“So, this is the framework you came up with?”
At Hyang’s question, Da Vinci bowed his head. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Hmm…”
Letting out a soft hum, Hyang reviewed the sketch again, then pointed out a problem. “This pinwheel is used for ascent and descent, correct?”
“That is so.”
“Then how will it move from one place to another? Is this not a flying machine? What is the difference between a flying machine and a simple balloon? A balloon need only go up and down, but a flying machine must fly in a desired direction to be of any use. If it only ascends and descends, is it not inferior to a self-propelled airship?”
“Ah…”
“I will permit you to continue your deliberations. However, if you cannot solve this problem, your invention will be nothing more than a plaything for eccentrics. In that case, even I cannot ask His Majesty the Emperor for permission to build it.”
“Yes, I will keep that in mind.”
Having received what was both a permission and a prohibition from Hyang, Da Vinci gathered his sketches with a grim expression and departed the office. Hyang watched him disappear through the window, a look of keen interest on his face as he muttered to himself.
“Now then, I wonder what solution Da Vinci will come up with. But is it even possible with a steam engine?”
The self-propelled airship was able to fly because of its enormous gasbag. The problem with a steam engine was its thrust-to-weight ratio. Its power output was far too low for its size, which meant the airship’s flight speed was not very fast. Its only advantage was its ability to move in a desired direction high in the sky, which was why the military used it exclusively for reconnaissance and communication. It was utterly useless for transport, and even for tourism, it was inferior to a standard hot-air balloon. For these reasons, Hyang was negative about the prospect of using a steam engine as a power source for a flying machine.
“If it were possible, I would have built it myself long ago…”
Even in the history before Hyang’s intervention, the Englishman George Cayley had conceptualized a steam-powered ‘Aerial Carriage.’¹ It was a helicopter with four disc-shaped rotors and two propellers for thrust, but it had ultimately ended as a mere model. There had been many other attempts to use steam engines to power airplanes, but they had all ended in failure. In the end, it was the Wright brothers, who adopted the internal combustion engine, who succeeded in flight, leading to the dramatic evolution of the airplane.
***
“…And so, I received the order: ‘Deliberation is permitted, but construction is prohibited.’”
“I see. So that was the issue.”
At Da Vinci’s explanation, Gong Yajang nodded, his face filled with disappointment. “Then what shall we do now?”
“We must ponder how to make it move, of course. And we must also try to actually make it fly.”
“But were we not forbidden from building it?”
“To be precise, he said that he would not ask His Majesty the Emperor to grant permission for its construction.”
At Da Vinci’s clarification, Gong Yajang looked puzzled. “Isn’t that the same thing?”
“Not at all!”
“Hmm?”
“Think about it! Why do we request permission for construction? Is it not a matter of budget?”
“Well, yes.”
“I,” Da Vinci declared with a flourish, “have a lot of money!”
“Aha!”
Gong Yajang slapped his forehead. If one were to name the wealthiest artisan currently working in Area 51, it would be Da Vinci. In fact, he was considered a man of considerable wealth not just within the district, but outside as well. Da Vinci continued in a triumphant voice.
“We cannot find the answer by merely scribbling on paper! If that were possible, one would have to be a genius whose name would echo through history! That leaves only one method: we must build it, even if it is only a model, and identify the problems for ourselves!”
“So you’re saying you’ll build a model with your own money?”
“Precisely! So, my friend, will you join me?”
“Of course!”
And so, Da Vinci and Gong Yajang joined hands and threw themselves into the creation of a helicopter.
***
Every evening after their respective duties were done, the two men would gather in Da Vinci’s workshop and put their heads together.
“To move in a desired direction means it must be pushed or pulled. The conclusion, then, is that we must attach a thruster.”
“A pinwheel-style propeller would be best.”
“Shall we mount it in the front, or the back?”
“Wouldn’t it be easier to control if it’s in the back?”
They conversed back and forth, repeatedly adding to and subtracting from Da Vinci’s sketch. As the drawing became a tattered mess and was redrawn time and again, Da Vinci’s helicopter gradually began to take a more proper form.
“The problem is the power plant. Should we install separate engines for the lifting pinwheel and the thrusting pinwheel?”
At Da Vinci’s suggestion, Gong Yajang shook his head. “That would make it too heavy. Space is also an issue. We must go with a single engine.”
“Then we will need a power distributor.”
“Indeed.”
For the artisans of the Empire in this era, the concept of a ‘power distributor’ was not unfamiliar. It was already being applied and used in the various machines in the Empire’s textile workshops.
“Hmm… a drive belt will be too weak.”
“Then what about using a chain?”
“That could work.”
In this manner, two months passed, and the two men were able to complete their first set of blueprints.
“Now, let us try to build a model!”
“An excellent idea! My hands have been itching to get to work!”
Satisfied with the blueprint they had created, the two immediately began constructing a model. They built it with a wind-up spring in place of a steam engine and moved straight to testing.
“First, let’s see if it can even lift off properly.”
“Let’s.”
The first experiment, which they began with great excitement, was a spectacular failure. The model they built merely hopped up and down slightly, unable to achieve proper lift. Worse yet, the body underneath the lifting rotor began to spin in the opposite direction of the rotor’s rotation, and at a considerable speed.
“Why on earth?”
“Why!”
Faced with a completely unexpected phenomenon, the two men, unable to find the cause, tore at their hair in frustration. As they agonized over the problem, Gong Yajang spoke up.
“You know, when we were building a model of a steam-powered warship a while back, something similar to this happened. The Emperor Emeritus provided the solution then. It was to make two propellers and have them spin in opposite directions. What if we apply that here?”
“Hmm?” Da Vinci, not quite grasping the idea, raised an objection. “Wouldn’t that just make it spin in place?”
“That’s why we make the blades of the pinwheels opposites. If this one moves forward when it spins to the right, the other one moves forward when it spins to the left.”
“Hoh…”
Da Vinci, who had been nodding and making encouraging noises as Gong Yajang explained with gestures, suddenly shot up from his seat and unfolded a sheet of paper. “This might just work.”
And so, the second attempt began.
***
The second attempt was half a success and half a failure. They had managed to solve the problem of the spinning fuselage. However, it still failed to achieve proper lift, continuing to just jitter in place.
“I think this part is due to the lack of power from the wind-up spring.”
“It seems so. Hmm…”
Though he nodded, Da Vinci’s expression was far from pleased.
“Is there another problem?” Gong Yajang asked.
Da Vinci pointed to the pinwheels that now stuck out from the left and right of the model. “I don’t like it.”
“You don’t like it?”
“It isn’t beautiful.”
At Da Vinci’s answer, Gong Yajang placed a hand on his forehead. “Then what do you propose we do? Is there any other way to stop the fuselage from spinning like a mad thing?”
“That is true. Still, it is not beautiful. Hmm…”
Gong Yajang, stroking his chin and running various calculations in his head, looked at Da Vinci. “Perhaps it is possible.”
And so, the third challenge began. At last, with their third attempt, the two men smiled brightly.
“We have finally overcome the first major hurdle!”
“Hahahaha!”
Laughing heartily and clapping each other on the shoulder, the two men declared with confidence, “Then let us proceed to the next!”
The second hurdle was the problem of movement.
“The design seems to be sound…”
“Right?”
The two men stroked their chins as they looked at the refined and completed blueprint. The helicopter they had designed had a peculiar shape, a result of the experience accumulated through their repeated attempts. First, the helicopter now had a total of four propellers—or more accurately, it was equipped with two coaxial counter-rotating rotors.² One set was for vertical lift and descent, and the other was at the rear for thrust. Having struggled with the torque phenomenon, the two had decided to employ a coaxial rotor for the thrust propeller as well.
“The design certainly seems correct, but we won’t know if it’s truly right until we actually build it.”
“Indeed. It’s impossible to test the controls with a model.”
The only way to know if it could truly move as intended was for a person to board it and pilot it.
“Hmm…”
As they pondered a solution, they soon arrived at a similar answer.
“We must go to the Emperor Emeritus.”
“To the Emperor Emeritus it is…”
Having reached an agreement, the two men soon headed for Sugang Palace, carrying their blueprint and model.
***
Seeing the blueprint and model that Da Vinci and Gong Yajang presented to him, Hyang couldn’t stop a curse from escaping his lips.
“This is insane!”
No, why is THIS showing up here?!
The model Da Vinci and Gong Yajang had brought resembled a helicopter from the Russian Kamov design bureau. And the helicopter drawn on the blueprint they wished to build looked like the Defiant X, the design Bell had submitted for the U.S. Army’s 21st-century helicopter program—or, to be more precise, it looked like what the Defiant X would look like if you stripped off its outer shell.
Seriously, just how much did you have to grind to produce a result like this?!
As Hyang screamed internally, his mind blown by the ridiculously advanced design, Da Vinci and Gong Yajang stared at the floor, their faces pale. Hyang’s curse was the cause.
We’re dead!
How should I beg for my life… Should I just plead to be spared…
While the two men trembled in fear, Hyang examined the blueprint once more. Looking at it again, I can see its limitations.
The design they submitted certainly had its limits. The engine’s limitations were a given from the start, but their helicopter had another. It could ascend, descend, and move forward, but fine control was impossible.
If that were possible, computers would have been invented by now.
“Hmm…” After reviewing the blueprint several more times, Hyang reached a conclusion. “The two of you may raise your heads.”
As Da Vinci and Gong Yajang, who had been staring at the floor, lifted their heads, Hyang grinned and continued, “Have you two been enjoying this fascinating game all by yourselves? How disappointing. Let me in on the fun.”