Wider wings, a stronger structure, a fuselage with more reasonable lines, and two landing gears with greater air resistance make the Stuka more stable and easier to control speed than the Osprey during the dive.
, also allows the bombardier to aim more calmly.
After the three Stukas returned to the airport, Xiang Xiaoqiang immediately drove there with a group of people. The convoy drove more than a thousand meters, entered the airport runway, and stopped in front of the three Stukas.
These three big guys were parked side by side on the lawn next to the runway. The pilots had just come out and the ground crew were checking them around. Although they were single-engine planes, they still gave Xiang Xiaoqiang a strong impression: they were spacious.
I didn’t realize how wide this kind of airplane is in the sky, but now that it’s parked in front of me and everyone is looking around at it, they all feel this way. These people are all airplane experts, and they usually use single-engine airplanes.
I have seen a lot, but most of them were fighter jets, training aircraft, reconnaissance aircraft and the like. Of course I have also seen dive bombers, but mainly dive bombers used by aircraft carriers like the Osprey.
Although the Osprey is also a dive bomber, its body shape is completely different from that of the Stuka. The size of the Osprey is what everyone considers "normal proportions" and is not much different from ordinary fighter jets. But the Stuka in front of you is different.
The fuselage is very slim, but the wings are extremely wide. It feels like the entire aircraft's weight is on those two wings.
Compared with the Stuka, the "normal proportions" of the Osprey are obviously "thick fuselage and small wings".
Moreover, the Stuka bomber is visually cooler. Behind the wide wings is a rather slender waist, like a thin-waisted wasp. Neither the wings nor the tail fins have traditional arc shapes.
Instead, it is a straight straight line, which is very powerful visually. The roots of the huge wings are bent downward, and the pair of wings are in a "W" shape when viewed from the front, which is also something that the Osprey aircraft does not have.
This kind of W-shaped wing was very popular in later dive bombers and carrier-based aircraft. The two lower tips of the "W" shape are where the landing gear is installed. In this way, the landing gear itself does not need to be very long.
There is enough space under the belly of the aircraft to keep a safe distance between the bombs below and the ground. As for why the wings should be bent into a W shape instead of simply making the landing gear longer, the main reason is that it is suitable for dive bombers and ships.
For carrier-based aircraft, once the landing gear is too long, it will be difficult to meet the stringent requirements for reliability and solidity. Especially for carrier-based aircraft, maintenance on the aircraft carrier is difficult to compare with land-based airports, and once an accident occurs at sea,
The hope of rescue is small, so we have to be reliable.
…
The experts brought by Xiang Xiaoqiang gathered around and observed and studied the three Stukas at close range. There were also several German pilots who came with them. Although this was an aircraft from their country, it was also a new aircraft in Germany.
There were several prototypes that they had never seen before. But these German pilots did not know at this moment that the strange aircraft in front of them came from Germany. Now the three Stukas were painted with the markings of the Ming army, and they thought they were
It's a new model developed by Daming.
Xiang Xiaoqiang saw that several German pilots were already eager to try and couldn't hold it any longer, so he agreed to let them climb into a Stuka to try out the feeling. The two German boys immediately took the flight suits, put them on, and climbed into the cockpit.
The Stuka has a double cockpit, and the German pilots Xiang Xiaoqiang brought this time happened to be four, a multiple of two. Because in his heart, he really wanted to let a few German pilots drive the Stuka this time.
He can fly it in the sky. But he doesn't know if there is any problem with this new type of aircraft being flown by pilots who have never flown him before. And he knows that the few people who just came out of the cockpit are all Jiuselu's experts.
Test pilots. They are the elites among the elites. They specialize in this kind of food. They are incomparable with ordinary pilots.
But now Xiang Xiaoqiang saw that the two German pilots in the cockpit seemed to be very accustomed to it. They were moving left and right inside. They were very eager to try and wanted to try flying the plane.
A guard quickly walked to the side of the plane and asked them in a low voice:
"How is it, how do you feel? Is it okay?"
The guard immediately translated. The two German boys immediately nodded excitedly and said together:
"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!"
Xiang Xiaoqiang also smiled, patted the cockpit glass, and then backed away.
Then, the Stuka's engine suddenly roared, and the propellers rotated rapidly, creating strong winds. People around the plane were startled and jumped away immediately.
A large circle of people, including the experts brought by Xiang Xiaoqiang and experts and representatives from Jiuselu, were surprised at first, and then they probably thought that the two people in the cockpit were just testing the feeling of the engine, and they were soon relieved.
However, something unexpected happened to them...
The huge wheels of the plane began to press against the grass and move forward. The whole plane roared and rode the strong wind as it began to climb towards the runway.
At this time, everyone except Xiang Xiaoqiang was shocked. Especially the people from Jiuselu, they were all frightened. They ran to both sides of the plane, waving their hands, shouting, and stopping them. Even Xiang Xiaoqiang
At some point, I woke up a little and realized that this was too rash. There are only three prototypes now!
But the whole process only lasted about ten seconds. Before the control tower could send out a "no takeoff" signal, the Stuka was speeding down the runway and lifted off the ground smoothly.
Everyone's heads were raised and their eyes were fixed on the plane, praying in their hearts that nothing would happen.
Xiang Xiaoqiang also looked frightened and kept saying in pain:
"Oh...why did it fly...I just let them sit in and feel the feeling...this...how can this be good..."
But I kept thinking silently in my heart: I brought the best pilots... They have no problems at all...
Looking up at the plane in the sky, the plane quickly became smaller and smaller, and finally became a small black dot. Soon, even the small black dot was no longer visible. This was the first time that Xiang Xiaoqiang and his expert team saw a Stuka.
Take off and take off. Everyone has a strong feeling:
This plane climbs so fast!
The wider the wings, the greater the lift. Several experienced experts have noticed that although this is a monoplane, it feels like it climbs faster than a biplane.
After waiting in fear for a while, the small black dot appeared again from another direction. It was still the same as before, getting bigger and bigger, getting bigger and bigger, heading straight here and pinning down.
Everyone could see this time that the two young men wanted to do a high-angle dive. Everyone was sweating in their hearts, and Xiang Xiaoqiang was no exception. Everyone knows that high-angle dives are the hardest and most dangerous.
If the job is not done well, something will happen. Xiang Xiaoqiang is no longer as excited as he was just now. He knows that if there is a crash this time, there will be big trouble... If someone catches the braid
, it would be a disaster to take away the power to upgrade the Ming army's equipment.
…
The characteristic whistling sound of the Stuka has been heard. However, there is no tongue of fire spitting out from the wings like before. Although they knew just now that the wings were filled with blank bombs, it is estimated that the two German pilots still can't get them.
That's right, don't dare to take risks.
Just as the people on the ground raised their heads, waiting for the Stuka to swoop down just like before, the dive bomber overhead had already pulled up again. At this time, the distance between the plane and the ground was at least several hundred
Mi. Everyone's hearts dropped in their stomachs. The two German pilots were still cautious. They probably knew that their own abilities could not be compared with the test pilots, so they did not risk going so low.
After a while, the Stuka taxied on the runway again and stopped.
As soon as the cockpit was opened, the two German boys were almost "dragged" out by Xiang Xiaoqiang's guards, who were about to beat them up. But Xiang Xiaoqiang pretended to shout to stop them, and then took the man with him
The guard translated to them and asked them what it was like in the sky and how the plane was handling.
Although the two pilots were excellent pilots, they were not hardcore test pilots. Their feelings should be more objective.
Both of them were fighter pilots and had never flown this kind of single-engine bomber. Their first sentence was to complain that the aircraft was too heavy, too slow, too inflexible, and that it was a target in the sky. They said that as a single-wing single-wing aircraft,
It's inexcusable for an engine-powered airplane to be so bulky. But then they raved about the airplane's ability to climb and dive.
According to them, the wide wings of this aircraft are like a vulture, and they always feel that there is an invisible hand under the fuselage, holding the aircraft up. If you usually fly a fighter in the sky, you want to maintain a stable altitude.
It’s not easy. You have to keep looking at the instruments, constantly adjusting the speed and nose angle. In short, you have to spend a lot of energy maintaining the altitude. And this aircraft is as stable in the air as "like an airship."
.
Xiang Xiaoqiang knew that big-winged aircraft like the Stuka had huge lift, but... like an airship, this was too exaggerated...
The two German boys were frothing at each other's mouths and continued talking excitedly. They especially praised the dive. They said that the dive was very smooth, "like an owl in the night sky, aiming at the field mouse below, spreading its wings wide."
The wings flew down so steadily, silently, and rapidly, with incomparable accuracy...
After listening to their literary descriptions, Xiang Xiaoqiang was satisfied and ordered the two guards to "escort" them back to the car to wait and go back to deal with it.
…
Several executives of Jiuselu Company who were present also seemed very satisfied, as if the reckless behavior of these two people had never happened. Xiang Xiaoqiang also smiled, and everyone was happy. But he secretly breathed out: These two foreigners are not
Will cooperate... I will tell you all the good things in front of the seller. It will be difficult to bargain later...
An executive from Jiuselu came up with a smile and asked Xiaoqiang to give a Chinese name to this aircraft.
Xiang Xiaoqiang had already thought about it when he came. Coupled with the feeling described by the two pilots just now, the feeling of rising steadily with wide open wings and diving rapidly from high altitude...
"Let's name it 'Vulture'."
He said. This not only represents the appearance, but also represents the fame of this aircraft. It was with the "Legion of the Condors" in the Spanish Civil War that the Stuka became awe-inspiring in the world.