The test flight, which lasted for nearly a week, was a crucial step for the Air Knight Academy. The training of the preparatory students was finally on the right track, but its impact was far from limited to the academy.
In fact, on that day, some people had already noticed the "giant kite" hovering over the southern part of the city. Although Tilly occasionally flew the "Unicorn" over the lord's castle, most of the time she chose to conduct the test in the uninhabited area. Most people had only heard of the existence of the plane, but had never seen it with their own eyes.
The Air Knight Academy did not have to worry about this. Curious people went to the southern part of the city and gathered on both sides of the road, waiting for the moment when the plane flew over the wall. At first, it was only limited to the residents near the Shallow Port and the factory area. However, as the news spread quickly, by the third day, the academy was surrounded by a group of "onlookers". Every time a plane appeared in their field of vision, the crowd would burst into enthusiastic cheers and exclamations, as if they were the ones flying into the blue sky.
Honey seized the opportunity and used the title "Miracle Happens Again" as the title, using a large page to report the test being carried out in the academy, and attached a clear close-up photo of the biplane. In an instant, the sales of the Graycastle Weekly soared to a new peak.
There was even a buying frenzy in Neverwinter. Perhaps realizing the business opportunity, many foreign businessmen began to buy newspapers from the public at a high price after the weekly expense report was sold out. Those who did not have enough money would hire someone to copy the newspapers and even hand-draw the photos of the plane. For a while, the paper price in the market was very high.
Thanks to this, the name of the Air Knight Academy finally spread throughout Neverwinter.
A week later, Roland received the summary report from Tilly.
Among the 197 preparatory students, a total of 150 had passed the test, which meant that there were a total of 47 crashes caused by operational errors during the whole test period. Considering that there were only four planes in the first batch, each plane crashed more than 11 times on average.
It sounded a little unbelievable, but Roland knew that the structure of these planes was simple and light. As long as the engine was not damaged, it could be repaired quickly. In addition, most of the crashes occurred during the landing phase. It was either because the speed was too slow and the entire plane slammed into the runway, or because the speed was too fast and broke the landing wheels, only stopping due to friction with the plane's belly. Such damage was common in the era of biplanes, and it could be dragged back to be repaired. It would be a good plane again.
Of course, patched planes weren't as good as when they left the factory. Tilly also mentioned that the condition of the two planes that could still fly had greatly deteriorated, and it was difficult for them to meet the training requirements. In order to ensure the quality of teaching, the academy urgently needed a new batch of biplanes. In addition, due to the increase in training content and the subsequent expansion of personnel recruitment, four aircraft could no longer meet the requirements. Based on the overall efficiency of the training and the actual needs, at least twelve to fifteen of them should be provided.
This was also the number of flying squadrons in the future.
Roland realized that no matter how he looked at the report, there was only one sentence hidden between the lines — "I, the Air Force, send money. "
After putting down the report, Roland shook his head helplessly. He could only say that Tilly was indeed talented in this aspect. She had seen through the essence of the Air Force at the beginning stage. In fact, to form a qualified flying unit, there must be a large number of people for screening, and there must be enough planes for them to crash. Neither of the two could be dispensed.
Now that all industries in Neverwinter were in urgent need of manpower, it was obviously impossible to produce a large number of planes in a short period of time. Roland could only rely on Anna to slowly gather the necessary manpower.
In addition to Tilly, the General Staff also submitted an observation report, written by Edith Kant.
The report was very short, but the content was quite interesting.
The Pearl of the Northern Region believed that as long as it was used properly, the Aerial Knight could possibly change the situation of the future war, or even become a decisive force in the war. She hoped to select a group of people from the General Staff to set up a research group to be stationed in the academy to understand the performance of this new weapon, so that it could be used in the future plans. At the same time, she also conceived some tactics that only the Aerial Knight could carry out. She wanted to have a private discussion with Roland. She could not wait any longer.
Edith was probably the ordinary person who paid the most attention to the plane among the higher-ups in Neverwinter. The moment she saw the mass production of the plane, she immediately thought of its application in the war. Not to mention the feasibility of the plan, just her acumen alone was really admirable.
Just as Roland was about to summon the Pearl of the Northern Region to discuss her views on the Aerial Knight, a guard's voice came from outside the office. "Your Majesty, the Minister of Construction, Carr Van Bate, requests to see you."
He withdrew his hand from the phone and said, "Let him in."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Your Majesty." Carr walked into the office and bowed respectfully. "Your 'Miracle Building' has been successfully completed."
...
Standing under the podium building and looking up at the towering main body, Roland really felt the charm of the word "wonder".
It took nearly two years, tens of thousands of Golden Dragon, enough steel to build three Redwater Bridges, and enough concrete to pile up into a hill to finally complete the building. Without the help of Lotus, Hummingbird, and the other witches, it would have consumed several times more manpower and resources.
It was not just a joke that a wonder would harm the country. Similarly, the people of Neverwinter were absolutely shocked by the completion of the building, which could be seen from the people who flocked to watch the completion ceremony from all directions.
The so-called gap between the two and the three-story buildings was even clearer when compared to the so-called wonder building. Compared to the surrounding two-to three-story residential areas, the fifty-six-meter-tall, fifteen-story Miracle Building could be said to stand out from the rest. Even Roland, who was used to seeing tall buildings, could not help but feel a surge of excitement in his heart.
As the new landmark of Neverwinter, it was not a simple and useless project, but the culmination of a variety of new technologies. For example, the water supply and drainage problem. Carr used the method of setting up multi-level water tanks on each floor to solve the problem of not being able to pump water due to the large height difference.
In addition, four external "elevators" were installed at the four corners of the main building. They were driven by the steam engine in the basement and could carry dozens of people back and forth between the top floor and the bottom floor. Although they were not as intelligent as modern elevators, which had to be operated by special personnel and could not stop at every floor, it was still an amazing design for this era. In particular, the elevators used a large number of floor-to-ceiling glass, so people could overlook the beautiful city while riding, which was totally a pleasure.
"Your Majesty, say something." After climbing up the podium building, Carr put his hand on his chest and said, "Your people are all waiting for you."
Roland nodded, walked to the fence, and waved to the dense crowd below.
The crowd immediately burst into enthusiastic cheers.
"Good afternoon, people of Neverwinter."
"Today is the day when the Miracle Building is completed. It is the best in the world, and history will remember this day. But I don't want to talk about its great significance. I want to talk about the question that you are most concerned about. Who will live in it? Or... who will it be built for? "
"Nobles? No, Graycastle has abolished the right to enfeoff the nobles. The royal family? Of course not. I don't need such a big place to put my bed. The answer is actually very simple. It will be the residents of Neverwinter — that is, all of you. "
"It is you who created the Miracle Building, and you will undoubtedly enjoy this miracle!"
"Every room will be priced in the Administrative Office. You don't need special privileges or family background. As long as you bring your resident ID card, you can apply for the purchase and live in this building that is destined to go down in history!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd burst into deafening cheers.
"Long live His Majesty!"
"Long live Neverwinter!"
After the cheers subsided, Roland continued loudly, "Now, I will light the torch on the top of the building. From now on, when the night falls, it will burn brightly and become the most dazzling star over Neverwinter!"
Amid the overwhelming cheers of the crowd, he led the people from City Hall into the "elevator" and went up to the top of the main building.
A huge stone basin was placed in the center of the roof, filled with pitch-black oil. This sticky heavy oil had been specially processed to not only burn for a long time, but also did not emit a stench or smoke. It was the most suitable fuel for the torch.
"Your Majesty." Nightingale handed a torch to Roland.
Roland nodded, took the torch, and slowly walked to the stone basin.
He seemed to hear a gentle song and a familiar line in his mind —
"From the beginning of the first life underwater... you have experienced a lot..."
He raised the corner of his mouth and lowered the torch.
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