African Nationhood

Chapter 269 The first gliding flight test
  In June 1889, Shi Jintang welcomed the birth of a new life. Jin Xiyue was born, still a daughter.

When Shi Jintang went to see her, she was obviously in poor spirits. She was depressed after giving birth to two daughters in a row.

Shi Jintang had no choice but to spend time with her for a few days, and the weather was good when his little daughter was born, so he named his little girl Shi Qing.

Kelly and Ye Rong also came to visit Jin Xiyue, which made her feel better.

Kelly's belly is also quite big, and her due date is in August. Ye Rong is currently having a good time with her son Shi Hao.

Because it was not convenient for the other girls to sleep with her, Mr. Shi stayed at her place during these days. The two of them spent more time together with their son.

Mr. Shi has high hopes for his son, so he never forgets to impart knowledge to his son when accompanying him.

For example, he learned the pinyin alphabet, and at the same time he did not forget to teach his son singing and ancient poetry.

Ye Rong's eyes were filled with relief when she heard her son singing in a vague child's voice.

……

Namib Desert, red dune area (now Dune 45, Namibia).

It takes nearly 400 kilometers to get here from Walvis Bay. We come here not for fun, but for experiments.

Otto Lindthal and his glider team will conduct glider flight tests here.

This idea was naturally thought up by Boss Shi. The sand dunes here are high enough (up to 550 meters). The desert is full of sand and there is little risk to life if you fall down.

In addition, the wind here is sufficient, and when the sun heats the sand, it will form an updraft, which can help the glider gain more lift for flight.

……

In addition to being equipped with sufficient supplies, their team also has a cavalry company sent by the Namib Garrison to act as escort and rescue.

In order to lure Otto Lilienthal over, Boss Shi provided him with the design drawing of a hang glider.

He had made up videos of gliders in his previous life, and his understanding of this kind of aircraft was naturally better than Lilienthal, who was still in the stage of blind exploration.

The design drawing parameters he gave are rigorous and practical.

These design parameters alone saved Otto Lilienthal countless experiments and risks, so they had a higher starting point.

……

Apart from the advantages, the only remaining disadvantages are the materials. The biggest problem that troubles Lilienthal’s team is the material.

Later generations of hang gliders mostly used nylon or polyester cloth. These two materials have not been invented yet, and they can only be replaced by brushing glue on cotton canvas.

The aluminum alloy and carbon fiber frame of the hang glider is very strong. At present, the strength of Nanhua Company's aluminum alloy is still far behind. In desperation, it can only use a combination of thin steel bars and aluminum alloy tubes to serve as the frame.

In order to be able to support the size of an adult, the entire hang glider area should be as large as possible.

The weight of the glider produced in this way reached a terrifying 70 kilograms, and no one could support it for acceleration.

Therefore, we had to continue making adjustments to simplify the structure of the support frame as much as possible, and the weight of the final product was controlled to 45 kilograms.

Everyone experimented and found that adult men can complete short-distance sprints and run-ups.

As the total weight of the glider increases, the experimenter's weight needs to be controlled.

For the safety of experimenters, Boss Shi came up with the concept of parachute.

However, the current canvas is made of cotton and linen, which cannot be as light and strong as nylon and polyester.

However, I still did a few experiments based on the principle. The experimental results were not satisfactory, but they were better than nothing.

……

The experiment should be conducted at different time periods to compare and record the changes in air lift during different periods. Therefore, the experimental team arrived at the dune area in advance and moved the glider and required items to the top of the dune in advance.

In order to facilitate sprinting, the experimental team also spent a lot of effort to flatten a 50-meter-long and 5-meter-wide approach track on the top of the dune, with thin stone slabs laid on it to facilitate the experimenters' approach and sprint.

Everything was ready, and everyone camped and rested under the sand dunes. Early the next morning, everyone woke up early to eat, organize their equipment, and climbed onto the tall sand dunes together. Facing the rising sun, the glider experiment officially began.

Otto Lilienthal and the mechanical engineer first carefully inspected the glider's wings, slats, cable tubes, screws, and hangers. After confirming that there were no problems, Otto Lilienthal let go. tone.

Next, the experimenter checked all the equipment on him, including a helmet, a revolver, first aid medicine, instant cans, daggers and parachutes.

This time the experimenter was not him, but his Chinese student, Wang Long.

Wang Long came from the Lu region of the Qing Dynasty and was a fellow villager with Boss Shi. He was brought here by Liu Jiazhao.

When he arrived in Southwest Africa, Boss Shi met him. Because he was too young, Boss Shi encouraged him a few words and then sent him to a junior high school. After several years of primary education, students graduate and enter secondary school.

He took physics as an elective in secondary school. Before Lilienthal came, Cai Shaoji went to the school to select students.

Wang Lung heard that he wanted to fly into the sky, so he took the initiative to sign up.

Cai Shaoji chose him because of his good academic performance and strong body.

Wang Long and more than a dozen classmates followed Lilienthal and experienced folding airplanes, observing birds, and conducting wind tunnel tests, and finally completed the basic knowledge.

Later, I did a period of adaptability testing, which was to try to simulate the control of a glider with the help of rubber strips.

After the assessment, Wang Long won.

Another reason for choosing him is that he is the second strongest in the entire team after Lilienthal, enough to carry a 45 kilogram glider.

The yellow race has the lightest body density among all races, so choosing King Dragon is the right decision for the team.

"Everyone is ready, the experiment officially begins."

Wang Long took a deep breath, walked to the glider, and his companions helped him tie the ropes of the suspension.

Everything is ready, the next step is to sprint.

"King, how are you? Are you afraid?"

Lilienthal finally ran over to ask the students again, fearing that the students would temporarily retreat.

Wang Long laughed, "No problem, this sand dune is only 35 meters high, you won't die even if you fall."

Lilienthal gave the students a thumbs up and said, "Come on!"

Wang Long took another deep breath, then roared and accelerated forward with the glider in hand.

One step, two steps,

One meter, two meters,

……

When Wang Long felt the strong and clear sea breeze, his heart palpitated involuntarily.

"boom"

The fierce air flow came in. Wang Long felt his body light up. He and the glider were floating. The air was so magical!

The salty and fresh feeling of the morning sea breeze suddenly expanded Wang Lung's spirit and senses.

He could still hear the cheers of the people behind him, and he became even more excited, but he still had not forgotten the training he had undergone in the past six months.

He carefully manipulated the control rod in his hand, trying to circle the dunes beneath his feet.

Because the airflow in the morning mainly comes from the sea breeze, his intention cannot be realized and he is no longer taking risks.

During flight, the operating essentials must be kept in mind at all times.

If the glider tilts to the right, the experimenter should adjust his body to the left in time, so that the glider can be adjusted to fly straight, and vice versa.

If the flight speed is too fast, you can push the control stick outward to slow down the flight speed, and vice versa.

During gliding, you must pay attention to adjusting the position of your body and control stick, otherwise accidents may easily occur.

Wang Long's solid training helped him dilute his fear of flying for the first time, and he was even more excited at this moment.

After flying several hundred meters like this, he found someone below shining a mirror into his eyes, and he knew it was time to fly down.

It's a good thing that the first experiment was successful, but their experiment was mainly to collect data and there would be opportunities to continue flying in the future.

So he manipulated the control stick and pushed it down as much as possible. The height of the glider soon dropped. When he was about to land, he had to push the control stick out in time to avoid plunging into the sand.

Wang Lung still made a mistake when he finally landed. Half of his body was buried in the sand, and a lot of sand got into his body.

But he couldn't hide his pride and excitement. He became the first person in the world (in this time and space) to fly high into the sky.

This experiment was undoubtedly a success, and everyone present cheered again...

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  (End of this chapter)