Chapter 978 Flying

In order to allow the glider to run, the Ministry of Construction, in accordance with Roland's request, built a track on the edge of the stone ridge that points directly to the sea, with both ends of the track tilting upward, like a crescent moon.

When the experimental prototype is lifted into place, as long as the holder is released, it will begin to slide under the influence of gravity until it rushes out of the track - the entire acceleration process is somewhat like a roller coaster in later generations, but it is far less exciting.

Of course, these alone cannot guarantee that the wing can obtain enough lift, so Wendy still needs to create some advantage herself.

Once you jump out of the rock ridge, the height difference of up to fifteen meters from the sea is ample room for adjustment. With the speed of the glider, the driver and rescuers can be prepared whether it is climbing or falling into the sea.

This is also the reason why Roland gave the prototype a two-seater from the beginning.

Now that both Lightning and Maisie are fighting in the wilderness, the responsibility of rescue naturally falls into Tilly's hands.

The latter readily agreed.

"Let's board the plane," Roland estimated that the time was almost up, turned around and said to the two of them.

Wendy nodded, clenched her fists as if to cheer herself up, and then she and Tilly walked toward the aircraft.

…

After climbing onto the plane, Wendy realized that the thing was bigger than she thought.

Especially the two pairs of straight wings on the top of the head and below the feet, no flying bird can compare with them. Even Maisie, who transformed into a beast, is just a little short in length.

Under the blowing of the sea breeze, the slender wing tips could be seen shaking obviously, which made her feel a little uneasy. She always felt that once she flew, a strong wind would break it.

Although Roland once mentioned that this is a normal phenomenon, the strength of the aluminum frame can fully cope with various maneuvers during low-speed flight, and the toughness of the skin painted by Soraya is also much stronger than ordinary leather and cloth, but these two wings It's actually a bit thin. Compared to its area, it's not an exaggeration to say it's just a piece of paper.

"Sir, if you are ready, just let me know." The soldier's words brought Wendy back to her senses.

"I know, um... the first thing to do is..."

"Confirm whether all rudder surfaces are normal." Tilly behind her comforted her, "Don't be nervous, even if something goes wrong, I will still be watching over you."

"...Thank you." After hearing this, Wendy felt a lot more relieved. Yes, she was not the only one who had listened to His Majesty's flight principles lesson. If someone could correct her omissions in time, she could too. Make fewer mistakes.

"The first is the tail elevator, which is controlled by the main rod."

Wendy took a deep breath and pulled an iron rod in front of her seat with both hands, and there was a crunching sound underneath her - she knew it was the sound of the steel wire at the bottom of the rod pulling the tail fin. Before the prototype was built, She has practiced hundreds of times on the simulation table.

"The elevator is normal. Next is...well, the rudder." Tilly continued.

However, the components on the simulation platform are much simpler. Two vertical rods, two pedals, and a few steel cables make up the entire thing. It is hard for Wendy to believe that these few things can make the glider that His Majesty talks about. Flying like a bird, after all, it is not much more complicated to operate than a bicycle.

If the lift rod is a rod that can only move forward and backward, then the direction control rod can only move left and right. The deck has fixed their trajectory, but the bicycle faucet can still rotate in a circle.

"The rudder is also normal, and finally the ailerons."

According to His Majesty, most airplanes have three sets of wings, one in front and two in the back. The three exactly form an "earth" symbol when viewed from the front. What stands up is the rudder, which functions like a rudder. If you imagine the wind as water flow, its deflection can change the direction of the aircraft nose.

The first shorter horizontal bar is the elevator, which can also be called the tail. When it is raised, the nose is raised, and when it is lowered, the nose is lowered, like a lying rudder. Both of these are very easy to understand, and Wendy can use the chapter "Decomposition and Synthesis of Forces" in Elementary Physics to deduce its principle of action.

The last horizontal bar represented the aileron. It wasn't until she saw the real thing that Wendy understood where the word "vice" came from - it was embedded behind the big wings, and its area was less than 10% of the former. One is connected to the pedals under his feet by a steel cable passing through the frame, exactly one on each side.

It is different from the previous two. It must be raised and lowered at the same time to be effective. The completely opposite forces on both sides will cause the aircraft to deflect or even roll. It is also the most important control component in flight.

In this regard, Wendy once asked His Majesty, since the rudder can cause deflection, why is it necessary to set up an extra pair of ailerons? His Majesty's explanation is that these three rudder surfaces do not take effect alone, and every action requires them to be completed together. Swinging the rudder can easily cause the aircraft body to move laterally, and when turning rapidly, the elevator needs to be lowered to stabilize the altitude.

Because of this, he needed a detailed test data to write a guiding "Flight Manual" - what operations need to be taken to achieve maneuvers in different postures; or the impact of changes in wind direction on the aircraft, There are also shortcomings felt during operation... Only after obtaining these data can a truly reliable aircraft be possible.

"There seems to be nothing wrong with the ailerons," Tilly patted her shoulder, "I'll leave it to you after that."

Wendy felt her heart beating a little hard. She glanced at His Majesty the King in the distance, turned to the soldiers and said, "I'm ready, open the retainer."

"Yes, please pay attention!" The soldiers immediately became busy.

The runway has been cleared and the lights are all green, Wendy said silently in her heart. Although he didn’t understand the meaning of this command, since His Majesty said it could bring luck, he did it accordingly.

With a slight jolt, glider Type 1 was pushed onto the track.

Then came the whereabouts.

The wheels and the track made a clanging sound, and the entire fuselage began to shake. She felt that she was quickly sliding down the slope, and the sea at the end of the track was getting closer and closer to her.

My heart suddenly rose to my throat.

What’s next?

She thought a little panicked, seeing that the track was halfway through, but this thing showed no sign of flying.

"Give the wind!" Tilly shouted.

That's right, she needs to give wind - the speed of taxiing is not enough to support the weight of two people, she needs to create a stable and gentle upward wind to gently hold up her huge wings -

As soon as this thought came out, her body had already taken action, the magic vortex started to rotate, and an invisible airflow appeared out of thin air, lightly touching the bottom of the wing.

The harsh friction sound suddenly became much lighter, and the weight of the glider seemed to have disappeared. Before Wendy had time to understand the meaning of these changes, the aircraft had already rushed out of the edge of the stone ridge.

A brief upward tilt made her experience a clear feeling of overweight, as if someone had reached out and pressed her down on the seat.

At the same time, her body leaned back and she couldn't help but pull down the main lever.

The nose of the aircraft responded to her control and raised even more obviously.

The perspective also changed. The brown land covered with dead grass and fallen leaves disappeared without a trace. Even the vast whirlpool sea became a supporting role. The blue sky filled most of her field of vision, and the dazzling light spots made her She narrowed her eyes slightly.

For a moment, Wendy felt like a petrel rising into the sky, walking against the light.

This feeling was so freeing, and it also made her understand why His Majesty said that airplanes and hot air balloons are two completely different things.

But just a few seconds later, Wendy found that the wind in her ears had subsided.

The nose of the glider was raised high, but it did not continue to climb. Time seemed to have stopped. She wanted to increase the wind power, but found that the wind blowing on the main wings not only failed to reverse the dilemma, but actually turned the entire fuselage upside down.

"You've gone too far!" Tilly exclaimed.

Before I had time to think about what went wrong, the plane was already falling like a stone.