Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 547 Tesla and the Progress of the Aircraft Project
"Major Huang, Major Chen, Major Zheng, please introduce the current development of the flight unit to everyone."

After deciding on a development plan for military expansion and preparation for war, the meeting continued and Li Mingyuan turned his attention to several technical officers.

"Your Majesty, hello, officers." Huang Xibao, Chen Qiansheng, and Zheng Tingxiang stood up and saluted. Then Huang Xibao started to introduce: "The flight unit currently has three experimental units: the airship squadron, the glider squadron, and the aviation squadron, each of which is under the charge of the three of us.

As for the airship squadron, it is currently equipped with 12 "Challenger 1" airships. This type of airship is 60 meters long and 12 meters in diameter. It uses hydrogen as raw material and relies on two 6-horsepower steam engines for power. It has a flying speed of 20 kilometers per hour, an altitude limit of 1000 meters, and a standard capacity of 8 people.

The glider squadron is equipped with 24 fixed-wing gliders, each carrying one person, gliding down the hillside, with a flight distance of up to 500 meters.

The aviation squadron was established with reference to the airship squadron and the glider squadron. According to His Majesty's instructions, the "aircraft" uses a single-wing frame and a gasoline internal combustion engine as the driving device to provide power. Currently, six prototypes have been produced, but for various reasons, they have not been able to successfully achieve the purpose of taking off. "

"Major Huang, everyone has seen airships and gliders, but what is this "plane"?"

After Huang Xibao finished speaking, an officer asked curiously.

"The airplane is the name given by His Majesty. The exterior structure is similar to that of a glider, and the power equipment is similar to that of an airship. The only difference is that it uses a gasoline internal combustion engine as its power equipment."

Huang Xibao explained.

"Everyone can understand that airships rely on hydrogen to take off, but can this plane, which does not burn hydrogen but is only powered by an internal combustion engine, fly into the sky?"

The concept of flying was beyond everyone's comprehension, and more and more officers raised questions. Then, Huang Xibao, Chen Qiansheng, and Zheng Tingxiang used the simplest words possible to explain the principles of how an airplane takes off and various physics and chemistry terms. However, after they finished, most of the people present were still confused and didn't understand what was going on.

"The construction and launch of an aircraft involves the laws of physics such as fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, classical mechanics, as well as internal combustion engines, fuel types, fuel purification, sealing plastics, rubber, and mechanical processing design. It is a systematic project. In terms of internal combustion engines, in 1885, Germans Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler invented a gasoline-based fuel engine, which solved the problem of aircraft power equipment. However, the current gasoline engine has a power of only 3 to 5 horsepower, and its size and weight are too large.
In terms of power fuel, the cost of gasoline refining is relatively high and needs to be improved, but the current purified gasoline, as the first generation of aircraft fuel, does not have any problems.

As for the wings, we will continue to optimize them, further reduce air resistance, and adopt a fluid wing design. ”

Li Mingyuan recalled the increasingly vague memories of his past life in his mind, and gave suggestions from the perspectives of physical chemistry, fluid mechanics, and polymer chemistry.

"What has Fellow Tesla been busy with lately?"

Li Mingyuan suddenly thought of the great god Tesla, looked at Li Fengbin, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Industry, who was sitting opposite him, and asked.

"Your Majesty, Academician Tesla has been busy with the AC high-voltage power generation project recently. In January of this year, he successfully manufactured a power generation device that can generate 1 million volts of high-voltage AC electricity. Currently, Academician Tesla is in Jiangzhou, looking for a suitable location with his assistants to build an AC high-voltage hydroelectric power station."

"good very good!"

Li Mingyuan was delighted to hear about the breakthrough in high-voltage AC power generation technology. He said, "Since entering the country, Academician Tesla has worked with technical experts from the Royal Academy of Sciences, the Royal Institute of Physics, and the Royal Institute of Chemical Engineering to successfully develop new equipment such as alkaline zinc-manganese dry batteries, flashlights, and rectifiers. He has made great contributions. Now he has made a major breakthrough in the field of AC high-voltage power generation, and he must be rewarded! Announce publicly to promote Academician Tesla to the president of the Royal Institute of Physics and grant him the hereditary title of Viscount. Also, send a telegram to Jiangzhou to tell Tesla that the site selection work for the high-voltage AC power station can be temporarily delayed and ask them to return to Chang'an immediately. I will personally present the medal of honor and rewards to Academician Tesla and related personnel!"

"Your Majesty, Academician Tesla's achievements in the field of science and technology are obvious to all. There is nothing wrong with granting him noble status and related rewards, but isn't it too high to directly grant him the hereditary viscount title?" Liu Pu reminded.

"Everyone, you need to have a long-term vision. What does 100 million volt AC high-voltage power generation technology mean? You may not understand it very well, but in a word, high-voltage AC power generation technology and the supporting hydroelectric power station technology represent the arrival of an industrial age. The impact of power generation and power application technology on science and technology and society is no less than that of the steam engine. Not to mention just one hereditary viscount title, even if it is ten hereditary viscount titles, it is worth it."

Li Mingyuan gave a brief explanation and made a decision.

"The aircraft R&D project needs to be accelerated. After Academician Tesla returns to Chang'an, the aircraft R&D project will be assigned to the Royal College of Physics. At the same time, technical personnel in chemical engineering, mechanical design, steel smelting, polymer chemistry, etc. will be selected to form a technical committee to carry out special efforts to complete the launch of the first experimental aircraft before 1895. The key directions of the breakthrough are to increase the power of gasoline engines and optimize the design of the entire equipment. In terms of gasoline engine power, the single-machine power of 10 horsepower is used as the reference standard. In the early stage of research and development, if a gasoline engine with a power of 10 horsepower cannot meet the launch requirements, you can try to install two engines."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Lee Bong-bin, Vice Minister of Industry, responded.

"Major Huang, Major Chen, Major Zheng, I have another suggestion for you. The research and development and improvement projects on gliders should be put on hold for the time being.
Major Zheng, you will cooperate with Major Chen to continue to expand the two simulated wind tunnels in the flight base. Half of the flight personnel of the glider squadron will assist the aircraft squadron in conducting simulated wind tunnel exercises.

Major Huang, regarding airships, the Challenger 1 airship squadron will maintain its original size for the time being. In the next phase, in addition to cooperating with the flight squadron to build experimental models and conduct simulated flight training, the focus of airship research and development will shift to rigid airships. We can try to use metal, wood and other materials to make frames, and cover the frames with chemical polymer fabrics that are resistant to high temperatures and corrosion, in order to improve the safety, stability and carrying capacity of the airships. This work can be completed in cooperation with the Royal School of Chemical Engineering."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The three of them said in unison.

"Your Majesty, the Germans have extensive experience in the field of internal combustion engines. Some time ago, the German ambassador took the initiative to express his desire to strengthen cooperation with the Empire in the field of internal combustion engines. In order to speed up the progress of the aircraft development project, can we consider introducing Germans so that the two sides can work together to promote the implementation of the project?"

one officer suggested.

"No, the aircraft development project is the core secret of the Empire. The Empire invested a lot of manpower and material resources in research and development several years in advance, and has made phased progress. Now the purification of aviation gasoline and the invention of aviation engine equipment, the two core factors that determine the flight of the aircraft have been solved. Only the finishing touch is to solve the two minor problems of engine power and aircraft body structure design, and then it can be successfully implemented. At this critical point, if the Germans are introduced, there may be a risk of technology leakage, which is not worth the loss."

Li Mingyuan thought again and again, and said solemnly: "The Empire must win the title of the invention of the aircraft, and also maintain the most advanced technological advantage in the field of aviation. This field is the best opportunity for the Empire to achieve a curve overtaking. Therefore, the aircraft research and development project cannot be borrowed from outsiders, and all technologies must be completed by the Empire alone.

However, we cannot cooperate with other countries, but we can introduce technical talents from other countries.

Deputy Minister Li, after the Royal Development Fund is officially established, you will take the approval slip I gave you and receive 200 million Han Yuan as the first R&D fund for this year's aircraft R&D project team. After receiving the funds, the first thing to do is to invest in the construction of a simulated wind tunnel. At the same time, listen to the advice of Academician Tesla to see if he has any foreign talents to recommend. If there are any foreign talents recommended, you can go to other countries to recruit people according to the recommended list. As long as they are willing to settle in the Han country, they can go through the talent introduction channel, obtain national identity and a settlement bonus ranging from 1000 to 1 Han Yuan per person. "

"Your Majesty, can Americans also do that?"

"Americans can also come. As long as they are willing to settle down and become naturalized in the empire and meet the requirements for talent introduction, no matter if they are American, British, or French, they are all welcome. However, black people are an exception."

"Yes, Your Majesty."