Flying is a dream of human beings from ancient times to the present, and our ancestors dreamed of flying into the sky like birds. Therefore, angels with wings and immortals who soar through the clouds and mist also appear in people's fantasies. The sages knew that fantasy alone could not be accomplished, and that it was necessary to work their own, so there were people who fanned their wings and tried to imitate the flight of birds.

Of course, since the Renaissance, people have also known that they cannot fly by manpower, and they must rely on machines. So Leonardo da Vinci had a draft of the design of the flying machine, and then people tried to figure it out from the machine.

Of course, the advent of the internal combustion engine has given people who are trying to fly into the sky a better choice.

The small town of Pavia, located in the southwest of Milan, is living well on the bustling city of Milan. The townspeople like to grow some vegetables and fruits, take them to Milan and sell them, and live a free and comfortable life.

Today, however, the town of Pavia is very lively, and everyone happily heads to a wasteland southwest of the town, because there are people working on flying machines.

That's right, it's a machine that can fly, and it's this kind of strange thing that makes everyone rush over. There are thousands of people around, and this shows that watching excitement was popular everywhere, let alone at the end of the nineteenth century, when entertainment was barren.

And with so many people around, it was very stressful for Duilio Siegel and Gerardo Carney.

"Duilio, didn't you say don't be so public, why do I feel like there are almost a thousand people here, if this kind of public fails, how will this end."

"Don't ask me, how did I know there were so many people today, I just said it casually. This aircraft has been our work for many years, so you can't be confident. For now, it's better to keep an eye on the flying machine and don't let people touch it. ”

It's not the first time the two have been watched on a flight, but it's the first time that so many people have been watched. There are many of them, and they are afraid of accidents.

After the two of them hurriedly drove people to the perimeter of the test flight field, the sharp-eyed Siegel patted his partner on the shoulder.

"Look, the reporter from the Milan daily newspaper is here, let's catch it."

Blake looked at the huge flying machine in front of him and felt a sense of glad that the headline on the front page should be mine this time. Fortunately, he listened to the advice of his friend Jill and rushed to see that it was still worth his 6 lira carriage money, thinking of this, Blake raised the camera in his hand and took a few pictures of the flying machine.

"Hello, are you a Blake correspondent for the Milan daily newspaper?"

A voice brought back Brecla, who was immersed in taking pictures.

"Yes, I am."

Blake looked at Siegel and Carney as they appeared in front of him.

"Let me introduce myself, my name is Duilio Siegel, next to me is my partner Gerardo Carney, and we made the aircraft you photographed."

In the face of Siegel's introduction, Blake immediately understood, only to see him quickly take out a pen and paper and speak. "Hello, Siegel and Mr. Carney, I'm sorry I was shocked by the flying machine you just made. Now can you tell us about the process of building this aircraft? ”

In response to Blake's question, the two glanced at each other, and Siegel spoke. "No problem, that's a long story......"

In Siegel's narration, the young son of the Lord had a fantasy of flying since he was a child, and later read Otto Lilienthal's concept art of flying machines, and he never forgot to fly. Later, while studying at the University of Milan, he met a like-minded partner, Carney, the son of a construction engineer.

The next thing is simple, two people who are both interested in flying, and naturally start to pursue their dreams after graduation. The first funding for the two came from Siegel's father, Lord Siegel Sr. The old lord invested fifty lire in his son's dream, and then they raised thirty lire from others.

With this funding, the two began their dream of flying. They started by working on flight models, and in the first year they built three flight models as well as a glider.

Then, using the natural tuyere of the Como Pass, he experimented with his own flight model and glider, and obtained a large amount of data.

The following year, the two developed two gliders and tested them with different wings. In the experiments, they corrected some erroneous flight data and designed a wing cross-sectional shape with a large lift.

In the third year, the two began to develop a real flying machine, Pioneer 1. The aircraft is 6.17 meters long, has a wingspan of 6.78 meters, and is equipped with a 12-horsepower gasoline engine. But it's a pity that this flying machine, which represents the hard work of the two people, didn't fly at all.

Although Pioneer 1 was not successful, the two did not give up at all. First of all, they first looked for the reason, and after some searching. Faced with this reason, they chose to expand the wingspan, and the new Pioneer II directly increased by one and a half times to 41.17 square meters compared to the 15.51 square meters of the first wingspan.

Of course, it is not enough to increase the wingspan, and the two also made a major change to the Pioneer 2, so the Pioneer 2 is very different from the Pioneer 1.

The current Pioneer II, with a length of 6.94 meters, a wingspan of 13.3 meters and a height of 2.95 meters, has a double-layer wing and is equipped with a 15.6 hp four-cylinder water-cooled petrol engine.

For Siegel's account, the Blake reporter kept taking notes and asking some questions from time to time. In the face of these questions, Siegel also answered them one by one, and the conversation between the two was very harmonious.

"I hope you will be successful."

After asking questions, the Blakes reporter gave his blessing.

"Thank you."

At this time, the Blake reporter suddenly asked. "By the way, can I ask, who is flying this flying machine today?"

"It's me."

Siegel replied. "To ensure the success of the flight, I lost 102 pounds."

Well, this is worthy of a warrior who works hard for his dream of flying, and he can lose so much weight to himself, he still thinks that this is already so thin.

Seeing this, the Blake reporter picked up the camera again. "Can I take a picture of you, you stand next to the machine and take a picture."

"No problem."

"Smack!"

With a flash of phosphor, the tall and lanky Siegel wrapped in a trench coat and the famous photo of Pioneer II was formed.

Subsequently, Siegel was lying on the Pioneer with a fur hat, yes, lying on his stomach, in order to make the flight a success, even Siegel lost weight, what is the seat?

Then Carney started the engine, and the roar of a gasoline engine sounded, and the propellers on both sides of the nose began to rotate rapidly.

Another four people were pushed up from the wings, giving the Pioneer better acceleration.

With the help of others, the speed of the pioneers became faster and faster, and soon everyone felt a lightness in their hands, and at the same time there was a cheer from the surrounding crowd of onlookers.

The guide wheels of Pioneer II left the ground.

"It's flying!"

Blake's camera snapped at the moment. With the help of mechanical power, humans finally left the ground and made their first flight, and Siegel became the first human pilot.

The test flight was a great success for the pair, with Pioneer 2 flying a total of three times in the air, the longest of which lasted 1 minute and 49 seconds and covered a distance of 389 meters.

On the same day, the Milan daily newspaper reported on the grand flight with a front-page headline.