Chapter 189 The First Plane

The war in the Far East has entered a huge offensive and defensive war. Most of the soldiers of the Manchurian Army have arrived outside the Lushun Fortress. They are determined to conquer this fortress that can determine the fate of the war.

The Russian Empire is also rushing to dispatch troops to Lushun. At present, the number of defenders in Lushun has exceeded 70,000.

Apart from this, there is not much movement in other parts of the Far East. Both the island country and the Russian Empire are very clear that the fate of Lushun is the key to determining this war.

Before this, even if more areas are occupied, it is far less important than conquering a Lushun Fortress.

This war of attrition is bad news for the island country and Russia, but it is good news for the British Empire, the United States, Australia and the German Empire.

The longer this war of attrition drags on, the greater the losses for the island country and Russia. At the same time, more weapons demand can be generated, allowing these watching countries to make a lot of money.

For the German Empire, which is attacked from both sides, there is no better news than the Russian Empire's focus on the Far East.

As long as the attention of the Russian Empire was dragged to the Far East by the island country, a small France was not taken seriously by the German Empire.

July 1904, on the outskirts of the Capital Territory.

This was originally an industrial area belonging to New South Wales. After the establishment of the Capital Territory, it was divided into the Capital Territory and became the only industrial area in the Capital Territory. It is also the most developed industrial area in Australia.

This industrial area currently carries Arthur's military factories, automobile factories and engine factories, as well as aviation laboratories specially established for the development of aircraft.

It can be said that this industrial area carries Arthur's hope for the revival of Australia, and the technology born will also affect the whole of Australia.

What can make Arthur go out in person is naturally a major event that can affect the whole of Australia.

Yes, since the successful manufacture of the AU-1 airship more than a year ago, Theodor Kobel and Ludwig Durr have invested in the research and development of aircraft.

For this reason, Arthur specially allocated them 100,000 pounds of research funds and many talents attracted by the Victoria Award.

Now Australia's aviation research laboratory has more than ten famous European aviation experts and aerodynamic experts, and there are dozens of outstanding talents in various aspects of aircraft and airships.

It can be said that Australia has at least attracted one-fifth of the world's top aviation talents, and this number and proportion are constantly increasing.

Although the Wright brothers were indeed the makers of the first aircraft, they could only rely on their own strength before they attracted attention.

Australia used the power of a country to develop aviation, and the speed and achievements achieved were definitely not comparable to those of the Wright brothers.

When Arthur arrived at the aviation laboratory, the two experts Theodor Kobel and Ludwig Durr were already waiting outside the laboratory very respectfully.

There were dozens of experts and scholars standing on both sides, and they were also very respectful to Arthur.

In fact, this is normal. Even the fastest airship has not attracted worldwide attention, let alone the aircraft in the barren exploration period.

Although these experts have done some research in this area, no one supports them. Apart from being pioneers in the aviation industry in name, they have no benefits.

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If Australia had not taken them in and provided them with job opportunities, most of these people would have given up their favorite industries.

With the joint efforts of these experts, Australia's first aircraft was successfully born.

Unlike the simple aircraft such as Flyer 1 and Flyer 2 that the Wright brothers initially built, the initial goal of the aircraft built by Australia was to fly smoothly into the sky.

For this reason, Arthur racked his brains and frantically recalled the appearance and design of the aircraft in the first and second world wars in later generations, and then gave the simple sketches he drew to Theodor Kobel and Ludwig Durr for reference.

Unexpectedly, Theodor Kobel and Ludwig Durr thought hard for a long time and actually built an aircraft according to the design sketch.

Of course, the aircraft in front of him is an improved version after many tests, and naturally it is not as simple as it was at the beginning.

Arthur looked at Theodor Kobel, who understood and explained: "Your Highness, this is the final product we got after many experiments and improvements based on the design sketch you gave us. Our aircraft adopts a single-engine, single-seat, double-wing design, and uses a new gasoline engine specially developed by Mr. Diesel. The power is expected to reach about 150km to 220km."

"In order to increase the endurance of this aircraft, we installed two auxiliary fuel tanks on both sides of the aircraft. This allows the total endurance of the aircraft to reach more than 700 kilometers. Without these two auxiliary fuel tanks, the endurance of the aircraft may only be about 400 kilometers." Theodor Kobel explained.

Arthur nodded.

He was still very satisfied with the development speed of the aircraft and the current data of the finished product. After all, this is a brand new idea for everyone, and it will take a longer time to realize it.

Taking the current data as an example, this is at least the result of the Wright brothers' research on aircraft for several years.

Before the US military paid attention to it, the Wright brothers' research and development process was very slow. It is reasonable for Australia to use national power to quickly overtake.

"Can this plane be driven now?" Arthur asked with a little interest.

Arthur has seen many large aircraft in later generations, but he has only seen pictures of this aircraft that is still in the exploration stage.

This also makes Arthur very interested in the aircraft parked in front of him. What is the difference between such an aircraft and later generations?

"Of course, Your Highness." Theodor Kobel nodded and said: "Because there is no systematic pilot training method at present, the person who can drive can only be the one who is most familiar with this fighter. Please wait a moment. Before the plane officially takes off, some preparations need to be done."

Arthur nodded and motioned Theodor Kobel to get busy.

The real person who drove the plane was not Theodor Kobel, but Ludwig Durr.

The reason is simple. Ludwig Durr is the designer of the aircraft balance system. He is most familiar with the aircraft's control system and is naturally the most suitable person to drive the aircraft.

After about half an hour of preparation, Ludwig Durr put on his goggles and asked Arthur for permission to take off.

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