Passengers changing cars
Diagram of the Curtiss Flying Boat no. 2
A "No. 2 flying boat," just built by Mr. Curtiss, and successfully tested on Lake Keuka, Hammondsport, in July, 1912, is the "last word" in aviation so far. An illustration in this book, made from photographs taken in mid-July, 1912, shows fully the bullet-shape of the "flying fish." It is a real boat, built with a fish-shaped body containing two comfortable seats for the pilot and passenger or observer, either of whom can operate the machine by a system of dual control, making it also available for teaching the art of flying. All the controls are fastened to the rear of the boat's hull, which makes them very rigid and strong, while the boat itself, made in stream-line form, offers the least possible resistance to the air, even less than that offered by the landing gear upon a standard land machine. Above the boat are mounted the wings and aeroplane surface. In the centre of this standard biplane construction is situated the eighty horse-power motor with its propeller in the rear, thus returning to the original practice, as in the standard Curtiss machines, of having a single propeller attached direct to the motor, thus doing away with all chains and transmission gearing which might give trouble, and differing from the earlier model flying boat built in San Diego, California, last winter (1911-12), which was equipped with "tractor" propellors propellers in front driven by chains. The new flying boat is twenty-six feet long and three feet wide. The planes are five and a half feet deep and thirty feet wide. It runs on the water at a speed of fifty miles an hour, and is driven by an eighty horse-power Curtiss motor. At a greater speed than this it cannot be kept on the water, but rises in the air and flies at from fifty to sixty miles per hour.
Scientific American Trophy
Following the success of the "White Wing" we started in to build another machine, embodying all that we had learned from our experience with the two previous ones. Following our custom of giving each machine a name to distinguish it from the preceding one, we called this third aeroplane the "June Bug." The name was aptly chosen, for it was a success from the very beginning. Indeed, it flew so well that we soon decided it was good enough to win the trophy which had been offered by The Scientific American for the first public flight of one kilometer, or five-eights of a mile, straightaway. This trophy, by the way, was the first to be offered in this country for an aeroplane flight, and the conditions specified that it should become the property of the person winning it three years in succession. The "June Bug" was given a thorough try-out before we made arrangements to fly for the trophy, and we were confident it would fulfill the requirements.
Diagram of Curtiss motor, side and front views
1. Cylinder; 2. Engine Bed; 3. Fuel Tank: 4. Oil Pan; 5. Radiator; 6. Propeller; 7. Crank Case; 8. Carbureter; 9. Gasoline Pipe; 10. Air Intake; 11. Auxiliary Air-pipe; 12. Drain Cock; 13. Water Cooling System; 14. Gas Intake Pipe; 15. Rocker Arm; 16. Spring on Intake Valve; 17. Spring on Exhaust Valve; 18. Exhaust Port; 19. Rocker Arm Post; 20. Push Rod.
Diagram of Curtiss Aeroplane, side view
1. Motor; 2. Radiator; 3. Fuel Tank; 4. Upper Main Plane; 5. Lower Main Plane; 6. Aileron; 7. Vertical Rudder; 8. Tail Surface; 9. Horizontal Rudder, or Rear Elevator; 10. Front Elevator; 11. Vertical Fin; 12. Steering Wheel; 13. Propeller; 14. Foot Throttle Lever; 15. Hand Throttle Lever; 16. Foot Brake.
Twine phones
The string telephones which for several years have been flooding the boulevards and the streets of the different cities of Europe, and whose invention dates back, as we have seen, to the year 1667, are very interesting apparatuses by them themselves, and we are astonished that they did not appear rather in the physics cabinets. They consist of cylindrical-conical tubes of metal or cardboard, one end of which is closed by a stretched membrane of parchment, in the center of which is fixed by a knot the string or cord intended to bring them together. When two tubes of this kind are thus joined together and that the wire is tight, as shown, it suffices for a person to apply one of these tubes against the ear and for another person to speak very close to the opening of the other tube, so that all the words spoken by the latter are immediately transmitted to the other, and one can even converse in this manner in an almost low voice.
Water Clock
The day after we had had our grand Chinese dinner we went into the city, and the first object we visited was the Clepsydra (or water clock), which is placed in a chamber erected on the tower called Kung-Pak-Lau. We saw four tubs containing water, which are placed on an inclined plane and connected by open spouts. The tube vary in size, the largest one being at the top. The water trickles from the one tub into the other. A copper dial resembling a carpenter's rule, with Chinese characters engraved on it marking its divisions, rests on a wooden float in the lowest tub. As this dial rises it shows the length of time expired. A man remains in the building night and day, for the purpose of giving the hour to the citizens of Canton. This he does during the day, by placing boards outside the clock tower, which are painted white, and bear large black Chinese characters marking the hour. A gong and drum are kept in the tower, by which the watchman makes known the various watches or hours of the night. A small shrine is placed immediately above the steps leading to the water clock, in honour of Pwan-Ku, who is described in Chinese mythology as having been the first man. As clothes were supposed to be unknown when he flourished, he is represented as wearing an apron or girdle of green leaves. He appears to be regarded as the tutelary god of the water clock.