Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 620 Grass Stage Team

According to the requirements of the "Daily Mail", the flight across the English Channel is about 60 kilometers from Canai to Canterbury.

This distance is not difficult for "Strong Wind", and the straight-line distance between Paris and London is only 300 kilometers. If "Strong Wind" is equipped with an auxiliary fuel tank, it can fly back and forth at a time.

So this challenge is really pediatrics for "Strong Wind", not even a warm-up.

Eddie Johnston was not interested in "Strong Wind". Someone was interested. As soon as Stuart Coffey finished speaking, someone beside him was surprised: "Your plane can really fly 500 kilometers?"

Catherine Wright is still surrounded by a large group of reporters, and she does have the capital to be sought after by the media, not to mention the aura of "female aviator", decent clothing, easy-going attitude, sweet smile, even when surprised. The movements of covering the mouth with the hands are just right.

This action was really good-looking, and the photographer next to him went "bang, bang, bang" again, and Stuart Coffey subconsciously stopped his waist.

But it's useless. Beside the big beauty, even though Stuart Coffey is trying his best, he still doesn't seem to be at the same level.

The difference in appearance is a bit big. Stuart Coffey is over 40 years old this year, his height is no more than 1.6 meters, his weight must be over 200, and he is seriously bald——

Eddie Johnston can't be blamed for his disgust. If Stuart Coffey's photo is published in the "Daily Mail", it will probably have an impact on the image of southern Africa.

With his figure, he didn't look like an airplane builder, but rather a chef.

"Of course we can. Last year our aircraft had a range of more than 500 kilometers—" Stuart Coffey didn't realize that his words were suspected of leaking.

Before Catherine Wright could go any further, Rich Wheeler, who had been by Stuart Coffey's side, coughed violently.

Rich Wheeler is an official of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Nyasaland State Government and a member of Brad. In the flight team sent by the Aviation Research Institute, Rich Wheeler is in charge of security work. Of course, confidentiality work is also part of the security work.

Stuart Coffey didn't seem to realize it, and gave Rich Wheeler a slightly angry look, as if blaming Rich Wheeler for interrupting his communication with Catherine Wright.

Look, he, a straight guy, also likes to deal with beautiful women, so I can't blame the reporters for being snobby.

"So Southern Africa has been working on flying machines 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 started researching aircraft. Thanks to Lord Nyasaland for his attention. Without him, there would be no current aviation research. So." Stuart Coffey's words were still suspected of leaking, but Rich Wheeler frowned and did not interrupt Stuart Coffey.

"Institute of Aeronautics, what department is this?" Catherine Wright interjected, her confused expression really made me feel pitiful.

"Aviation Research Institute—" Stuart 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 the English Channel this time. In our Nyasaland, this type of aircraft is called 'Strong Wind'—" Rich Wheeler Take over decisively and keep Stuart Coffey from talking.

"This type, so that is, Southern Africa—no, your Nyasaland and other types of aircraft—" Catherine Wright was really difficult to deal with, and Rich Wheeler found himself unable to handle it .

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 there is Nyasaland, so they are interested in Nyasaland. There are many people.

There are too many secrets in Nyasaland itself. For Rich Wheeler and Stuart Coffey, many things are already taken for granted, but for those in Europe who claim to be the "center of world civilization" Well, a lot of Nyasaland stuff is a little ahead of its time, so a casual chat between Ricky Wheeler and Stewart Coffey could give it away.

"Sorry, we only say 'strong wind' now—" Rich Wheeler didn't want to talk about other issues, but just wanted to introduce "strong wind".

Or maybe Rich Wheeler just wanted to sell "Strong Wind."

Nyasaland's planes were named according to the wind speed level before. Since there are "strong winds", then there should be "gusts" and "strong winds". In the future, there will be "storms" and "hurricanes". Types are outside the scope of Rich Wheeler's discussion.

When Rich Wheeler and Catherine Wright communicated friendly, the ground crew finally removed all the outer skin of "Strong Wind", and "Strong Wind" finally appeared in front of the world in its entirety.

The "Strong Wind", which has been modified many times, 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 III", the biggest feature of the "Strong Wind" is the sealed cabin.

Aircraft during this period did not consider the ergonomics of the aircraft. When the pilots were flying the aircraft, they basically had no protection. Therefore, the pilots had to wear thick winter clothes, helmets and eyes to fly into the blue sky. .

Even so, the pilot can't last too long. If the flight time is too long, the pilot will be frozen.

This situation is especially uncomfortable for women. For example, every air show 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 the plane Self-destruct image.

In "Strong Wind" there is no such problem.

In fact, installing a glass cover on the pilot's cockpit does not add much cost to the aircraft, but it brings many benefits. It can not only effectively protect the pilot, but also reduce wind resistance to the greatest extent by virtue of its smooth shape. More stability and faster speed.

So Catherine Wright's eyes lit up as soon as she saw the "strong wind". As the world's most famous "female aviator", 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, the Nyasaland Institute of Optics searched for the most suitable material from all over the world. Finally, it cooperated with German Zeiss to develop the glass that meets the requirements. , In order to buy out the patent right of this glass, the Nyasaland Institute of Optics paid German Zeiss [-] pounds, and the Wright Brothers were probably reluctant to spend the money.

I don’t even have the ability to spend the money. This is the gap between individuals and capital. If it’s just a simple aircraft, then individuals can make a fuss, but if it’s a high-tech product that requires the cooperation of multiple industries, then it’s not Individuals can get their hands on it.

"Can I sit in and feel it?" Catherine Wright was delighted to see Lie Xin, and the expectation in her eyes at this time was definitely not a disguise.

"Hehe, 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 is generous. In the future, "Strong Wind" will be sold to the outside world. Things can't be seen at a glance, such as the glass installed on the cabin, even if the Wright Brothers knew the benefits of doing so, they probably wouldn't be able to do it.

In fact, even the position of the machine gunner behind the pilot was enough for Catherine Wright.

Compared with the pilot's cockpit, the position of the machine gunner can also be sealed. When there is no fighting, the machine gunner can also close the hatch without feeling the invasion of the strong wind.

Once the battle breaks out, the machine gunner can open the hatch and manipulate the machine gun to attack enemy aircraft or ground targets.

The "Strong Wind" fighter is equipped with a heavy-duty machine gun specially designed for aircraft. This machine gun simplifies unnecessary parts as much as possible, and its caliber is larger than the general-purpose machine gun equipped by the army, reaching 17.78 mm.

The reason why such a wonderful caliber is used 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 at 360 degrees without any dead angle. Catherine Wright tried to rotate it and it was very flexible .

But Catherine Wright didn't have much joy on her face. Even from the moment she sat in the shooter cabin, Catherine Wright's expression gradually became serious.

Compared with the "Strong Wind", the "Aviator III" has almost no advantages. The shooter compartment of the "Strong Wind" can already be rotated. The "Aviator III" of the Wright Brothers 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 "Strong Wind" may be just one of Nyasaland's various aircraft models. If Nyasaland comes up with more and more advanced aircraft, then the Wright Brothers' flying career can now be declared over.

So after jumping off the plane, Catherine Wright took the initiative to invite Stuart Coffey, hoping to have dinner with Stuart Coffey.

"Sorry, we have a chef with us, so we can't go out to eat—" Stuart Coffey was a little resentful, but there was a compromise: "—If you want, you can taste our Nyasaland food, I promise, it's just as good as any restaurant in Paris!"

Looking at this team, the image of the team members may indeed not be very good, but the degree of perfection is absolutely outstanding, and it is not at the same level as Catherine Wright and the others.

(End of this chapter)