Chapter 314

Running takeoff works best when facing directly into the wind. The ideal wind is moderate or calm. Strong wind makes takeoff effortless but hard to control, posing danger for beginners.

So Liu Zheng chose relatively mild weather.

Following Liu Zheng's instructions, Jiang Xuan faced the wind to find its direction, stood holding the wing, felt its balance, and amid many onlookers, shouted and began running.

At the start of the run, one must first lean the body forward, then accelerate slowly, smoothly, and continuously until the triangular wing reaches takeoff height—i. e., stall speed—after which it leaves the ground. Low-altitude test flights require no position change; in formal flight, legs lift back into the harness, hands shift from sides to the control frame's crossbar.

"Ah!"

At that moment, everyone couldn't help but cover their mouths and shout.

They stared at Jiang Xuan, faces full of disbelief.

"This..."

"He's taken off!"

"Really taken off?"

"My heavens!"

Even Qin Zhangfeng looked envious, let alone Pei Qianyun and the soldiers—all craned their necks, gazing enviously at Jiang Xuan.

"Ah ah ah ah!"

Jiang Xuan, at this moment, needless to say, was overjoyed.

The entire glider soared into high altitude; the biting winter wind struck his face, sharp and painful, yet his excitement forbade him from closing his eyes.

He began to enjoy it all...

Enjoying this moment in life, possibly even the first flight of the forty million people of the Longyan Dynasty. Rising higher and higher, his whole body began to tremble.

He felt what blew against his face was not wind, but the magnificent rivers and mountains, the very spirit of Liangzhou, the grandeur of the land! The faster the speed, the sharper the pain, yet his excitement only grew.

In his heart rose a heroic spirit of man conquering heaven!

Heaven!

I, your father, have flown up!

Looking down, trees cast shade, rivers and mountains beautiful, fields crisscrossed, cooking smoke curling—letting Jiang Xuan's heart expand even more.

"Ah!"

He shouted again a few times, only to realize he was flying farther and farther away.

Damn it!

Turn back!

The glider controls direction by shifting the pilot's position relative to the wing's center. Following Liu Zheng's instructions, Jiang Xuan gripped the crossbar and moved forward, backward, left, and right to shift the wing's center of gravity, causing the glider to pitch or roll as intended, thereby controlling speed and direction.

"Young master, where did he go?"

"Did he fly away?"

"Did he really fly into the sky?"

Seeing Jiang Xuan vanish from sight, Qin Zhangfeng and Pei Qianyun both felt a little worried. Their fear of the unknown sky still left them uncertain.

Liu Zheng chuckled.

When the glider rose into the sky, he knew this attempt had succeeded. After all those days of research, he had finally kept the glider's weight and proportion within a nearly perfect range. For him, it was still fortunate. After all, a glider isn't something you can just build from blueprints and expect to work immediately. Unpowered gliding flight requires many conditions to sustain flight. He had thought success would come only after repeated attempts... never expecting to succeed on the first try!

So.

Mainly, since Jiang Xuan followed his own method, there would certainly be no danger to life.

As expected.

After about half an hour.

A black dot appeared on the horizon.

"He's back!"

"Lord Jiang is back!"

The crowd burst into cheers.

Next.

Came the landing.

Actually, landing is the most critical and most dangerous part of glider flight. At this moment, the pilot must return the body to upright, shift hands to the downwind struts, relax the bar to reduce pitch and slow down, and when the toes touch ground, begin running with the wing, reducing speed until it feels fully controllable, then switch grip technique to transition into a wing-supported jog, then quickly stop.

During this, one must always watch the wind direction to avoid crosswind injury or sudden gusts that could lift off again.

"Ah ah ah ah ah I'm coming!"

Jiang Xuan shouted excitedly.

But just as the glider neared thirty meters above ground, the triangular wing underwent violent turbulence.

A group of people were terrified.

Liu Zheng's heart jumped; his face changed as he shouted: "Don't turn, for heaven's sake don't turn!"

At this moment, turning from downwind to upwind causes the entire triangular wing to face strong opposing airflow, easily making the glider lose control; if the angle is too sharp, it becomes uncontrollable and drops.

Jiang Xuan was also frightened into a cold sweat.

The man who had nearly panicked and lost his way, hearing Liu Zheng's warning, followed the wind, slowly balanced, and slowly decelerated.

But even so...

He and the glider still plunged headfirst into the trees ahead.

Finally, Jiang Xuan let out a tragic cry.

A group of people were startled, then ran wildly over.

Then...

Looking from afar at the scene ahead, everyone couldn't help but burst out laughing. Only to see the glider caught in a tree, Jiang Xuan suspended there, baring his teeth and flailing his claws, frightening enough to make one gasp.

"Hahahaha..."

"I'm dying laughing!"

"Don't rush, Lord Jiang, we're coming right away!"

"Don't move around, the branches won't hold!"

Seeing that Jiang Xuan was in no danger of losing his life, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Soon, Jiang Xuan was rescued by a group of soldiers.

"Jiang Xuan, how do you feel?"

"Can you fly high?"

"Is it easy to control?"

A crowd of people chattered noisily.

Especially Qin Zhangfeng and Pei Qianyun, they seemed eager to try it out.

Jiang Xuan finally cut the rope, fell and got a bruised nose and swollen face; at this moment, his complexion had clearly turned dark as iron from the winter wind, feeling like it might crack, yet he was still excited, jumping and shouting: "Flying, flying so high!"

"My goodness, you definitely haven't tried this before!"

"The whole Liangzhou City is right beneath our feet!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, that feeling."

He was truly overjoyed; without realizing it, he had become the first person to fly with the Dragon Flame, so how could he not be happy?

Qin Zhangfeng and Pei Qianyun both had their eyes light up from what he said.

"Young master, young master, let me come again next time, I'll fly once more!"

Jiang Xuan was overwhelmed with excitement.

"Alright, look at your sorry state, go back and rest properly."

Liu Zheng laughed and scolded, patting his head lightly, and said calmly: "This is our Yinzhou Army's secret weapon, Jiang Xuan; return to the city, modify the glider a bit, and it can be mass-produced. You immediately establish the Flight Reconnaissance Team and conduct flight training!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xuan's spirits lifted: "Jiang Xuan accepts the order!"

Qin Zhangfeng stood nearby, looking displeased: "Not a young master, what's going on? Such a good thing, not giving it to us? Giving it to this brat?"

"Young master, young master!"

"Young master, this is unfair, unjust!"

Liu Zheng rode on horseback, laughing heartily, and with the excited Jiang Xuan, took the lead.

Qin Zhangfeng gritted his teeth fiercely.

No way!

I must at least fight for a small team for myself!

Who knew that upon returning to the city,

a shocking piece of news arrived.

The entire Dragon Flame was thrown into chaos.

Liangzhou Prefecture also became filled with the sound of wind and crane cries, a tense atmosphere sweeping over everything.