According to the requirements of the "Daily Mail", flying across the English Channel requires flying from Canais to Canterbury, a total distance of about 60 kilometers.
This distance is not difficult for the "Strong Wind". The straight-line distance between Paris and London is only 300 kilometers. If the "Strong Wind" is equipped with an auxiliary fuel tank, it can fly back and forth in one go.
So this challenge is really child's play for "strong wind", and it's not even a warm-up.
Eddie Johnston was not interested in "Strong Wind", but someone was interested. As soon as Stuart Coffey finished speaking, someone next to him was surprised: "Your plane can really fly 500 kilometers?"
Catherine Wright is still surrounded by a large group of reporters. She does have the capital to be sought after by the media. Not to mention her aura as a "female aviator", her decent clothes, easy-going attitude, sweet smile, and even the use of "..." when she is surprised.
The movement of covering the mouth with the hand is just right.
This action was really good-looking, and the photographer next to him immediately went "bang, bang, bang" again, and Stuart Coffey subconsciously stopped his back.
But it's no use. Even if Stuart Coffey tries his best to perform next to a beautiful woman, he still doesn't look like he's on the same level.
The difference in appearance is really quite big. Stuart Coffey is already in his forties this year. His height is no more than 1.6 meters, his weight must be over 200, and he is severely bald——
You can't blame Eddie Johnston for being dissatisfied. If Stuart Coffey's photo was published in the Daily Mail, it would probably have an impact on the image of southern Africa.
With his figure, he doesn't look like he's building airplanes, but more like a chef.
"Of course, last year our aircraft range exceeded 500 kilometers -" Stuart Coffey did not realize that his words were suspected of leaking secrets.
Before Katherine Wright could make any further remarks, Rich Wheeler, who had been following Stuart Coffey, coughed violently.
Rich Wheeler is an official of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Nyasaland State Government and a member of Bullard. In the flight team sent by the Aviation Research Institute, Rich Wheeler is responsible for security work. Confidentiality is of course also part of the security work.
Stuart Coffey didn't seem to realize it, and glared at Richie Wheeler with a slightly angry look, seemingly blaming Richie Wheeler for interrupting his communication with Catherine Wright.
Look, he, a straight man, also likes to deal with beautiful women, so we really can’t blame the reporters for being snobbish.
"So, southern Africa has already started researching aircraft a long time ago?" Eddie Johnston finally got down to business.
"It's not Southern Africa, but Nyasaland. Before Southern Africa was established, Nyasaland had already begun researching aircraft. This is thanks to Lord Nyasaland's attention. Without him, there would be no current aviation research.
So." Stuart Coffey's words were still suspected of leaking secrets, but Rich Wheeler frowned and did not interrupt Stuart Coffey.
"Institute of Aeronautics, what kind of department is this?" Catherine Wright interjected, with a confused expression that really made me pity me.
"Aeronautical Institute -" Stewart Coffey beamed, but this time Rich Wheeler didn't hesitate.
"Gentlemen and ladies, let's take a look at the aircraft we are going to use to fly across the English Channel this time. In Nyasaland, this type of aircraft is called 'Strong Wind' -" Rich Wheeler
Take over decisively and prevent Stuart Coffey from continuing.
"This model, that is, Southern Africa - no, your Nyasaland and other models -" Katherine Wright was really difficult to deal with, and Rich Wheeler found that he couldn't handle it either.
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This cannot be blamed on Rich Wheeler. For Europe, Nyasaland is too far away. It is so far away that many people don’t even know that Nyasaland exists, so those who are interested in Nyasaland
There are so many people.
Nyasaland itself has too many secrets. For Rich Wheeler and Stuart Coffey, many things are already commonplace, but for people in Europe who pride themselves on being the "center of world civilization"
, many things in Nyasaland are a bit ahead of their time, so any casual conversation between Rich Wheeler and Stuart Coffey may leak the secrets.
"Sorry, we're just talking about 'strong winds' now -" Rich Wheeler didn't want to talk about other issues, he just wanted to introduce "strong winds."
In other words, Rich Wheeler just wants to sell "Strong Wind."
Nyasaland's aircraft were previously named according to wind speed levels. Since there are "strong winds", there should be "gusts" and "strong winds". There will also be "storms" and "hurricanes" in the future, but these aircraft
Neither type is within the scope of Rich Wheeler's discussion.
Just as Rich Wheeler and Katherine Wright were having a friendly exchange, the ground crew finally removed all the outer skin of "Strong Wind", and "Strong Wind" finally appeared in its entirety in front of the world.
After many modifications, the "Strength Wind" has a fuselage length of 8.56 meters, a wingspan of 10.42 meters, a height of 2.85 meters, and an empty weight of 625 kilograms.
Compared with aircraft of this era, including the "Aviator 3", the biggest feature of the "Strong Wind" is the sealed cabin.
The aircraft of this period did not consider the human-machine function. When pilots flew the aircraft, they basically had no protection, so the pilots had to wear thick cold-proof clothing, helmets and eyes before they could fly into the blue sky.
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Even so, the pilot cannot persist for too long. If the flight time is too long, the pilot will freeze.
This situation is particularly uncomfortable for women. For example, every flight performance is a great test for Catherine Wright's image, so Catherine Wright would rather stay on the ground and chat with reporters than sit in an airplane.
Self-destructive image.
There is no such problem here in "Strong Wind".
In fact, installing a glass cover for the pilot's cockpit will not add much cost to the aircraft, but it will bring many benefits. It can not only effectively protect the pilot, but also reduce wind resistance to the greatest extent with its smooth shape, bringing great benefits to the aircraft.
More stability and faster speed.
Therefore, Catherine Wright's eyes lit up as soon as she saw the "strong wind". As the most famous "female aviator" in the world, Catherine Wright immediately realized the benefits of this glass cover.
However, it is not easy to install a glass cover for the cockpit. For this small piece of glass, Nyasaland Optical Research Institute searched for the most suitable materials from all over the world, and finally cooperated with Zeiss of Germany to develop glass that meets the requirements.
, in order to buy out the patent rights for this glass, the Nyasaland Institute of Optical Research paid Germany's Zeiss 30,000 pounds, and the Wright brothers were probably reluctant to part with the money.
There is no ability to come up with this money. This is the gap between individuals and capital. If it is just a simple aircraft, then individuals can still toss it around, but if the aircraft is upgraded to a high-tech product that requires the cooperation of multiple industries, then it is not
It's something that individuals can get involved in.
"Can I sit in and feel it?" Catherine Wright was delighted when she saw Hunter. The anticipation in her eyes was definitely not a disguise.
"Haha, of course it doesn't matter, but if you can't sit in the cockpit, only our pilots can control the 'Strong Wind'." Stewart Coffey was generous. In the future, the "Strong Wind" will be sold to the outside world, and there is no point in being secretive. Some
Things cannot be understood at a glance, such as the glass installed in the cabin. Even if the Wright brothers knew the benefits of doing so, they probably would not be able to do it.
In fact, even the machine gunner position behind the pilot was enough to satisfy Catherine Wright.
Compared with the pilot's cockpit, the machine gunner's position can also be sealed. When there is no battle, the machine gunner can also close the hatch without feeling the strong wind.
Once a battle breaks out, the machine gunner can open the hatch and control the machine gun to attack enemy aircraft or ground targets.
The "Strong Wind" fighter is equipped with a heavy machine gun specially designed for aircraft. This machine gun simplifies unnecessary parts as much as possible, and its caliber is larger than the general machine gun equipped by the army, reaching 17.78 mm.
The reason for using such a strange caliber is mainly to adapt to the habits of the Commonwealth, 17.78 is 0.7 inches.
The heavy machine gun is placed directly in front of the machine gunner. In order to facilitate the machine gunner's operation, the entire machine gunner's cockpit can be rotated, so the machine gunner can shoot 360 degrees without blind angles. Catherine Wright tried turning it and it was very flexible.
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But there was not much joy on Catherine Wright's face. Even from the moment she sat in the shooter cabin, Catherine Wright's expression began to gradually become serious.
Compared with the "Strong Wind", the "Aviator 3" has almost no advantages. The shooter cabin of the "Strong Wind" can already rotate. The Wright brothers' "Flyer 3" is still studying how to install the machine gun on the aircraft.
Considering the other information about "Strong Wind" that Stuart Coffey inadvertently revealed just now, this gap has already made Catherine Wright feel a little desperate.
Not to mention that the "Strong Wind" may be just one of Nyasaland's many aircraft models. If Nyasaland comes up with more and more advanced aircraft, the Wright brothers' flying career can be declared over now.
So after jumping off the plane, Katherine Wright took the initiative to invite Stuart Coffey, hoping to have dinner with Stuart Coffey.
"Sorry, we have a chef with us and we can't eat out -" Stuart Coffey was a little annoyed, but there was a compromise: "-If you are willing, you can taste our Nyasaland delicacies,
I promise, it’s no less than a restaurant in Paris!”
Looking at this team, the image of the team members may not be very good, but the level of perfection is absolutely outstanding, and they are not at the same level as Katherine Wright and other grassroots teams.
