An Avionic Mind

[aimway921]

A young Eyrian, Oleg Antonov, was beyond excited as he stepped off the ocean liner in Kazimierzgrad. A son of one of Ashinara's first pilots, Viktor Antonov, he was fascinated with aircraft ever since his father learned to fly on the Gaelian-purchased plane for the Army. Now, with Queen Yuzura's new scholarship program, through which the Ashinaran government payed for the expenses of sending bright Ashinaran minds to attain education abroad which is not available domestically, he has enrolled in the Lusatian university of aviation, hoping to become an aircraft designer for his homeland. 

[aimway921]

More than a year has passed, and Antonov was nearing completion on his first ever successful aircraft design that would secure his diploma as an Aviation Engineer. With the Great War breaking out, he had to alter his design a little to make it applicable in more situations than just the civilian applications he intended originally. As a result, he ended up with a plane that had the following:

General Characteristics:
Crew: 2
Length: 8.17 m
Wingspan: 11.4 m
Height: 3.1 m
Wing area: 33.2 m2
Empty weight: 770 kg
Gross weight: 1,030 kg
Max takeoff weight: 1,350 kg
Powerplant: 1 × 5-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 93 kW (125 hp)
Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller

Performance:
Maximum speed: 152 km/h
Cruise speed: 110 km/h
Range: 630 km
Service ceiling: 3,000 m
Rate of climb: 2.78 m/s
Wing loading: 41 kg/m2
Power/mass: 0.060 kW/kg

The front seat was dedicated to the pilot. The back seat had secondary controls, just in case the pilot was taken out, but the second crew member's primary job was whatever the individual plane outfitted to do. Originally, Antonov wanted to make this plane a crop duster, and the second crew member's job would've been controlling the mechanics of that. While the provisions for that were still built into the plane, it's potential role was also expanded upon. A mount for a machine gun and bombs were installed, allowing the plane to carry up to 300 kg worth of bombs. The plane could also be used as a scout, with a camera mount that could be installed on the side of the rear seat. Finally, several fellow students who were interested in the project and agreed to help, experimented with a quick-release system for cargo. Bags that could be strapped onto wings, and by means of correctly tying knots, the second crew member could release the cargo by pulling on cords. This was theorized to be a good way to resupply ground troops who have been surrounded by the enemy.

The construction of the plane itself was made mostly of wood and canvas, with only the engine cowl and a few structural struts being made of metal. This was done to accommodate the slightly less advanced capabilities of Ashinara's domestic production.

[aimway921]

"Okay, so let's go over this one last time Witold," the Eyrian, Antonov said to the human he was walking beside as they walked towards the plane parked at the edge of a meadow in the large park area outside the Kazimierzgrad University of Aviation. Several other humans were moving around it, checking that all the connections are secure, bolts are tightened, and the fuel caps are closed.

"We take off, reach an altitude of 500 meters, make a loop around the campus, then climb to 1,000 meters, make another loop, and then we descend and land."

"Yes, yes, we've talked about this multiple times already," Witold replied.

"And don't forget the-"

"The controls," Witold cut the Eyrian off. "I know. I helped you design them, remember? Tell me this though - I volunteered to be your test pilot, okay. But why are you insisting to be on her maiden flight? What if it crashes? Then you won't be able to make revisions to it because you will crash with it!"

"Well... What sort of pioneer for my country would I be if I didn't test my own inventions?" the Eyrian replied with a grin.

Witold sighed in response. "Oleg, you are probably the smartest bastard who's bravery crosses into foolishness, you know that?"

"Tell you what, if we crash and manage to survive, I promise to leave all future test flights only to you. Hell, I'll even petition my Queen to grant you citizenship in Ashinara so you can come and be my test pilot when I inevitably open my own airplane construction company there."

"Sounds enticing. So enticing I might crash us on purpose. And what if we don't crash? You'll leave me here and we'll never see each other again?"

"Nah. All the same, just you promise never to try talk me out of testing my planes again. It's... It's hard to put into words, but I hardly need to - I'm sure you have such a desire to be a test pilot for the same reason."

"Alright alright" Witold gave up, raising his hands in a feigned surrender. "It's a bet."

With a good laugh, the pair finally made it to the plane. "Well fellas, is she ready?"

"Ready Oleg," one of the young men who was checking the aircraft said. "Ready as she'll ever be." With that he tossed a flight cap to the Eyrian, and another to the human who was with him.

The young soon-to-be test pilots put on their caps, pulled the goggles over their eyes, then put on the gloves they carried with them in their pockets until now, and got into the seats - Witold in the front, main pilot's seat, and Oleg into the rear seat.

A few more preparations later, and the engine was started. Here came the moment of truth. Witold increased the thrust, and slowly, the plane started moving. The meadow, as flat as it was, still was a bit bumpier than a smooth asphalt runway, but the plane was designed for that. Soon it sped up to 75 km/h, and after just 260 meters of it starting it's takeoff run - it took off. The ground crew cheered and it slowly began gaining altitude.

About a minute later they reached an altitude of 100 meters. 4 more minutes and they were at their first target - 500 meters. The first loop began, and was completed with ease. Then they began their climb to 1,000 meters. It took them a little longer, about 6 and a half minutes. The loop itself also took several seconds longer to complete than before. Oleg noted - the plane handles best at lower altitudes. Then they descended. Here they discovered a big weakness - it could not descend too fast, and had to glide for a while - if the angle of descent was too steep, the plane quickly gained speed, and after passing 190 km/h it began to shake and rattle. So, the maximum safe speed before risking the plane breaking apart in mid-air was recorded at 185 km/h, just to be safe. That was the max speed before risking catastrophic failure of the frame - the max speed the engine could pump out when flying level was recorded at around 140 km/h.

About 20 minutes later, they finally landed and came to a stop. The ground crew ran towards them with loud screaming, whistling and clapping. This was a success for the whole team.

As they climbed out of their seats and touched the ground, Witold had a look of absolute pride on his face. His first test flight of a prototype plane - was a success both because of his skills and because his designer was secretly a genius. Oleg meanwhile, was on the verge of tears. He was proud of his work, but a much more overwhelming feeling for him in the moment was happiness - happiness that they didn't just die a fiery death, that they haven't lost control even once, that he was lucky to befriend such a skillful pilot who volunteered to be his test pilot, hell, lucky that he was chosen by the Queen's scholarship program to even be here, learn aviation have a chance at designing aircraft in the first place.

"Witold..." He said as he faced the human, grabbing him by the shoulders. "We did it," he said, pulling him into a hug. "We fucking did it. And on our first try too."

As they got back to their dorms after parking the plane at the university's hangars Oleg instantly got to writing letters. Two - one to the Ashinaran ambassador in Lusatia, and one to main Lusatian aircraft manufacturer, inquiring about their willingness to set up a serial production of a brand new aircraft.