Extreme Cold Era: Shelter Don't Keep Waste

Chapter 32 Flying Airship Trial Flight

Chapter 32 - 32 Flying Airship Trial FlightThe first trial flight of the Flying Airship's technology verification model was not particularly grand. Perfikot didn't even invite anyone to witness it. Once everything was ready, she filled the airship's balloon with inert helium gas, allowing it to float in the air.

Perfikot obviously couldn't use the hot air balloon method to make the Flying Airship fly; it was fuel-intensive and unsafe.

After all, hot air balloons use heated air to gain lift, which requires a continuous supply of heat to warm the air.

Coal's heat value was clearly not sufficient for the task; only high-calorie kerosene or other fuels could be used.

But this brought safety hazards, as kerosene burns much faster than coal, especially when there might be an explosion.

Moreover, knowledge from the previous world had made Perfikot well aware that hot air balloons couldn't cross oceans or conduct long-distance flights.

In the original world, airships initially used hydrogen, a low-density gas, to fill the balloons and provide lift.

However, the overly reactive physical nature of hydrogen made it an easily ignitable gas, potentially leading to severe consequences.

When airships were in full vogue in the original world, there had been a catastrophic Zeppelin accident caused by hydrogen ignition, resulting in massive casualties.

Therefore, knowing this, Perfikot could not neglect related safety issues or let any "Perfikot Flying Airship accident" happen in the future.

Later in the original world, airships used the much safer helium, an inert gas, which was less reactive and generally safer.

Of course, helium also had a major disadvantage: it was a rare gas. The first discovery of helium in the original world was from spectral analysis of the sun, and it was long considered non-existent on Earth.

Until later, scientists re