Chapter 360: Planes and Planes and Planes

The military had their own viewing platform, and perhaps because of their presence, every inventor of flying machines looked very excited.

Previously, the military had funded some inventors in the hot air balloon field to further their work. Honestly, this made inventors outside of the hot air balloon realm jealous. Now, their chance had finally come.

After a brief conversation with Lynch, Mr. Truman stepped aside to quietly discuss with military personnel some ideas from inventors they were closely watching.

Since the invention of the submarine, the military hadn’t revealed it immediately, instead focusing on ways to counter it.

Submarines weren’t exclusive to the Federation; other advanced countries like Gephra also had them.

The Federation was likely the first to turn what was traditionally a civilian underwater device into a weapon of war. Once submarines showed their deadly potential in the Eastern Ocean, other nations would follow suit.

Sometimes, technological progress only needed a single idea, a spark of inspiration.

After multiple tests, observers found that from a ship’s deck, submarines were invisible on the surface due to light reflection and refraction. But from a higher vantage point, reducing such distortions, submarines underwater could be spotted with the naked eye.

So, over the past two years, the military heavily funded hot air balloon inventors—though they weren’t sure of the value—creating a “rapid ascent observation balloon” that could be quickly launched from ships to scout anytime.

Still, the military believed hot air balloons couldn’t fully solve the problem. First, they were easily shot down, even with armored versions. Second, their limited airtime meant they became consumables, forcing ships to carry many balloons and occupy too much space. Once the balloons ran out, submarines became a major threat again.

Therefore, the military shifted attention to non-balloon flying machines, hoping they could address these issues.

After talking with the military personnel, Mr. Truman returned to Lynch’s side just as the flying machine exhibition began.

The first to appear was a fairly standard fixed-wing aircraft—at least it closely resembled the planes Lynch remembered.

Its designer was a somewhat renowned inventor in the flying machine field. His assistant dragged the aircraft around the site as the inventor stood by the platform, introducing his new design.

“In this design, I used more aluminum alloy. Mitro Industries innovated their alloy formula last year, slightly increasing strength while reducing weight…”

“Based on issues from the last design, we made adjustments: we increased the wingspan and covered the wings with sheepskin…”

Wrapping airplane wings in real leather—this idea struck Lynch as amusing; some others even laughed aloud.

Not everyone was pleased, though—not with this inventor, but other inventors who hadn’t yet presented their works.

Everyone knew the value of a golden idea in invention, especially in convincing outsiders and investors. The armored hot air balloon inventor only proposed the idea and immediately secured large funding.

This showed how important simply saying “I have an idea” was to them.

Covering wings in sheepskin wasn’t strange—some had even once put feathers on wings. Such attempts stemmed from practical effectiveness.

Aerodynamics research was still incomplete and ongoing, but some amateur inventors found that certain animal skins offered better stability during use than plain wooden wings.

They might not have understood why, but they knew it worked.

The inventor explained why he wrapped the wings in sheepskin. After presenting data, Lynch grasped the gist.

Simply put, this design was lighter and more stable in flight, with a redesigned center of gravity that reduced landing accidents.

He hypothesized that with a more advanced engine, the plane could fly faster, and with more funds, aluminum alloy could fully replace the wooden frame.

In his eyes, this aircraft was nearly perfect.

The inventor and assistant then began a test flight. Preparations had been made before the exhibition, and when the plane was parked at the runway’s end, the crowd stood in anticipation.

It was an exciting moment—humanity’s desire to conquer the sky had existed since society began.

Ancient people dreamed of flying like birds. Now, Federation inventors advanced yearly on that path.

The plane accelerated and successfully took off. Lynch was surprised: “It’s flying!”

Mr. Truman remained calm: “Yes, it’s flying. People could do this ten years ago, but even now, all we can do is just fly.”

He seemed less excited, almost disappointed.

Flying machines had existed and could fly, but that was about it.

They might fly a few kilometers before crashing. Sometimes pilots survived to design the next plane; other times, both pilot and plane were destroyed. Many once thought flying machine inventors were frauds, wasting investor money on useless, dangerous devices.

These issues persisted: takeoff was easy, but landing and flight distance remained major problems.

To take off more easily and fly farther, controlling total weight was critical. The largest current planes could only carry two thin pilots besides their own structure.

So far, the industry had potential, but the future was still unclear.

Compared to a few thousand Sol for a rapid ascent balloon, these tens of thousands of Sol and a pilot’s life seemed less suitable for warfare.

This explained Lynch’s initial description of the flying machine field as dangerous, mistakenly thinking these inventions were for war—something Mr. Truman didn’t agree with.

These planes, aside from being suicidal, had little other use.

Military evaluators continued assessing the shortest takeoff acceleration distance, takeoff speed, angle, and flight stability.

Two years ago, a plane violently vibrated mid-air and broke apart, making stability a key quality criterion.

The crowd cheered, but the inventor sweating—it was time to land after showing everything.

There were two landing methods: confident inventors landed on the runway—one reason fixed-wing planes still used wooden wings was their flexibility aiding gliding.

The other was landing in haystacks, gambling on avoiding engine crush or propeller strikes.

The inventor chose runway landing to secure military funding.

Adjusting angle and altitude, the plane began slowing as the crowd clenched fists in tension.

When the front wheel touched down, a loud tire burst echoed through the stands. The military evaluator immediately marked the plane with a large X.

Fortunately, the problems after that weren’t severe. After the front wheel’s tire burst, it quickly deformed, the landing gear broke, and shattered, causing the fuselage to crash heavily onto the ground.

The plane’s balance was well done—if either wing had touched the ground, it would likely have been a catastrophic crash. Though from the current perspective, it was still an accident.

The inventor stood before the crowd like someone just pulled out of a bathtub, forcing a smile. “It’s… safe. I’ve proven that!”

Mr. Truman shook his head, clearly disappointed and no longer hopeful about the upcoming displays.

At that moment, Lynch suddenly interjected, “Maybe it’s because the runway isn’t smooth enough.”

Mr. Truman looked at him with curiosity. “You know about this too?”

Lynch just smiled and said nothing. Neither of them took it too seriously.

In the following aircraft demonstrations, the designs were largely similar—mostly minor tweaks to the wings—until Lynch saw a helicopter-like craft appear.

It looked like a large egg-shaped cockpit. The pilot sat atop the engine, turning the overhead rotor via a drive shaft, attempting to lift the cockpit with its lift.

Mr. Truman observed closely—that was his purpose for coming. Though not the first helicopter in history, its completion was very close to what Lynch remembered a helicopter to be.

In the end, everyone was disappointed. Despite the designer’s efforts, it still failed to fly.