African Nationhood

Chapter 263 The Beginning of the Plane

Shi Jintang took out his cigarette case and motioned to the other party, "Do you want to smoke?"

Lilienthal shook his head, "Please help yourself."

Shi Jintang lit up his cigarette and took a puff. He exhaled the smoke and said directly: "'Airplane' is relative to the glider I gave you. It should be a powered aviation machine like a car or a ship.

This concept should not be difficult to understand, and it is also the focus of our discussion today. "

Lilienthal nodded directly, "Well, yes, you plan to use the engine from the car you developed to provide power, right?"

"Of course, the current engine power is still very small. If the engine power reaches a certain level, it will be able to lift dozens or hundreds of tons of machines into the sky. Long-distance flights will no longer be a dream, but a reality."

Hearing what Shi Jintang said, Lilienthal nodded excitedly, "One day, I will be willing to die."

Shi Jintang felt bad when he heard that this guy was so stubborn as soon as he opened his mouth, "Bah, bah~"

"We Orientals have a taboo, that is, a taboo. Before something is successful, remember not to say depressing words about death or failure. Please remember!"

When Lilienthal saw Boss Shi's serious face, he immediately looked embarrassed and apologized sincerely: "I'm sorry."

Boss Shi waved his hand, "Well, pay attention next time.

Now let’s get down to business. There have been pioneers in aviation in both the East and the West. For example, in our history, a man named Wan Hu was the first person to die because of flying in our Eastern history. "

Lilienthal nodded, "He is a hero. It was after reading his story that I started to fall in love with flying. I have studied the flight of birds with great concentration for many years. I have an idea to publish a theoretical book on bird flight. "

Shi Jintang nodded, "Well, your idea is good, but I don't agree with you publishing this book now because your theory is not mature yet. It is better to wait until your theory matures and our experiment is successful, and then do it again How about the published papers and finished products?”

Otto Lilienthal's book "Bird Flight - The Basis of Aviation" published next year (1889) inspired many European and American flight pioneers and also promoted aviation craze in European and American countries.

If Shi Jintang wants to get the first-mover advantage of the aircraft, he must keep it secret.

Lilienthal heard what Shi Jintang said, and he wanted to refute it, but the other person was right. The glider design drawings and aircraft previews he produced showed that the Chinese tycoon had mastered a more detailed and practical knowledge than him. theory.

"Well, okay. Then when should we start working, or let me study your theory first."

"Don't worry, let's sign a confidentiality agreement first and determine the order of cooperation."

Hearing Boss Shi say this, Lilienthal was a little resistant, but the other party's technical level and theoretical level were obviously higher than his own. Should he obey the other party's orders?
  He hesitated for a while, then nodded and agreed. After all, he wanted to realize his dream of flying.

"Is it okay if I look at the agreement first?"

"Of course, that's it."

Lilienthal took the contract text from Shi Jintang and read it carefully.

The terms of the confidentiality agreement are nothing new. They are not allowed to disclose the research and development process and theoretical data to third parties without permission. Violators will be severely punished.

The bottom clause of the clause gave Lilienthal an unexpected surprise, which was that Otto Lilienthal retained the main authorship rights for the final results of the aviation research.

Moreover, if Otto Lilienthal dies for this reason, Nanhua Company will give his family a pension and main authorship rights.

These two items surprised him, "Thank you for your generosity, Sir Shi."

Shi Jintang waved his hand and smiled, "The premise for me to propose this is that you will lead the research and development process. All I can do is provide theoretical guidance and equipment support."

Whether it was theoretical support or technical support, it was extremely generous, and Lilienthal was even more excited.

"Your support is enough. It's simply too much. If it's really what you said, I feel a little ashamed. I can do so little that it's not even worth mentioning."

Shi Jintang did not expect that this German had a conscience, so he smiled: "Mr. Lilienthal, don't say that. In my opinion, human life is the most important thing.

Aviation flight tests are very dangerous, and you can die if you are not careful.

This is a very heavy loss, so I will give you the greatest support so that you can participate in our experiment without any worries. "

Lilienthal was so excited that he almost cried, "Sir Shi, you are so generous. I am very touched. Thank you."

After Lilienthal calmed down, he decisively signed his name, "Now you can show me your theory."

Shi Jintang smiled and nodded, and then took Lilienthal to the Anhai Town Arsenal.

… ˆ ˆ Since the establishment of the Harbin Arsenal, the production lines of the Anhai Town Arsenal have also been reduced in scale. The excess production lines of Herstal and Anhai Town were sold to Chile, Bolivia and other countries in South America. Their interest in Martini-Henry rifles The production line is very welcome.

Today, there is a lot of space left in the Anhai Town Arsenal, and Shi Jintang has made full use of it to set up various research institutes here.

Rudolf Diesel's Diesel Engine Laboratory and Tesla's Electric Laboratory were the first to settle there.

Now Lilienthal's aviation flight laboratory will also be located here.

After being under tight security, Lilienthal also felt more and more solemn.

Entering the arsenal, many people saluted Boss Shi and said hello.

Lilienthal actually heard the German language. He looked over curiously and found a man with a thin cheek. After greeting Boss Shi, he got back into intense work again.

He was directing his staff to assemble a piece of machinery, and Lilienthal couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Sir Stone, what are they doing?"

"Oh, that's Rudolf Diesel, an engineer who is German like you.

He planned to experiment with a new type of internal combustion engine. Although Karl Benz invented the gasoline internal combustion engine, the thermal efficiency of the gasoline engine was too low. He wanted to develop an internal combustion engine with greater thermal efficiency. "

After listening to Boss Shi's introduction, Lilienthal couldn't help but admire Boss Shi.

"Sir Shi, you have great insight into emerging technologies, but the risks are also very high."

Shi Jintang chuckled, "Indeed, nowadays scientific theories are mixed, and if you are not careful, you will find that you have done useless work.

But as long as you find the right person, there is hope for success.

Mr. Lilienthal, you are the right man. "

Seeing that Boss Shi was so confident in himself, Lilienthal became more determined on the way forward.

"Let's go and have a look at your laboratory. This will be where you work for a long time."

Not long after leaving, the two came to a workshop. Apart from the workbench, there was only a vast space left.

Lilienthal looked around and found that there was already some experimental equipment here.

In addition, at the other end of the large workshop, there is already a glider frame.

There are also more than a dozen Chinese teenagers, who are surrounding the frame of the glider and watching a few workers busy.

"These teenagers are your students and experimental assistants, and the engineers who are assembling the frame are also your assistants.

They will obey your orders. In addition, your experimental process must be carried out with my approval and cannot be carried out privately. "

Lilienthal was already eager to give it a try, and immediately nodded in agreement, "Okay, Sir Shi, I want to see the frame assembly of the glider."

Shi Jintang waved his hand, "No hurry, let's start the first lesson first."

Lilienthal looked around, and he couldn't help but wonder: "What course?"

Shi Jintang didn't answer for now, but clapped his hands and called the dozen or so Chinese teenagers and busy engineers over.

"Hello Mr. Shi!"

"Well, I'm here to introduce you to your future mentor and laboratory leader. You must obey his orders from now on, do you understand?"

More than a dozen Chinese teenagers and engineers all looked at Lilienthal, then nodded and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Shi, we understand."

Shi Jintang nodded, then walked to the workbench and brought over a stack of paper.

"Our first lesson today is - how to make origami airplanes."

Lilienthal couldn't help but be stunned, what kind of course is this?
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  (End of this chapter)