Chapter 722 The Age of Flight Arrives

In an unnoticed corner after the promulgation of the eight-year construction plan, Arthur launched a new policy, which is a policy to encourage technological industrial upgrading in the field of civilian shipbuilding.

In terms of military shipbuilding alone, Australasia has definitely reached the forefront of the world.

But in the field of civilian shipbuilding, Australasia is not as good as some countries with a long history of shipbuilding industry.

There is nothing we can do about this. The country's focus must be on the more important military field. In the civilian field, it is impossible to catch up with those countries that have been building ships for hundreds of years in a short time just by relying on the people's own efforts.

Like the Netherlands, a country that once served as a European hegemon, the history of civilian shipbuilding can even be traced back hundreds of years.

But the civilian shipbuilding sector is also important for the country's economic development. As the main means of transportation for long-distance transportation and journeys, the advancement of ship technology has greatly improved all aspects of the country.

Transport ships can improve the efficiency of carrying goods, and passenger ships can improve the efficiency of traveling to remote areas, saving more time.

For a country like Australasia, which covers the entire Oceania, the improvement of passenger ship technology can effectively improve the transportation efficiency of people in various regions of the country and improve the government's control over all regions.

In fact, it is not just the civilian shipbuilding industry. Arthur has promulgated many policies and encouraged dozens of industries.

Rewards for the advancement of the technologies they develop and their importance to a certain industry include funds, land, medals and titles.

Under the stimulation of many awards, I believe that the technology of the shipbuilding industry will also usher in considerable upgrades in the future.

This is actually a benefit brought by industrial development. Many industries currently only need encouragement from the government and the royal family to flourish on their own.

In Australasia 20 years ago, it would have been very difficult for an industry to develop on its own without government leadership or even large capital investment.

At present, at least in terms of basics, Australasia is complete. Precisely because it has laid a large foundation, the royal family only needs to spend a small amount of funds to control the technological reform of each industry.

After promulgating the policy, Arthur was just about to relax when he immediately received good news from Douglas Company.

After more than a year, the DC-1 transport aircraft developed by Douglas Company finally ushered in a new model, which is the DC-2, which is an improvement on the first-generation transport aircraft.

The DC-2 transport aircraft also has an all-metal fuselage, but the fuselage has been extended from 12 to 14 seats.

Jet engines are also not used for power. After all, if a civilian aircraft adopts the latest technology, it will definitely be studied and copied by other countries.

The current jet engines are too advanced and it is better not to expose them until other countries have developed them.

However, even if it is just an improved third-generation aero engine, the power has been greatly improved.

The name of this engine is DE-3 aviation engine. The aircraft using this aero engine were previously military aircraft.

In the field of civil aircraft, the power this engine can provide is absolutely excellent, not only among the best, but also among the top five.

The two-person cockpit seats of this transport aircraft are not counted in the total seats, which also means that this passenger aircraft can transport 14 passengers, and the transportation efficiency has been greatly improved compared to the previous generation.

According to the report given by Douglas Company, the maximum speed of the DC-2 transport aircraft is close to 355 kilometers per hour, the theoretical cruise speed can reach 265 kilometers per hour, the climb rate is as high as 415 meters per minute, and the practical ascent limit is close to 3855 meters.

Although the data in various aspects have not improved much compared to the previous generation, after all, two more seats have been added, so the actual improvement is still very large.

The most important changes focus on safety. The DC-2 transport aircraft can ensure a safe landing if any engine loses power. This is also the advantage of twin-engine aircraft compared to single-engine aircraft.

The result of both engines losing power at the same time, well, would be smashed to pieces.

Douglas is not the only one making results.

You know, in the field of transport aircraft, Australasia has three companies, namely Douglas Aircraft Company, Boeing Company and Royal Aircraft Manufacturing Company.

After being upstaged by Douglas Aircraft Company on the DC-1, the Royal Aircraft Factory has been trying to regain face.

Just a few days after Douglas submitted its report to Arthur, the Royal Aircraft Factory immediately reported the design results of the SF-3, the Big Belly 3 transport aircraft.

Thanks to the inspiration of the DC-1, the Big Belly III transport aircraft no longer adheres to the semi-monocoque design, but has transformed into an all-metal transport aircraft design.

According to information submitted by the Royal Aircraft Factory, this transport aircraft is driven by three people and can accommodate a full 15 passengers with three pilots.

When fully loaded, it can transport nearly 800 kilograms of luggage, and its maximum range has exceeded 2,100 kilometers.

In terms of speed, the average cruising speed of Padu-3 is slightly lower than DC-2, but it can also reach 250 kilometers per hour.

The maximum speed is close to 330 kilometers per hour, the climb rate is close to 400 meters per minute, and the practical ascent limit is close to 3715 meters. All data are relatively close to DC-2.

If coupled with the results reported by Boeing, these three aircraft have actually maintained a pretty good level.

Yes, Boeing submitted its own design results, too.

In fact, it is not only the Royal Aircraft Factory and Douglas Aircraft Company that compete, Boeing is also unwilling to fall behind these two companies.

After all, they are all acquired by Arthur now, and it is natural for companies that belong to the royal family consortium to want to show off in front of Arthur.

Boeing's transport aircraft design was tentatively named the Boeing 267. Why is it 267? Because the average cruising speed of this transport aircraft reached 267 kilometers per hour.

In terms of average cruising speed alone, the Boeing 267 is the fastest of the three aircraft designs, slightly ahead of the DC-2.

But it cannot be compared entirely based on cruising speed. Compared with the DC-2 and SF-3, which can carry 14 passengers, the Boeing 267 can only accommodate 10 people except the driver. The gap is still relatively large.

Moreover, because it is the first time to design a passenger aircraft, the Boeing 267 can only carry close to 181 kilograms of cargo when fully loaded, and its transportation capacity also lags behind the DC-2 and SF-3.

Compared with transportation capabilities, Boeing obviously pays more attention to the comfort of the aircraft.

Referring to airships, Boeing set up restrooms on the Boeing 267 and increased the distance between each seat.

In this way, it is definitely more comfortable to sit on the more spacious Boeing 267.

What's more worth mentioning is that Boeing 267 has a stewardess for the first time, also known as a stewardess.

This is a position dedicated to serving passengers on passenger aircraft and ensuring the comfort of every passenger.

It is precisely because of the settings including restrooms and stewardesses that the Boeing 267 can only carry ten passengers.

But after all, it is something that is going to be put into commercial use. The actual cargo capacity and comfort are more important. The real experience in the market is the most important.

After receiving three transport aircraft designs in a few days, Arthur had no intention of looking at their design results one by one.

After thinking for a moment, Arthur decided to hold a World Aircraft Expo in Australasia, just in time to promote these three types of transport aircraft and start the world's aviation era.

The first and most important thing is to build the reputation of the so-called World Aircraft Expo.

This is actually very easy to do, especially for a king like Arthur.

On February 11, 1929, the Australasian government issued an announcement stating that it would hold a World Aircraft Expo from March to April to disclose Australasia's three civilian aircraft designs to the public.

During this period, various airlines will be established in Australasia and the world's first transport aircraft route around the world will be opened.

Because the first airship voyage around the world was held in Australasia, this World Aircraft Expo still attracted a lot of attention.

Although the airship was a military failure, no one blamed Australasia for this fault.

After all, only the rich could afford to ride on an airship at that time. The poor had very few opportunities to see an airship with their own eyes, let alone one.

In order to stir up the World Aircraft Expo, Arthur also asked the government to disclose some data on the three transport aircraft, such as their sailing speed and the number of passengers they can accommodate.

In particular, the failure rate of airplanes is much lower than that of airships, convincing people that airplanes are a more reliable means of transportation than airships.

While hyping up the World Aircraft Expo, Australasia said it would give away the 38 people on the first aircraft circumnavigation for free.

And Australasia promised that if there is any problem with the aircraft during this circumnavigation, it will pay at least 100,000 Australian dollars to everyone participating in the circumnavigation.

After a lot of hype, the popularity has indeed come out. It will not have much impact on ordinary people. After all, airplanes will definitely be like airships. The fare is very expensive and ordinary people cannot afford it.

But for those airlines and wealthy people, they are the real people paying attention to this World Aircraft Expo.

I have to admit that there are still many rich people around the world. If there really was a faster and relatively safer means of transportation, rich people would happily choose it.

In order to increase the trust of potential audiences in these aircraft, the Australasian royal family has publicly stated that it will purchase a transport aircraft as a royal plane.

This has also made airlines and wealthy people around the world pay more attention to aircraft. After all, the Australasian royal family definitely knows the safety of these transport planes.

Even the royal family of Australasia has to purchase it, so what can they worry about?

The first update of 3000 words, please vote for me and support!