***
It was a cloudy and sunny day. Shi Qing could not wait to bring his newly developed hang glider to the edge of Xuanwu Lake. The curious people in the city came to watch Shi Qing's "flying glider". There were thousands of followers, and it was very lively.
After the first two failures, Shi Qing figured out some tricks from the failures, and this time he became more confident.
The wingspan of his hang glider is nearly two meters wide and is made of multiple layers of silk. In order to reduce the weight of the hang glider while ensuring its strength, he took great pains in choosing the frame.
He first used iron rods as the frame, but the iron rods were too heavy;
Copper tubes were used, but they were not strong enough and were too expensive.
Next, he tried to use the skeleton of the bamboo, which is the toughest among all kinds of bamboo. After the old bamboo with yellow skin was cut down, it was first roasted with fire;
Firstly, it can remove moisture from the bamboo and reduce its weight;
Secondly, the roasted bamboo will become tougher and more plastic. If it is painted with tung oil, it can be insect-proof and anti-corrosive, making it durable.
The result of trying bamboo was that the weight of the hang glider was greatly reduced, but bamboo is hollow and has a slightly larger wingspan, so it is still relatively easy to break.
Shi Qing made further improvements, using thinner bamboo, breaking through the bamboo joints, and inserting an iron bar as thick as a little finger inside.
In this way, the weight will not increase too much and the strength of the frame will be greatly improved.
It’s just that it’s more troublesome to make and the cost has increased a lot.
That day, Shi Qing happened to see Qin Liangyu's carriage passing by. This extraordinary woman was highly respected by the world, and Emperor Chongzhen even wrote a poem to praise her: I cut the Shu brocade battle robe myself, and I asked for the long tassel on the peach blossom horse. There are so many extraordinary men in the world, who are willing to travel thousands of miles to the battlefield
The fact that the Qin imperial family is so popular among the people today is due to the great role played by Qin Liangyu, the "imperial sister". Even the Donglin Party members, who looked down upon military generals the most, respect her very much.
When Shi Qing saw her carriage, he suddenly thought of her world-famous white-pole soldiers, and then he thought of using white wax poles to make the frame of the glider.
The whole body of the white wax wood is as white as jade. It is strong but not hard, tough but not broken, and the rod can be bent to 180 degrees without splitting. Its flexibility is unmatched by other woods, and it is often used to make spears, which can resist the chopping of swords and knives.
Thinking of this, Shi Qing couldn't help but slap himself twice. Why didn't he think of the ash rod at the beginning
Ash rods are easy to find, and Shi Qing was delighted and immediately went back to use them to make the skeleton. But the result was not ideal. Ash rods were tough but too soft, and easily bent when stressed, causing the entire glider to deform and making it difficult to get a good lift.
Shi Qing was unyielding and carefully consulted various books. In the Han Dynasty Wu Shu's "Hand and Arm Record", he found the following record: "Huizhou ox-tendon wood is the best for spears, followed by sword-ridge wood, which has strong and straight red edges and is easy to break. White wax is soft and is also used for sticks."
The difference between a stick and a gun is that a gun, in addition to having the functions of a stick, mainly uses the gun head to stab the enemy. Therefore, it cannot be as soft as a stick. In addition to having the toughness of a stick, it must have a certain hardness to be suitable for stabbing the enemy.
From this record, we can see that ox-tendon wood is the best choice for gun material, so in addition to its flexibility, its hardness must be stronger than that of white wax rod.
Today, Shi Qing is so confident because he has recently made two hang gliders. One is made of ox-tendon wood, which is ideal in terms of hardness, toughness and weight. The other is made of bamboo iron core, which is slightly heavier but stronger.
Shi Qing believed that one of the two would work.
The wind in April was blowing, the mountains and waters were beautiful, and water birds were flying by the Xuanwu Lake. Thousands of people followed Shi Qing and made the beautiful Xuanwu Lake lively.
The people around were talking about it. Someone joked to Shi Qing, "Shi Dianshi, you should change your last name first. Your last name is too heavy and you can't fly."
"Yes, yes, yes. Let's change our surname to Mao."
"Mao is not good enough, change your surname to Feng."
"I think you should change your last name to Yun."
"If you say so, then why not just let Concubine Xiang fly?"
"How dare you say that?"
"Why should we be afraid? Madam Xiang Fei is beautiful and kind, so she should fly like a fairy."
"Uh... You flatterer, I give in to you."
"Hahaha... Shi Dianshi, just fly without worry this time. If you fall into the lake again, we promise to fish you out immediately."
Shi Qing was busy with a dozen assistants. Hearing the jokes around him, he couldn't help but say, "Why should I change my last name? Just keep my last name Shi, and I'll fall down and crush you cheap-mouthed fellows."
"Shi Dianshi, I'm afraid you'll fall into the lake and sink."
"Just wait and see. If I fly, you will all change your surname to Shi. Do you dare?"
"Why are you afraid? Just go with Shi Dianshi... Never mind, let Shi Dianshi fly away first. I'll go find a boat to salvage Shi Dianshi."
"Hahaha... .."
The east wind is strong today. After installing the hang glider, Shi Qing pulled up against the wind. He immediately felt the hang glider being pulled upwards by the wind, making it almost impossible for him to stand. Seeing this, he became more confident.
The lake shore here is three feet above the water surface, and with the wooden frame built as a running track, it is about two meters above the water surface.
The crowd became more and more excited at this time, and all kinds of discussions, strange shouts, and laughter filled the ears.
Shi Qing's heartbeat also began to accelerate, hoping that he would not fall directly into the lake like the previous two times.
He took a few deep breaths, pushed the hang glider and started running. As a result, he pushed too hard and was lifted off the ground by the hang glider before he reached the lake...
"Ah! It's flying! It's flying!"
"Oh my god, Shi Dianshi is really flying."
"Yoho!"
Thousands of people watching the excitement by the lake all stared with wide eyes, watching Shi Qing fly up. All kinds of voiceless screams and meaningless shouts immediately echoed in Xuanwu Lake.
This was the first time Shi Qing flew, and he was so excited that it was hard to describe. However, he was not very familiar with controlling the hang glider. In his excitement, he forgot what Qin Mu said about increasing speed and gaining lift through appropriate dives. As a result, he slowed down after flying less than ten steps, and the hang glider began to descend. By the time he wanted to adjust the angle to dive, it had already landed on the water.
"ah!"
"oops!"
"Pity!"
When the people on the shore saw him fall into the water, they immediately let out wails and sighs.
Shi Qing's dozen assistants were well prepared and rowed a small boat to carry him and the hang glider together.
Shi Qing was not discouraged. He changed his wet clothes in the cabin and went ashore. He had just flown the hang glider with a bamboo iron core, which was heavier and could fly. This time he wanted to fly the one with a tendon wood frame.
This hang glider made of cow tendon and wood frame was lighter. He didn't even bother to pay attention to the messy mouths on the shore. He looked at the wind direction, took a few deep breaths again, and started running.
With the experience from last time, he didn't run so fast this time. He jumped off the diving board at a steady speed while focusing on control.
To the crowd on the shore, he looked like a giant bird floating lightly across the lake. The scene was so beautiful that people almost dared not look at it.
But he couldn't help but stare with wide eyes;
At this moment, there was no sound on the shore and everyone was almost suffocating.
Some people even spread their arms unconsciously, imitating Shi Qing's flying movements, as if there was wind under their armpits and they were flying along with him.
Shi Qing flew out ten feet, his heartstrings tense, trying hard to control the hang glider. He watched the clear lake surface constantly retreating under him. The feeling was indescribable, and tears filled his eyes...
He dived from time to time to speed up, and then rose gracefully with the wind like the swallows we usually see. At this time, cheers came from the shore, and people shouted and jumped as if they were the ones flying.
This time Shi Qing wanted to rise higher, so he dived at a large angle, which caused him to stall and plunge into the lake from a height of more than ten meters.
"ah!"
"What's wrong?"
"How is this going."
There were sudden screams and wails on the shore, as if the most beautiful dream was suddenly shattered.
Shi Qing, who fell into the lake, was quickly rescued by a boat. Fortunately, he was not seriously injured. As soon as he got on the boat, he could not help shouting and jumping. He was so excited that he looked like a madman.
He knew very well that the fall this time had nothing to do with the hang glider, but was simply a control error on his part. He believed that as long as he flew a few more times and continued to explore and sum up his experience, he would be able to fly freely in the sky like a bird.
Flying, the dream of mankind since ancient times, has finally come true for me!
Shi Qing couldn't help but shout and laugh again, his excitement was beyond words...
****
ps: Please give me a monthly ticket. It’s the end of the month, please give me a monthly ticket!
.(To be continued..)
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