Darkstone Code-Chapter 1023 - 1021: Technically Impossible

After hanging up the phone, Preton looked at the others in the meeting room, "Do I still need to call others?"

Earlier on the phone, the Minister of Construction hoped he could probe the others’ views.

Actually, it’s not strange that the Minister of Construction trusts Preton so "thoroughly."

Firstly, what he’s inquiring about is not classified information from a certain perspective, and soon those in the Secretariat will know.

Once the people in the Secretariat know, it means everyone in Gafura will know. This is not something that requires secrecy; even the Minister of Construction himself does not believe it to be true.

Just like the Minister of the Army said in the Ruler’s Hall, the wave-laden sea does not allow for aircraft takeoff, let alone the heavy weight of a ship’s hull suppressing the waves.

A battleship is heavy enough, isn’t it? Yet it can’t suppress the waves, can it?

When the waves are big, they will still be affected.

If a battleship is affected, it’s not a big issue, but if a plane’s runway is affected, even a little bump is enough to crash an aircraft on the deck!

This is not a joke; even a stable land runway has crash possibilities, let alone a constantly swaying ship deck, so nobody believes this to be true.

Moreover, if Preton were really caught by the Federation, would they call him? His voice had a lazy tone.

The Minister of Construction could even imagine that this bastard must be sunbathing while on the phone with him.

The island of Gafura has many geographical advantages, but also many drawbacks, such as excessively humid air.

If he can probe the attitudes of some others and slightly disclose some insignificant details, it’s really not a big deal.

People found it hard to believe how easily they got such news; they thought it should have been difficult, and might have drawn suspicion on Preton.

They genuinely did not expect it to go smoothly. So smoothly that they started to doubt if the information was genuine, or if it was a smokescreen released by the Gafura people?

After some discussion in the room, since the Minister of Construction didn’t think Preton was exposed, they let him continue his own business.

Every call he made was met with unwelcomeness, but when it came to discussing the Air Force Minister, it seemed nobody wanted to talk much about it.

Everyone had their own ideas and held a "maybe it might work for me" attitude. Even if they knew there was no hope, they wouldn’t express their stance early.

Attitudes are valuable, and if you want their stance, you have to pay or exchange interests.

Preton quickly concluded these information exchanges, deftly managing each relationship, even promising little gifts in return, an effective way to maintain friendships.

Having done that, he joyfully returned to his room, glanced at the Eldest Prince, and lay on the recliner, sunbathing.

The Eldest Prince didn’t know what happened. He quietly looked at Preton and suddenly asked, "Are you resigned to this?"

Preton hadn’t expected the Eldest Prince to speak to him, took a moment, and replied, "If you’re not resigned, do you have a way out of what we’re experiencing?"

"Once you’re out, imposters trying to kill you will think of that, and the Federation will think of that, anyone who knows you will think of sending you back."

"So whether you’re resigned or not, what does it matter?"

The Eldest Prince clenched and unclenched his fist, "I know what you’re saying, but I’m not resigned; things shouldn’t be this way."

Preton, having spoken for a long time, satisfied his urge, now didn’t feel like speaking much.

After a nasal sound, he put on his sunglasses, listening to the radio and sunbathing.

Meanwhile, information about the "Sea Fortress" and the "Air Force Minister" had been steadily reported up the chain. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

When the Ministry of Defense and the Strategic Command acquired this information, representatives and engineers led by Sheep Ship were invited to a meeting at the Ministry of Defense.

Shortly before 4 PM, representatives from the Federation’s largest shipbuilders arrived.

"We’ve intercepted some classified information from Gafura, and in this information, we discovered a new type of warship plan called the ’Sea Fortress.’

"They’re planning to build a runway on a ship for planes to take off from. Is this possible?"

The major general hosting the meeting asked seriously, "From a technical perspective."

The people from the shipbuilding companies were initially surprised, then the engineers quickly began making hypotheses and calculations; after a few minutes, they came to the same conclusion—

This question should be directed at aircraft manufacturers, not them.

Then, at 4:30, Lynch entered the office, along with his chief engineer.

The major general repeated what he had said, finally asking, "Can planes take off and land under such circumstances?"

Before Lynch could answer, the chief engineer shook his head, "It’s very difficult."

All eyes were on him; having been supplying the Ministry of Defense recently, the chief engineer no longer felt the stage fright he did the first time.

He was frequently consulted by high-ranking officials and military generals from the Ministry of Defense to discuss parameters and technical feasibilities, making him feel like a success.

Still shaking his head, he explained, "Aircraft takeoff requires stable thrust and upward lift. Without enough speed, we need a runway to complete the acceleration process."

"If the runway is unstable or has bumps, with our current technology, inadequate acceleration means the aircraft will experience a noticeable downward impact."

"That leaves us with only two outcomes: deviation and possible crashes, or failing to take off while constantly cycling between effective and ineffective acceleration."

"As for landing...," he paused, "The risk of crashing is several times higher than on land."

Lynch discreetly rubbed his thumb against the knuckle of his index finger, his habitual gesture of satisfaction.

If aircraft carriers existed today, who would buy into his "island chain" plan?

This is a project spanning over a billion in budget, with outrageous income looming. For such returns, even if carriers could exist today, they’d have to be submerged until the third or fourth phase of island chain funding.

Of course, if technical issues preclude early carrier existence, he needn’t exert extra coercive efforts.

The question looped back; looking at the shipbuilders, the major general asked, "Can you ensure the ship doesn’t experience violent upheavals?"

"If ships can remain as stable as land, would it mean aircraft could take off and land on deck?"

The major general glanced at Lynch’s chief engineer, who nodded in agreement.

Thus, the pressure shifted back to the shipbuilders.

After more than half an hour of discussion, no valuable conclusions were reached; a ship in the sea is bound to sway.

A battleship is large enough yet sways with the waves—it’s unavoidable.

Ultimately, Lynch summarized: "Everyone should continue developing their own technology, and after a while, we’ll revisit this issue."

On the way back, the chief engineer suddenly mentioned, "Actually, we can do it."

Lynch asked, "What can we do?"

"Take off and land on slightly bumpy runways, just by changing the landing gear structure a bit."

The chief engineer discussed the modifications method with Lynch, "Our stagecoaches already have developed shock absorption capabilities, though not evidently impactful, they’re effective."

Using a pen and paper, he simply illustrated the idea: if spring weight exceeds the stationary weight of the plane and pilot, no major issues should occur in case of bumps during flight.

The spring compression and recoil can solve these problems; however, actual scenarios still require dedicated experimentation, which he didn’t consider problematic.

Lynch, looking at those drafts, asked an unrelated question, "Why didn’t you mention this in the meeting?"

The chief engineer pondered, "Because we can’t solve the takeoff distance issue."

"Currently, the Federation’s longest battleship is under 300 meters, meaning our planes must complete acceleration and take off within about 200 meters of runway—we can’t achieve this."

Lynch quickly grasped the chief engineer’s point: fixing bump issues is easy; but the lack of takeoff distance is hard to solve.

The former can be instant; the latter, not so easy.

Until the latter problem is fixed, the former remains unresolved!

He is very astute, knowing how to deal with "clients," part of why Lynch chose him.

From Lynch’s perspective, this problem is trivial; money can solve it.

He vaguely recalled something called catapult take-off...

The Ministry of Defense’s expert meeting ended without positive results, and then the Military Intelligence Bureau and Security Committee initiated a mission for deep-seated spies in Gafura, mandating them to acquire the "Sea Fortress" blueprints and carrier aircraft designs.

For those documents, no cost is too high!

Meanwhile, major shipbuilders also received new research projects from the Ministry of Defense: they need a sea runway.

And Lynch’s Flight Research Institute got tasked with studying "how to allow planes to take off and land on bumpy sea runways," with no specific funding limit!