1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2495
If you want to judge it by Haihan's past selection of overseas colonial sites, the conditions of these two candidate sites are actually not very ideal.One has no natural harbor and it is difficult to station the naval fleet. Although the other has a harbor, the population density in the nearby area is too low, and it is difficult to obtain enough labor force in the early stage, making development more difficult.

But since the Executive Committee's opinion is to use this colonial point as a bridgehead for expanding its sphere of influence to the west in the future, Roger thinks that this means that it will be used for military purposes more, so he still chooses a place with natural harbor conditions. Galle Bay.In this way, at least an overseas military base can be established first, and then develop into the colonial area expected by the executive committee on this basis.

To establish a new colony far away from the existing sphere of influence, it is obviously not enough to rely solely on the strength of the Xingdao Colony. Roger must also rely on the funds and personnel allocated by the Executive Committee to organize the preparations.

However, the main energy of the executive committee is on the East Asian continent, and the westward plan to the Indian Ocean is mainly promoted by the military. Therefore, the funds and personnel allocated to this plan are very limited, and to some extent even The Xingdao colonial area needs to complete part of the preparatory tasks by itself.

However, the Xingdao colonial area has invested most of its working capital in the development of the Dumai oilfield project, and has little spare energy to afford another more costly project.Therefore, after nearly half a year of operation, the plan to enter the Indian Ocean westward was temporarily shelved due to the failure of all parties to coordinate the input of resources.

In the autumn of 1652, Haihan Aeronautical Research Institute, which had been established for five years, finally made a major breakthrough. The first fixed-wing propeller aircraft developed and built by it successfully completed its maiden flight.

Many people in Sanya City that day witnessed the plane hovering in the air several hundred meters above the ground.The plane was also specially painted with conspicuous red and blue colors to avoid panic among the public during the flight.

However, the officials still underestimated the people's ability to accept new things. The appearance of the plane in the sky did not cause confusion, but it soon attracted crowds and cheers from the people.

Of course, most of the foreign diplomats in Sanya were fortunate enough to witness this scene destined to be recorded in history.For these foreigners who have been following the development of Haihan all the time, the appearance of the plane may have shocked them even more than the people of Haihan.

The Haihan people have been able to create manned machines that fly in the sky, what else can they not do?
The next day, Haihan Times issued a special issue, which gave a comprehensive report on the successful test flight of the first aircraft.And this special issue was naturally sold out by the public, and the word "aircraft" quickly became the hottest topic in the streets and alleys of Sanya.And this aircraft named "Dongfeng" is also regarded as Haihan's biggest industrial achievement in recent years.

The news of the successful first flight of "Dongfeng" was quickly transmitted to various overseas colonial areas by telegram.This is of great significance to Haihan's current territorial distribution.If the time for transporting personnel and materials between various places can be greatly shortened by air, even in the face of extremely limited transport capacity and high costs, it will play a significant role in consolidating the long-term stability of the country's political situation.

Of course, there is still a long way to go to turn the current test flight model with a simple structure into a transport aircraft capable of long-distance flights and establish a reliable air transportation system. With Haihan's existing industrial capabilities, it is still impossible to accomplish it overnight.

The only good news is that the scientific and technological knowledge mastered by the traversers can save the aviation industry from taking many detours in the development process, and there is no need to explore and design the various models in the future, all of which have ready-made solutions available.

The more difficult part lies in the training of professionals.Whether it is a mechanic responsible for building and maintaining an aircraft, or a pilot who masters flying skills, the training process will be quite long.

As for military use, although the military is very interested in it, it also has to wait patiently for the gradual construction of the aviation industry system.Fortunately, there are currently few armed forces in East Asia that can directly compete with the Haihan Army, so the need for using aircraft in combat is not urgent.

Chen Yixin, who was far away in Shandong, took action soon after receiving the telegram.He called a meeting of civil and military officials under his command and informed them of the successful first flight of "Dongfeng".

Even though most of these officials have been working with Chen Yixin all year round and have been influenced a lot, it is still hard to imagine what kind of special equipment an airplane is.

Chen Yixin had no choice but to take a pen and paper, and personally drew a rough drawing of a propeller plane for everyone to watch.The officials all looked at each other in blank dismay, thinking that such a thing could carry people flying in the sky?

"Don't believe me. Maybe in another three to five or seven years, there will be planes flying to Shandong."

When Chen Yixin said these words, he felt a little emotional in his heart. The technology of this world seemed to be rapidly approaching the time and space before he traveled.I just don't know if I can see the aviation industry system reappear on the land of China in my lifetime.

"My lord, do we have to make any special preparations for this?"

The questioner was Chen Yixin's former secretary, Zeng Xiaowen, who is now the Civil Affairs Officer of the Liaolu Colonial Region.

"Of course we have to make preparations." Chen Yixin nodded affirmatively and said, "Airplanes need special airport facilities for takeoff and landing. In Dengzhou and Jinzhou, airports must be built in advance. The specific construction plan, I will send a telegram to the Ministry of Construction to send it over, and then you will be responsible for the relevant projects yourself."

"A lowly job will never disgrace one's life!" Zeng Xiaowen hurriedly agreed.

The construction of two airstrips is of course not a big project for the current Liaolu colonial area. It is nothing more than to circle a piece of land in a suitable area, then level the ground, and build the most basic runway and hangar , oil depots and other facilities.

But by preparing these basic conditions in advance, the route can be opened as soon as the plane can fly to this area.Chen Yixin actually doesn't care if he can fly back to Hainan Island in one go. What he cares more about is the rapid passage between the Liaodong Peninsula and the Shandong Peninsula in this way, which will help stabilize his rule over the colonial region .

If the purchase authority can be opened at that time, Chen Yixin is also willing to spend a sum of money to buy a sky car for himself, even if he knows that this thing will definitely cost a lot of money, he won't mind.

(End of this chapter)