On June 18, 1916, the 3rd Global Aviation Exposition was held in Limerick, New Capital, Ireland. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

At the opening ceremony, the 1st Fighter Wing of the Irish Air Force amazed the audience with its wonderful performances, Max Inmaiman's fancy flight was like acrobatics, many beautiful flight maneuvers were displayed in front of the public for the first time, and the air maneuvering of the two-plane tactics and four-plane formation also opened a new window to the world. Immediately after that, the German Army and Naval Air Corps respectively carried out demonstration flights, when more than a dozen twin-engine bombers flew by at low altitudes, people suddenly found that the simple and clumsy heavy air aircraft after the baptism of the Great War, actually produced a magnificent improvement in quality, and the swarm of planes already had enough deterrent power to rival the zeppelin, and in terms of speed and adaptability, it had various characteristics that the airship did not have.

The historical trend of the development of aviation technology is impressive, and the ordinary audience who purely watch the excitement is different, those who are interested in the outline of this trend are full of interest, but not everyone has a pair of eyes that can penetrate time and space, most people are either ignorant or misguided, only the successful ones can engrave their names on the scroll of history, admired and admired by future generations......

At this time, just 20 hours after the "Heilingen" air crash, the number of casualties has been determined, although the cause of the accident is still under investigation, the Irish government, together with the German government and Deutsche Air Aviation, announced the compensation plan for the air crash with amazing efficiency - each victim's family will receive 600,000 marks, equivalent to a pension of 150,000 US dollars, and after the cause of the air crash is determined, they will also receive a large amount of compensation for the accident.

Prior to this, whether it was an air crash, a shipwreck or a ground traffic accident, the government and the operating companies had never given such a high standard of compensation and compensation, and the outside world was shocked and could not help but be very curious about the impact of the air crash. Does this precedent mean that in the event of a similar traffic accident in the future, the responsible party will be liable for such a high amount of compensation? Will the insurance system proposed by the Irish Government work successfully and become the standard model for future transport?

These questions will only have to be answered in time.

In addition to high compensation, the safety of aircraft has naturally become a topic of greatest concern. The civil aviation industry, which uses airships and airplanes as vehicles, has been in existence for less than a decade, and would not have been as strong as it is today if it had not been spurred on by war. Early aircraft have the common characteristics of simple structure and low reliability, failure during flight is commonplace, crashes occur frequently, and the Zeppelin that is regarded as a giant ship in the air, the most feared is not ordinary mechanical failure, but bad weather, whether before or during the war, there have been several precedents of airships crashing due to weather, but it is the first time that so many casualties have been caused, coinciding with the global aviation expo to attract attention from all over the world, and the impact is self-evident.

In this aviation expo, more than 300 aircraft from various countries have arranged to participate in the exhibition, which is more than the sum of the previous two sessions. After the opening ceremony, people from all over the world can visit the three major airports in Limerick freely, and many participating countries have arranged a flight experience link, which was originally one of the most attractive places of the aviation expo, due to the "Heilingen" air crash, there are very few guests who dare to board the plane, and the future of the expo is worrying.

At noon that day, the startling news spread rapidly in the restaurants and cafes where the guests were hosted: His Majesty King Joachim of Ireland would personally fly Aer Lingus' latest AS-16 sport aircraft in Pier One the next morning.

According to the exhibitors, this single-engine, two-wing, two-seater light aircraft has excellent take-off and landing and maneuvering capabilities, and the Irish Air Force is ready to purchase its military model in bulk for reconnaissance and liaison on the battlefield.

Many people do not believe this news, while more people are curious and wait and see. In the next half day, the news continued to ferment, making people feel that the matter was becoming more and more credible, and people were talking about this topic more and more deeply. At the same time, the organizers have launched a test flight safety insurance with an insurance amount of up to one million marks, anyone who only needs to spend ten marks can buy such an insurance, if they have an accident during the test flight, the injured will receive an insurance compensation of 400,000 marks, and the martyr's family will receive an insurance compensation of one million marks, and this insurance is officially guaranteed by the Irish government.

With this million-mark test flight safety insurance, the number of people boarding the plane for flight experience has increased more than a dozen times compared to the morning, and Limerick's three major airports have been immersed in the roar of aircraft taking off and landing and flying all afternoon, which is the noise and vitality of the aviation expo.

When night falls, the Limerick Air Expo, which attracts the attention of the world, spends its first day without any waves. Although the whole exposition will last for three weeks, those who have a little insight know that the "Heilingen" air crash is ahead, and the situation of this first day is directly related to the success or failure of this exposition.

Judging from the ticket sales data, the number of people who entered the aviation expo site on that day should be more than 60,000, far exceeding the number of visitors on the first day of the previous two global aviation expos, and equivalent to two-thirds of the first-day attendees of the first world expo held in the United Kingdom.

Later, various statistics and preliminary analysis were sent to Xia Shu's desk, some were less than expected, some were better than expected, and the overall situation was relatively optimistic, which made Xia Shu, who had been pretending to be calm but couldn't help but be apprehensive. He noticed that the insured amount of the test flight safety insurance on the day was 2,310 marks, and in the hundreds of flights throughout the day, none of the aircraft had an accident, and the profit brought by the insurance was insignificant, and its greatest significance was to eliminate the fear of the visitors due to the "Heilingen" air crash, and greatly reduced the negative impact of the air crash on the aviation expo.

It was late in the evening, and Prime Minister Hordes drove to the palace after the party, and reported to Natsuki the information he had received on several banquets - many of the princes, nobles and wealthy people who came to see the exhibition were worried about the "Heilingen" air crash, and they said that they would not consider taking an airship or plane on the return trip, but would leave by boat safely. Among these people, there are very few who buy test flight safety insurance and take a flight on the same day, but seeing that many visitors who experience flying can land safely, many people feel that they can try it in the next few days.

"The higher the status, the more wealth, the more afraid of accidents, this is human nature." Natsuki said lightly.

"Most people do," said Horders, "but there are certainly exceptions, such as Your Majesty. ”

Natsuki knew he meant his flight tomorrow, and when he first proposed the idea, the cabinet ministers and his aides had already raised their concerns and concerns, but their king was not a general fan, and the description of him was somewhat miraculous, but the fact that he was the winner of the seventh King's Cup water race, the first to obtain a pilot license in Germany, and an expert in mechanical engineering could not be false. Although he had suffered a flight accident in the past and was seriously injured for this, the AS-16 prototype on display had undergone hundreds of flight tests and was very reliable.

"For the sake of the national interest, it doesn't hurt for me to take a little risk personally." Natsuki understated his Ling Ran's righteousness lightly.

As a king, he enjoys the supreme power given to him by the state, and he should do his best for the affairs of the state, and Hordes has always understood it this way, so he was not moved by Natsuki's dedication, but looked at the master who gave him the opportunity to display his talents with sincere admiration.

"Regardless of whether the plane crash of the 'Heilingen' was caused by accident or deliberate sabotage, it has become an established fact. Originally, I was still thinking that after the promotion of this aviation expo, the aviation industries in Ireland and Germany will enter a new period of development, we will focus on the development and production of aircraft, and Germany's energy will be evenly distributed to airplanes and airships, so that we can form a complementary and mutually beneficial strategic pattern. Now it seems that this will be an important turning point in the gradual replacement of airships by airplanes, and sooner or later the German side will realize and recognize this trend and concentrate on the development of the aircraft industry. ”

"You're right." "At present, Ireland's aviation industry is based on the development and manufacture of aircraft, and there is almost no involvement in the field of airships, as long as public opinion is properly guided, the 'Heilingen' air crash can bring us a lot of benefits, so that we can take the lead in the international aviation market in the future." ”

Natsuki said again: "Having said that, I read some of the reports and comments on the air crash in the newspapers of various countries today, and most people tend to think that it was an accident, and only some Americans are making a fuss about the technical defects of the airship, which is not wrong in itself, and what surprises me is that British public opinion is surprisingly calm, neither showing deep sympathy, nor taking the opportunity to make trouble, and their attention seems to be still on the self-government of the Protestants in the north of Ireland, with the political wisdom of the British ruling class, There is no reason for them to let go of such an opportunity. ”

Horders speculated: "Your Majesty suspects that the British have done something to the 'Black Ringen', and do not dare to speak out because of their weak hearts?" ”

Natsuki shook his head: "This is a possibility, and there is also a possibility, they are prepared to strike backwards, see our response strategy clearly, find flaws in it, provoke public opinion attacks, and cause our aviation industry to suffer a heavy blow, thereby weakening Ireland's economic, political and military strength." ”

The German prime minister thought for a moment and responded with some concern: "During the war, the British government showed amazing skills in public opinion and psychological warfare, and it was able to stabilize the domestic situation under extremely unfavorable conditions, even at the end of the war, the British army and people did not completely lose confidence, so the British representatives had the confidence to bargain with us at the armistice negotiating table." ”

Xia Shu said: "In this way, we not only have to keep an eye on it, but also prepare a few more tricks." ”

(End of chapter)