While the world was talking about Eder's ascension to the Bulgarian throne, a group of men in blue overalls were busy in front of an eerie-looking plane at a heavily guarded airbase outside Lviv.

The reason why this plane is weird is that it doesn't even have the most basic propellers, and the whole plane doesn't have propellers installed at all.

Such a strange-looking plane also attracted many onlookers from the air base personnel.

"Doleff, do you think this thing can fly?"

In the crowd of onlookers, a base officer wearing a flight jacket asked about his colleagues.

The stopped Dolev shrugged his shoulders and replied with an expression of "Don't Ask Me". "Who knows. However, I heard that this is the latest achievement of the Lviv branch of the Power Research Institute, so I may be able to fly. ”

After saying that, Dolev continued. "But if I am allowed to fly, I will not dare."

That's right, this strange-looking plane, Dolev is not at all at ease. Even though he was known for his boldness in the Fourth Air Wing, he still refused to try such a plane without a spiral.

There are a lot of people like him in the base, and the focus of everyone's discussion is whether this thing can fly. And such a discussion must reach the ears of the staff who are busy in front of this strange plane. In the face of these discussions, Valksu, who is the head of the project, was not at all surprised.

Valksu is the head of the Jet Engine Program at the Power Research and Development Center. He graduated from the Power Engineering Department of the University of Bucharest and was recruited by the National Power Laboratory with excellent results. And after working in the power laboratory for several years, Valksu developed a keen interest in jet engines.

In fact, jet aviation power developed very early, and since the 17th century, some people have tried to use steam power or internal combustion engines to achieve usable jet engines, such as the Dutch physicist Huygens.

Henri Coanda also experimented with jet aircraft as early as 1910 by using a conventional piston engine to drive a fan to compress air and ignite gas propulsion in the space behind it, known as a thermal jet engine. Although this engine has a simple structure, it has a lot of weight, insufficient thrust, and poor practicality.

Of course, the development of jet engines did not end with failure, but continued to develop.

Albert von of Austria-Hungary devised a device in 1915 to increase the range of artillery shells by means of gas and compressed air. Such a device provides thrust by compressing and igniting the air flow of the shell at high speed through a variable-section air intake.

However, the Austro-Hungarian army did not adopt its design, so he registered a patent for a supersonic ramjet engine in Germany in 1928 and obtained it in 1932. The ramjet engine was born.

In 1921, Frenchman Maxime Guillaume received a patent for the first jet engine. His design resembles an axial jet engine.

In 1928, Frank Whittle of the Royal Air Force College in Cromwell, England, proposed a new jet engine design. In January 1930, Whittle filed a patent for the design of a jet engine, which was granted in 1932. Whittle's design was to mount a two-stage axial compressor in front of a large centrifugal compressor and be turbine-driven. Whittle later removed the axial compressor at the front and used a larger centrifugal compressor.

Since jet engines continue to develop abroad, it is impossible for the National Power Laboratory, as Romania's main power research unit, to turn a blind eye to it. With the support of the old dean Rudolf Diesel, the National Power Laboratory is also developing jet engines.

It should be noted here that at present, Rudolf Diesel has long ceased to continue to develop diesel engines. He is already over 70 years old, with the widespread use of diesel engines, he has already made a name for himself, and at present, he is mainly supported by several proud disciples to continue to develop this diesel engine.

The research and development of jet engines was handed over to Valksu, who had the most research on jet engines in the power laboratory. Valksu, too, lived up to expectations and finally succeeded in developing a new jet engine in cooperation with his German colleague Hans von O'Auen, the result of a Rhodes collaboration.

The axial jet engine produced 5,000 N of thrust during ground tests, much to the delight of scientists from both countries. This means that this jet engine has reached the standard of use, and since it has reached the practical standard, it is simply uncomfortable not to fly it.

So under the impetus of Valksu, a new aircraft was born specifically for flight tests of this engine. The new aircraft, labeled F-101, is 9.4 meters long and has a lower wing. Because the engine is in the belly, it looks a bit like a puffed pufferfish, and it doesn't have the slenderness of other propeller planes at all.

This is also the reason why most of the people in the base don't like it, and the appearance is really important for the aircraft.

But that's not so important for today's Varksau and Hans von Ohn, who first have to get the plane flying.

"How's the inspection going?"

Some of the Valksu, with sweaty palms, asked his staff. This is the last check before the flight, and if the plane can't fly, you can't do it. It is important to know that the power laboratory is not only developing jet engines, but also the traditional piston engine power laboratory alone is developing several models. For example, the 900-horsepower star-shaped air-cooled engine, the 1200-horsepower straight-cylinder liquid-cooled engine, and the 1350-horsepower V-shaped liquid-cooled engine can be said to be a variety of aero engines alone.

Even many projects not only focus on the work at hand, but also take the opportunity to prepare for the next step of pre-research in advance. For example, he knew that Kristed was in charge of the 900 hp star-cooled engine project, and was doing preliminary research for the next 1,200 hp.

Not to mention the current power laboratory fist products gasoline engine and diesel engine. The two engines, which were based on the thriving automotive industry and the outstanding capabilities of Rudolf Diesel, respectively, allowed the power laboratory to be well funded. Although the funds are sufficient, competition is essential, and everyone wants to have no shortage of funds for their projects, which needs to be reflected in the results. And getting the world's first jet flying is Valksu's top priority, and it's no wonder he's not nervous.

"Everything is fine with the engine."

"Everything is fine with the meter."

"The oil supply system is normal."

“……”

As the staff checked the normal reports one after another, Valksu calmed down, and then he patted the test pilot next to him on the shoulder.

"Lorix, let's get started."

The test pilot Rollix, who was carrying a parachute, nodded in response and said with a smile. "Don't worry, I'll fly it back."

As test pilots boarded the plane to start the engines, the F-101 jet began to taxi on the ground and faster and faster.

As the number on the meter turns larger and larger,

Test pilot Rolix pulled the lever sharply, and then felt the plane light. Knowing that the plane was off the ground, he was able to pull it up with more horsepower.

And after seeing the plane flying, the base was full of people. Many people who eat melons have sighed.

"Look, this plane is really flying."

"I didn't expect it to really fly."

And as a tester, there was even more cheering.

"We succeeded."

After seeing the plane off the ground, Valksu happily hugged his colleague Aoan. "It worked."

The joy of success moved everyone. It's not easy, so many years of hard work and hard work day and night have been released at this moment. This peculiar aircraft soaring in the sky also proves that their hard work and efforts have not been in vain.

"Okay, let's go ahead and test it, everyone cheers up."

With Valksu's words, the testers present immediately recovered. Flying is only the first step in a long march, and they will have to test it in various ways.

In the tests that followed, the world's first jet performed very surprisingly, far outperforming the piston in terms of speed and climb. However, the main reason that restricts its soaring sky is the service life and high cost of the engine.

The fact that a 28-hour overhaul makes it not practical, and it is too expensive to build, and the engine can only be used to validate jet flight.

But Valksu and Aoan are not worried about this at all, it is like the world's first plane. There is nothing to worry about if it is not practical in the short term, as long as you increase investment in research and development, there will inevitably be a day when it will bear fruit.