.Faster! Faster! Faster!

Human beings always want to run faster, faster than others, faster than themselves! In any way, anywhere, feet, horse whip, oars, sails; on land, rivers, and oceans. They never seem to know what satisfaction is, as if they never know where to stop.

Everything was already destined. With the invention of the first aircraft, a new field was presented to the world. So, a new competition began...

Since the 1910s, for civilian, advertising, interest or military purposes, many European countries have begun to hold various flight competitions, mostly international competitions for contestants around the world. From the earliest "Flying International Cup" to the later "Schneider Cup", these competitions have become a place for countless young people to realize their dreams of flying.

In 1911, when Air France Deputy Jacques Schneider announced that he designed a 1,000-pound bonus for a seaplane competition, he just wanted to encourage the development of civil aviation. The event was once interrupted by the war and replaced the "new owner" after the war. However, the huge bonuses that have been rising year by year and one new record that is enough to subvert people's traditional thinking made it quickly become the number one flight competition in the entire Europe and even the world, and at a pure speed, it became a stage for countries to show their aviation strength.

In 1913, the first "Schneider Cup" was held in Monte Carlo, Morocco, and French Prevos won the championship with a speed of 73.6 km/h; in 1914, Australian Howard Piston, who represented the UK, won the championship, and his flight speed almost doubled to 139.66 km/h; in the third "Schneider Cup", it was also the first competition after the war, the Germans became the biggest winner, and German pilot Lieutenant Kenrechar and his plane set the record at a speed of 217.33 km/h, which was definitely a shocking number at the time!

Starting from 1919, the "Schneider Cup" began its journey around Europe, from Hamburg in Germany, Lisbon in Portugal to Demalaga in Spain, and Genoa in Italy. Each world is held in different countries and cities. In addition to the venue, it is more important to pay attention to the speed of flying champions. Although the new championship speed since 1919 "double" from the previous record has not continued, every breakthrough is so exciting.

In 1926, 1927, 1928, the Germans won two championships with undisputed technical advantages, and the other was won by the Dutch, who owned the world's top aircraft factory, Folk Company. However, the speeds of the aircraft that won the championship in the three competitions were not much different. The speeds of the hour were 642.7 kilometers, 653.4 kilometers and 655.9 kilometers respectively. Although the numbers are constantly improving, people can't help but ask, is the speed of human flight reaching the limit? Is it impossible to break through the speed of 700 kilometers?

Not only the audience, but also aviation experts, aircraft designers and pilots from all over the world are speculating on what the limit speed of human flight will be, 700, 800, or will it never end?

In the autumn of 1928, the German-Russian and German-Japanese wars broke out one after another. On the exciting but cruel battlefield, people found that the aircraft used by the warriors were far superior to the previous ones in terms of quantity and quality. Among them, the Germans had a strong aviation strength. Its huge strategic bomber fleet quickly destroyed the only industry that the Russians had. Even the Japanese Empire, with strong military power, had no choice but to have these terrible flying monsters. In addition, in terms of fighter jets, reconnaissance aircraft and tactical bomber technologies, people gradually appreciated the advanced aspects of the Germans.

The German reconnaissance aircraft that can easily throw away the Japanese Type 89 fighter jet with a maximum speed of 600 kilometers per hour alone has brought people endless imagination.

Against this background, the 13th "Schneider Cup" held in Dublin, Ireland in 1929 became the focus of the world. In addition to Japan, which was exhausted from dealing with the war, major aviation powers in the world all formed teams to participate. Aircraft designers and pilots hoped to become people who could break the so-called flight limits, and the audience also hoped to see a historic moment be born, so the number of participants and audiences of this competition exceeded any previous competition.

Sure enough, in the individual group competition held on the first day, the Wellington brothers in the United States, which was funded by the government, achieved an excellent result of a single-wing double-engine land-based aircraft with an excellent speed of 702.55 kilometers per hour. This sensational news immediately spread throughout the world through radio waves. 29-year-old Caven Wellington and 25-year-old Jitter, Wellington suddenly became the focus of media in various countries. Even the aviation departments of various countries couldn't wait to extend an olive branch to the Wellington brothers who designed and built the aircraft. In this talent battle, the US government won with an absolute advantage, but the Wellington brothers both died in a traffic accident a few days later, thus becoming the top ten accidents in the world of that year, and triggering a considerable diplomatic dispute between the United States and Ireland.

Perhaps stimulated by the individual group competition, in the national group competition two days later, the pilots of various national teams and their planes were full of energy to break the records set by the Americans. Germany, the Netherlands and Italy all took out their "preparatory planes". The Fokker F30 fighter caught up with the record at a speed of 701.79, and the Italians also swept the decline of previous competitions and flew out a good result of 699.10, but the final winner was still the Germans. They defended their position in the world flight industry with the latest fighter, Henkel Mercedeschmit 303. This "two-body demon" flew out an astonishing 720.09 kilometers per hour!

A year later, Chicago, USA.

"In terms of speed alone, it is unlikely that other aircraft in the world today can surpass our Henkel-Merceschmidt 303. Its speed is very, very close to the limit of a propeller aircraft!"

Looking at the competition planes that flew out of the window, Chen Tian said confidently.

"Oh? Why is your Majesty so sure? Two years ago, didn't people think that no aircraft could have a speed of more than 700 kilometers per hour?"

Like most women, the Queen of Rupresit did not know much about steel machinery such as aircraft, vehicles and ships, although they often had the opportunity to ride them.

"Just like a man cannot run faster than an arrow, a fish cannot swim faster than a bird, everything has a limit, and an airplane is no exception!" Chen Tian made an example, "In fact, this involves many technical aspects, such as the working method of the aircraft engine, its work efficiency and the structure of the aircraft itself!"

Antoinette seemed to want to refute, but could not find any words for a while. After all, they are talking about machinery rather than jewelry or anecdotes. And her husband Rupresit pointed out the implicit meaning of Chen Tian in one sentence:

"His Majesty the Emperor said that there are propellers that cannot be reached now, which means that there will be other faster-flying vehicles in the future, or that already exist!"

"His Majesty the King is right!" Chen Tian admitted this frankly, "The propeller plane cannot do it, which does not mean that other aircraft cannot do it either! For example, hollowing out a large shell and letting people sit in it. Then launch it, and the speed is absolutely more than 2,000 kilometers per hour!"

Looking at Chen Tian stretching out two fingers, Antoinette covered his mouth with his hands in surprise, but Juliana burst into laughter.

"Your Majesty is really kidding. If you put a person in the shell, can that person come back alive? I'm afraid this cannot be called an aircraft, it would be more appropriate to call a human shell!"

When Chen Tian laughed, Antoinette realized this. She blushed and muttered in a low voice: "How can Your Majesty make such a joke? It's too much!"

After laughing, Chen Tian set his sights in front again. About 3,000 meters outside the window was the competition site.

There was still a crowd of people there. Suddenly, a red shadow flew into the air at an angle of about 30 degrees to the ground, and the speed was not as fast as an airplane. But like an arrow, an arrow with a fire burning at the tail. The arrow had gone, and the large black smoke left behind quickly spread around.

Rupresit and the two ladies obviously saw this surprising scene, but before everyone could express their opinions, a loud bang came from the competition site, and then the crowd became chaotic, and many people ran towards the direction of the competition plane leaving the place.

"What happened?" the two ladies asked in surprise.

"I'll know soon!" Chen Tian seemed very calm. Almost every flight competition would have accidents, including many fantastic works. Those aircraft that surpassed the conventional can always attract people's attention. However, there are very few successful ones.

After a while, the door of the room was pushed open, and the person who came in was Chen Tian's attendant. He walked quickly to Chen Tian, ​​and after whispering, he stood by the side waiting for the order.

"A contested plane crashed into the lake, and it was the one that just took off!" Chen Tian announced the news in a small voice, and the two ladies covered their mouths with their hands at the same time.

"To some extent, it was an advanced aircraft that broke through traditional thinking, but its designer made a fatal mistake. He tried to control a force that he could not control at all! It was like an ancient magician who controlled something that his magic power could not control. The final result..." Chen Tian took the lead and drew a cross on his chest, "Let's pray for the warrior on the plane!"

"God bless!" the ladies whispered silently.

At this time, Chen Tian couldn't help but think of Germany's new engines and new aircraft research. In another world, he was only a medium-level military enthusiast. Regarding mechanical things, he only knew some basic principles. As for how to make various engines, it was definitely not within his ability. Regarding non-propeller aircraft, he knew that the he178 was the world's first jet aircraft, and the me163 was the first rocket aircraft in Germany that had not died.

262 was the first military jet aircraft to be put into actual combat in World War II, and von Oheng and Alexandri Pisch were their main designers, but these were not enough to bring much help to the German aviation industry in this world. In the research of jet aircraft, Chen Tian could only explore with German aviation experts. From solid rocket engines to liquid rocket engines to real jet engines, everything is full of Canco and setbacks like the real trajectory of history.

When Chen Tian and his technical experts were committed to the research of jet aircraft, others in the world, including governments and non-governmental people, were also actively looking for new ways to break through the speed limits of existing aircraft. It was no longer new to install three or four engines on a small-sized aircraft, but people soon discovered that this could not fundamentally solve the speed problem of the aircraft. So people began to study technical ways other than internal combustion engines and propellers.

As early as the Song Dynasty of China, people began to use the reaction force generated by the burning of gunpowder to blast backwards to make the arrows fly further. After entering the 20th century, people still remained interested in rocket research. The Germans were the first to create multiple rocket launchers, anti-tank rocket launchers, air-use rockets and short-range missiles suitable for modern warfare. These weapons not only made the world sigh at the cruelty of the war, but also inspired some engineers. At the 13th "Schneider Cup" held in Dublin, a contested aircraft using rocket engines as auxiliary power appeared for the first time. However, due to the imperfect technology, the aircraft did not eventually get a ranking, but it attracted a lot of attention. Before coming to Chicago, Chen Tian had learned from his intelligence officials that someone would use a rocket engine as the main power in this Lake Michigan flight competition.

Chen Tian was not surprised. In fact, as early as the early 20s, German rocket experts tried to install rocket engines on aircraft when developing rocket technology. Then, after a series of tests, the experts concluded that rocket engines using solid fuel had short working time and high acceleration made thrust difficult to control, and repeated starts were difficult to start, which was not conducive to manned flight. Although rocket engines using liquid fuel were easier to control, they also had complex structures, inconvenient fuel storage, and difficult to take off and land with their own power. Despite this, the Luftwaffe Research Center in East Prussia still manufactured two test aircrafts using rocket engines. The results of multiple test flights also proved the experts' inference that the Germans began to shift the focus of the research to turbine engines.

Soon, another servant entered the room and reported to Chen Tian that the crash had just been a rocket plane made by British Americans. The plane took off from a long slide platform with an incline. It might have been a failure of the engine. It exploded in the air less than 10 seconds after taking off. The poor pilot didn't even have time to parachute.

(ps: The first people in the world to propose the theory of jet propulsion were that Manik of France and Henry, Conda of Romania, and Conda of Romania, who had tried the earliest jet aircraft around 1910, but failed; in the late 1920s, British Air Force instructor Frank Whittle proposed the idea of ​​a jet engine and applied for a patent, but due to lack of financial support, he and his assistant did not manufacture the first turbojet engine until 1935. Even at this time, the British Air Force instructor Frank Whittle proposed the idea of ​​a jet engine and applied for a patent.
Chapter completed!