Chapter 856 Take off, Ming Dynasty (3rd update, please subscribe)
The sky was clear and the ultraviolet rays on the Patagonian plateau were very strong, which even made the sun a bit scorching, but what was actually more scorching was people's mood.
Everyone seemed a little nervous at this time. They seemed to be worried about the results of the test flight.
Can it fly?
Everyone was unsure, but they knew this might be their last chance.
After all, this is a plane made of "gold".
Li Lin, wearing a white shirt, stretched out his arm and unfolded a piece of cloth. He was observing the wind direction and speed. The branches and leaves of small trees in the distance were swaying slightly.
At this time, the assistant in the laboratory shouted.
"Wind speed 6.7 meters."
As the assistants were making final preparations for the flight, Feng Kai patted Li Lin on the shoulder and said with a smile, looking at the "Flyer No. 1" in front of him.
"What do you think? Are you jealous of me? If I can fly, I will be the first person in human history to fly an airplane!"
Li Lin laughed out loud at his friend's words.
"I'm really envious, but you're more suitable than me. Although I can fly a glider, my skills are not as good as yours."
"Don't worry, as long as it can fly, I can definitely bring it down."
"It will definitely fly, I have a feeling."
Are feelings important?
Li Lin didn't know. He cast his eyes on the photographer who was fiddling with the movie camera beside him. He believed that today would be a day worth remembering.
At 10:20 am, with the engine running, strong wind blew from the nose to the rear. Feng Kai in the cockpit could clearly feel the fuselage of the plane shaking slightly. He held the wooden joystick tightly.
The moment the Flyer No. 1 began to glide, Li Lin's heart was clenched into a fist. Under the gaze of the crowd, the plane continued to accelerate with the roar of the engine. Finally, after gliding for nearly 200 meters, the wheels of the plane began to rise slowly, as if some force was robbing it to break free from the earth. Like a bird taking off for the first time, its takeoff was very unstable and even a little stumbling.
“Fly, fly…”
Li Lin stared at the plane nervously and excitedly. In the next moment, he saw the wheels of the plane take off into the air. The plane took off from the ground and flew into the sky like a bird.
"It's flying, it's flying..."
The moment the plane took off, everyone there was shouting excitedly. They jumped and hopped. The plane just flew over their heads and went straight into the sky.
"It's flying, it's flying..."
Feng Kai in the cockpit was excited, but he did not forget his duties. After taking off, he slowly pushed the joystick forward and released his feet that controlled the tail wing.
Thanks to the glider's wire-control technology, the "Flyer One" has an excellent flight control system. After flying a hundred meters in the air, Feng Kai carefully piloted the plane, just keeping it level, not daring to make too big movements. After turning a few circles in the air, he adjusted the course again and landed the plane on the runway...
Looking at the plane landing steadily, unlike others who rushed over excitedly, Li Lin just looked at the "Flyer One" silently.
"Flyer One!"
Silently reciting these words, Li Lin suddenly laughed. After laughing, he said:
“This is a day worth remembering…”
August 12, the seventh year of Shengde!
On this day, the first airplane test flight in human history was successfully completed. Although the flight time was only 12 minutes, it is definitely a day worth recording in human history.
Only half an hour later, the military representatives dispatched a company of guards, who put up barbed wire outside the test site. Although the test site itself was located within the military training base, they still isolated it from the base with barbed wire for confidentiality reasons. Gliders were not important in the past, but airplanes... This was a project that His Majesty the Emperor was personally watching, so of course confidentiality had to be strengthened!
However, the military did not know what all this meant. They just made some decisions based on instinct. They had no idea that the emergence of aircraft would completely change the course of the war.
All this... no one knows!
It’s not that no one knows…there is one person who knows!
When the "Flyer One" was test-flying, Emperor Zhu was at the Nanhua Arsenal. This factory has always been the most important military-industrial complex of the Ming Dynasty and a place that influences the outcome of wars. Compared with the war on the front, Emperor Zhu was more concerned about weapons.
"Are these the Seven Years machine guns?"
Looking at the heavy machine guns lined up in front of him, they looked a bit like the Maxim machine gun, but more like the Browning 1917 machine gun, especially the receivers. As for the tripod, it was a very mature five-year tripod - it was a tripod designed for the three-barreled Gatling machine gun, very similar to the Maxim tripod in another world. Although it weighed 26 kilograms, it gave the Gatling machine gun a certain tactical mobility.
"Yes, Your Majesty. The gun weighs only 16 kilograms. Even when filled with water, it weighs less than 20 kilograms. It is 18 kilograms lighter than the Type 5 Light Gatling Gun. It is lighter and easier to operate, and does not need to rely on batteries. As long as there are bullets and water, it can almost keep shooting forever..."
Liu Qingen was not bragging, he was telling the truth. Just three months ago, his machine gun had fired more than 30,000 rounds of bullets continuously, and even so, it had no damage and could continue firing.
"It's just that the tripod is too heavy. It can be lightened. After all, the army will carry it to war in the future."
As Emperor Zhu spoke, he walked to the machine gun. Yes, this was the machine gun he was familiar with - the Type 7 machine gun, the future firepower pillar of the Ming army. In future wars, the role it would play was unimaginable to people today.
Of course, its production volume is unimaginable to outsiders. There are only 160 heavy machine guns here now.
But what about the future? There won't even be enough machine guns to equip a division.
Sitting behind the machine gun, Emperor Zhu tried to operate it, then nodded with satisfaction.
"These machine guns have good performance. I think we should send them to the front line as soon as possible. With such new weapons, we should let our people use them as soon as possible. After all, weapons must be tested in actual combat!"
Afterwards, Emperor Zhu asked about its production again. When he learned that the production target was only 60 aircraft per month, he immediately urged.
"We need to increase production. We have 300,000 ground forces. If we include the mobilized troops, there are almost 700,000, dozens of divisions, and more than 200 regiments. How can this amount of production meet demand? We need to increase production as soon as possible..."
Naturally, everyone at the Nanhua Arsenal did not dare to neglect the emperor's order. Almost on the day that Emperor Zhu left the arsenal, the arsenal planned to build a heavy machine gun branch. They did not know that in the next ten years, that branch would be the most profitable branch in the entire arsenal.
Emperor Zhu, who was sitting in the car, did not know this either, because as soon as he got in the car, he was really surprised by the report he had just received.
"The plane... took off..."
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
