On April 1, 2001, the U.S. Navy EP-3 reconnaissance aircraft broke into my country’s airspace and provoked over China’s exclusive economic zone 70 nautical miles southeast of China’s Hainan Island. The J-8II fighter jet piloted by Wei. The J-8II fighter jet crashed after its tail was damaged and lost its balance. Wang Wei parachuted into the sea and his whereabouts were unknown. China sent tens of thousands of troops to search for it to no avail.
Wang Wei, who was sacrificed, was awarded the "Guardian of the Sea and Air" and a revolutionary martyr. Osborne, who was on the EP-3 reconnaissance plane at the time, was named a hero by the United States after returning to China.
Today is the 20th anniversary of Wang Wei's sacrifice. I pay tribute to him, as well as to all the air force defending the motherland and those who have been committed to the development of China Aviation .
This article is about Mr. Span1span Feng Ru who is known as the "Father of China Aviation".
1. When I was young, I got a chance to change my destiny
In 1884, Feng Ru was born in a poor peasant family in Enping, Guangdong. He didn’t have many opportunities to read and study, but he was very smart and had strong hands-on ability. Like playing with mud and sticks, the things that rural children have the most contact with. But instead of playing aimlessly, he uses mud, sticks and other natural objects to create models of small cars and small wheels, just like kids who like to play with building blocks, and constantly use their imagination.
A child who is too poor to play in the mud, but can play the plane that is still very tall, seems a bit absurd, but this is true.
When Feng Ru was 12 years old, he had a chance to change his destiny.
At that time, in the United States San Francisco , the uncle who was doing a small business returned home to save her parents.Unable to see the clever and curious nephew trapped in a terrible environment, he brought Feng Ru to the United States to open his eyes. Xiao Fengru said to his parents: "The ancients said that'a big husband is home from all over the world.' I don't want to stay at home for the rest of my life. I'm willing to go out to learn crafts and honor my parents in the future."
The faith and determination of people who grow up to change their destiny.
After arriving in San Francisco, Feng Ru saw a city completely different from his own country, with developed industries and various machines. He was curious and a little sad, and understood why the backward China was bullied by Western powers.
So, he made up his mind to learn technology, and then apply what he learned to save China with technology.
18-year-old Feng Ru went to New York to study machine manufacturing. He studied very hard and often worked part-time to earn tuition. By the age of 23, he had understood the manufacturing methods of 36 kinds of machines. The radio transceiver designed and manufactured had more advantages than other products in performance and was widely welcomed by users. At that time, Feng Ru was already a well-known machine inventor in the United States.
2. The determination to apply what you have learned, and the determination to save the country with science and technology
Just as Feng Ru was obsessed with learning machine manufacturing on the other side of the ocean, many important things happened in China.
In 1904, Japan and Russia launched the Russo-Japanese War on China's territory in order to compete for the privileges of Northeast China. At that time, the imperialists wanted to divide the fat of China, and the United States also stepped in to mediate, allowing Japan and Russia to sign the "Portsmouth Peace Treaty," and Russia transferred Lushun and Dalian to Japan. The corrupt and incompetent Qing government did not resist, and faced the invasion of the great powers and unequal treaties, so they had to accept everything.
Feng Ru, who was in the United States at the time, was very angry. At that time, he wanted to build a warship for the motherland to strengthen the coastal defense force. The bloody nature of the young man constantly inspired him to contribute to the motherland.
After the American Wright brothers invented airplanes in 1903, the great powers and countries began to develop airplanes, airships, and aviation weapons as advanced equipment for national defense at that time.
Due to the high cost of building warships, Feng Ru changed his mind and invested in aircraft manufacturing.
Airplanes, after all, are not squeezed out of mud. To develop them, there are many difficulties, of which capital and technology are particularly critical.
Feng Ru sold his belongings and couldn't make up the money to build the plane. Therefore, he thought of a way to mobilize overseas Chinese in the United States to join the patriotic and national salvation operation, but most overseas Chinese were not optimistic. In the end, only Huang Qi, Zhang Nan, and Tan Yaoneng provided assistance.
In September 1907, Feng Ru collected more than 1,000 US dollars, and his partners Zhu Zhuquan, Zhu Zhaohuai, and Situ Biru rented a factory in Wulun, which is now , in Auckland, and started them. Aircraft manufacturing.
Funds and manpower are basically solved, but where does the technology come from?
At that time, in order to maintain the monopoly of aircraft manufacturing, the Wright brothers blocked all information. Therefore, Feng Ru and his colleagues had to rely on their knowledge of aerodynamics to draw their own aircraft design drawings, and they would also buy newspapers and magazines to learn about the development of aircraft in various countries at that time and learn from their strengths. He made a lot of determination to build an airplane. In his letter to his parents, he said: "The airplane can't be built, I promise not to return to China!"
After unremitting efforts, in April 1908, Feng Ru's airplane was tested in Auckland. , He personally test flight. During the first test flight, the plane suddenly tilted to a high altitude and fell to the ground. Fortunately, Feng Ru was not in danger of life. And on this day, their factory was on fire, and all the drawings and materials were turned into ashes. Could it be that some people set fire on purpose?
After failing to build the aircraft for the first time, Feng Ru struggled to raise some funds, set up a tent, and began to invest in research and development.
On September 21, 1908, Feng Ru flew again for a test flight. The first flight reached 2,640 feet, which was farther than the Wright brothers' first flight record of 1,788 feet. At that time, a newspaper in San Francisco reported a headline: "The Chinese have more aviation technology than the West." It is conceivable that Feng Ru's first flight caused a sensation in the United States.
1910,Feng Ru optimized the performance of the aircraft and designed and manufactured a very advanced aircraft at the time with a wing length of 29.5 feet, a wing width of 4.5 feet, an internal combustion engine of 30 horsepower, and a propeller rotating at 1,200 revolutions per minute. In the International Flying Competition held in San Francisco in October, Feng Ru broke the world record of the first international flying competition in 1909 with a flying altitude of more than 700 feet and a speed of 65 miles per hour, and he became famous in one fell swoop.
3. Returning to China, the father of Chinese aviation
When Feng Ru became famous, he refused to hire a large foreign company with a lot of money, and insisted on returning to China to develop China’s aviation industry in 1911. In February, with their assistants Zhu Zhuquan, Zhu Zhaohuai, and Situ Biru, carrying two self-made airplanes and aircraft manufacturing machines, they floated at sea for more than a month and finally arrived in Hong Kong. The Qing government at that time also attached great importance to the manufacture of aircraft, and sent the Baobi warship to meet Feng Ru and his party and place them in Guangzhou.
In April 1911, the Huanghuagang Uprising broke out in Guangzhou. The Qing government was afraid that Feng Ru would fall to the revolutionary army and put him under house arrest. Feng Ru was distressed and hated that he had nowhere to serve the country. After the outbreak of the Revolution of 1911, Feng Ru resolutely joined the revolutionary army.
At that time, China's internal revolutionary war to overthrow the Qing government was in full swing, and the world's major empires have been committed to the battle for colonies, and aircraft have also been used on the battlefield.
In September 1911, Italy and the Ottoman Turkish Empire launched a colonial war in Libya . Italy frequently dispatched air teams to perform missions. On October 23, 1911, Captain Piazza, the Captain of the Alitalia Air Force, flew an airplane to conduct the first reconnaissance of the Ottoman Turkish army, which also set the record for the first time an airplane participated in a war in human history. On November 1, 1911, Lieutenant Gavati of the Italian Air Force piloted an aircraft to reconnaissance and dropped four two-kilogram grenades each on the plane into the Turkish army's position, thus setting a record for the aircraft's first air strike.
At that time, China was suffering from foreign and domestic troubles,Feng Ru even wanted to use his own efforts to create an aircraft with better performance.
After Sun Yat-sen took office as the interim president of the Nanjing government, he prepared the Nanjing Airport and held China’s first aviation flight exercise in February 1912. The plane piloted by Feng Ru and others broke down midway and landed after flying several meters. The plane was also damaged. Although the exercise was unsuccessful, it also achieved political goals. It is heartening to let people across the country know that China also has its own plane.
On August 5, 1912, Feng Ru performed his second flight show in the suburbs of Guangzhou. He was flying in the blue sky with his own airplane, and the people on the ground cheered. When you looked up, you could see China's own airplane. That was China's hope. He has been flying in the sky for a long time, with proficient skills, and the plane flies freely like a wild goose. Just as I was about to land, I suddenly saw two children on the runway.
At that time, Feng Ru had two options, land on the runway normally, or return to the blue sky. The first choice is obviously cruel. He doesn't want to see cruel things happen to the two children. It may be the pain of one or two families.
So Feng Ru chose to rush to the blue sky again. In order to avoid the tragedy, he yanked the joystick, stepped on the accelerator, and the plane rushed into the sky like crazy.
Feng Ru avoided the tragedy of the two children, but the tragedy hit him on the head. The plane lost its balance, kept shaking, some parts were damaged, there was a loud bang, and the plane fell to the ground.
People rescued Feng Ru, who suffered serious head, chest, and abdomen injuries, from the wreckage of the plane, but the injuries were so serious that Feng Ru could not survive in the end. His life ended at 28 years old.
Although Feng Ru's life is short, his life is splendid, and he has made great contributions to China's aviation industry.
In 2009, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of China Aviation and the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Air Force, the Chinese Air Force awarded Feng Ru the title of "Father of China Aviation".
There are countless pioneers like Feng Ru who are rich in dedication and pioneering spirit for the country, and countless soldiers like Wang Wei who guard the motherland and our homeland.We can live in the sunshine of peaceful times. Thank you for having it!
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