1229. Overlooking the Small Town (9/10)
The use of aviation tools, except origami airplanes, requires the joint efforts of a group of people, such as real flying airplanes, helicopters, and hot air balloons.
After all the hot air balloon equipment was prepared, a group of four and a group of six began to quickly work together to splice it together.
The first thing is to spread the balloon on the ground, which they did very quickly, and it took only ten minutes for a four-person team to complete it.
Another group of six assembled the hanging basket, which is more complicated, because it needs to install the outer shell of the hanging basket, install the safety chamber, configure the burner and blower, etc.
Both skilled veterans, they finished almost at the same time, and then they worked together to connect the airbag to the gondola that was set aside.
At this time, the small engineering vehicle that followed the cart started to work, injecting helium into the air bag that was deflated on the ground. Slowly, the airbag began to rise slowly, getting higher and higher, until at five or six meters, the blower in the hanging basket started to work, and the burner also slowly sprayed fire.
The light gas acts together with the hot air to speed up the rising speed of the hot air balloon, so that when the airbag is completely lifted into the air, the preparation work is almost done.
Qin Shiou watched the hanging basket being hoisted up wobbly, feeling excited, and said, "Can we go up now?"
He looked at the time, and it didn't take long, less than an hour and a half, and it was the first time to take off. Afterwards, the gondola was assembled. After checking that there was no problem, inflate the airbags, and it could fly in an hour.
Johnson shook his head and said: "No, Mr. Qin, we still need to debug the equipment, GPS navigator, satellite phone, radio station. They must be debugged one by one. After there is no problem, we will contact the ground vehicle before we can take off."
Qin Shiou said in astonishment: "It's so cumbersome. I read the introduction at the beginning. Didn't it say that two people can complete the take-off of the hot air balloon?"
The two people he was talking about were the first and second pilots, who were used to control the hot air balloon.
Johnson shook his head. Introduced to him: "Being able to take off and flying well are two different things. In the eyes of our professionals, a complete hot air balloon flight team has at least five people."
"So many..." Qin Daguan gasped, he felt that it would not be easy for his hot air balloon to fly.
Johnson continued: "Yes, there are quite a lot. First, two pilots and co-pilots are needed. Second, there are two ground crews and a health worker. If it is a special-shaped ball, it will be even more troublesome. The ground crew needs 9 people."
"Why do you need a hygienist?" Qin Daguan was helpless,
He didn't introduce this when he checked the information.
Johnson smiled. Said: "Changes in flight altitude will cause changes in pressure, temperature, and air density, which will cause discomfort to people. Therefore, it is best to have a health worker accompany you to monitor physiological data such as blood pressure, blood sugar, and blood lipids."
After some testing, the engineer who came with Johnson gave him a thumbs up, meaning that the hot air balloon was fine and ready to fly.
Qin Shiou asked, "Is it okay this time?"
Johnson smiled. "Yes, that's fine. No problem at all."
Qin Shiou nodded and boarded the hot air balloon first. There were two middle-aged men waiting inside. They were the pilots and co-pilots of this flight.
He saw Qin Shiou get on the hot air balloon frankly. Johnson said: "Mr. Qin is really courageous. Among the people I know, there are not many people who dare to go up a hot air balloon without a test flight for the first time."
Originally, when Qin Shiou bought the helicopter, the pilot first drove the helicopter several times by himself, and then pulled Qin Shiou up after proving that there was no problem.
But hot air balloons are not the same as helicopters. As long as you strictly follow the rules of hot air balloon operation, there will be no problems with this thing. Because the rising power of the hot air balloon is the hot gas produced by the combustion of the combustion system, if the combustion system cannot produce hot gas. The balloon capsule becomes a parachute, and it falls naturally and slowly.
Even if the airbag is broken, because of the material, as long as the airbag is not hit by a missile or torn apart by a tornado, it will not have a big gap all at once, so that the burner will continue to produce hot air to replenish the gas leaked from the gap, and it can still Make sure the balloon lands normally.
Of course, if there is no natural disaster, but the air bag of the hot air balloon is broken and the burner cannot be used at the same time, then the people on it are indeed dangerous, but the probability of encountering this situation is not much greater than buying a billion in the lottery.
Now hot air balloons have been confirmed by the International Aviation Federation as the safest aircraft, Qin Shiou knows this, so there is nothing to be afraid of
In addition, the reason why Qin Shiou wanted to get on the hot air balloon was not only because of his curiosity, but also because he brought something, a super long banner that was swept together and needed to be hugged by him. This banner was to be hung on the hot air balloon.
After boarding the hot air balloon, the two pilots began to work, one communicated with the ground vehicle by radio, and the other checked the altimeter, vertical speedometer, thermometer, pressure gauge, anemometer and so on.
The burner began to increase the firepower, and a super flame two to three meters long burned straight, powerful hot air rose up, and the hot air balloon began to accelerate upwards.
Johnson explained to Qin Shiou: "We don't fill enough helium, because the airbag is used for the first time, and we have to give it a time to adapt to the tension, so this flight needs to rely on the burner."
The fuel used in Archangel f2 generation a hot air balloon is propane and liquefied petroleum gas, and the burner is a high-energy compressed gas combustion furnace with a heating capacity 500 times stronger than that of ordinary household gas furnaces.
If the burner goes on strike, there are two combustion systems on the hot air balloon that are on standby and can be turned on at any time.
Now is actually not a good time for a hot air balloon to take off. The best time to fly this thing is when the sun just rises or one or two hours before the sun sets. At that time, the wind is usually the calmest and the airflow is the most stable time of the day.
A hot air balloon isn't actually piloted, it goes with the wind. However, because the wind has different directions and speeds at different altitudes, the pilot can choose the appropriate altitude according to the direction required by the flight.
It happens to be northerly now, and Farewell Island is located directly south of St. Johns, so you can fly with confidence. This is why the pilot chooses to take off now, otherwise, you need assistance to let the hot air balloon fly to Farewell Island.
Qin Shiou used to have a fear of heights. He rode helicopters and aerial tractors every day in the fishing ground. His fear of heights eased a lot, and the hot air balloon did not fly too high, so he could accept it.
Flying in the air, he looked down and saw the St. Johns growing smaller beneath his feet.
St. Johns is a port city built by the sea, so the terrain is uneven. There are many ups and downs in the city, and some houses are built on a slight slope. This is especially clear when viewed from a height. to be continued
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