"I have an idea to give him a motor."
"What?"
Wu Anpeng was surprised by what his old classmate said.
"What's on the engine?"
"Yes, it is to install an engine. With the engine, it can fly autonomously and no longer rely on airships. It can not only transport personnel, but also carry bombs and perform bombing missions."
Zhao Dekun looked at his old classmate and said with a smile.
"How about it, old classmate, can you come over and help me? Help me install the power on it!"
Faced with the invitation from his old classmate, Wu Anpeng did not agree immediately. Instead, he stared at the glider and thought for a while, then said.
"Shoujie, a plane this big won't be able to fly with just one engine."
"Then install two. If two doesn't work, install three. Even four will do."
As long as there are enough engines, it will definitely be able to fly. Zhao Dekun believes that as long as the engine is strong enough, even a brick can fly into the sky!
"But these engines will increase the weight of the plane, and considering the fuel, the engine and the fuel, these will reduce its carrying capacity. At that time, he may not be able to carry much."
Wu Anpeng reminded.
"It doesn't matter."
Zhao Dekun said bluntly.
"Old classmate, what I need is to prove that it can. If it can fly by itself, then we can design a bigger and better plane and install an engine on it. This is my goal. You know..."
After a pause, Zhao Dekun sighed.
"The Sea Holly is good, but it's too small. The Imperial military needs a big plane!"
Big airplanes are the future trend. Zhao Dekun has good feelings, but he is also a businessman. I hurt him, and of course I hope I can seize this trend and make huge profits.
"But large aircraft require high-power engines. Currently, all aviation engines, especially high-power engines, are controlled by the military, and each one has a fixed destination."
As an engine engineer, Wu Anpeng certainly knew the military regulations, so he spoke directly.
"Without the military's approval, we can't possibly get a high-power engine. If we want to get one, we must at least get the military's consent first. Do you have any connections in the military?"
The old group is down, so I created a new book club group: 739209015. Everyone is welcome to join and discuss and deduce the plot together.
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