AT WORK ON THE AEROPLANE
The following day the first box of material arrived from Kansas City,
and was taken to Mr. Giles' machine shop, which, having formerly been
the army stables, was a great deal larger than was needed for the
machinist's work, and he was able to give Hawke and the boys a roomy
space at the rear.
A box from Denver came on Monday morning, and in the afternoon there was
a consignment from New York. The engine was to be sent by freight from
Fort Omaha, and would take some time to reach Silver City, but, as Hawke
explained, it was the last thing to be used and the delay would not
matter.
By Wednesday morning, therefore, which was the day after the Fourth, all
was ready to go ahead on the aeroplane. The Fourth had been unusually
quiet for the boys because Herb could not take part in any active
festivities. While his injury had been slight, and was now practically
healed, his father insisted that he should remain perfectly quiet and
not become excited by unwarranted celebration. This was a hardship for
so active a boy as Herb, but to please his father he obeyed without
complaint.
As reparation, the rancher ordered a lavish display of fireworks from
Albuquerque, and in the evening the boys were entertained by an
exhibition that was worthy of young princes.
The exhilaration which followed this event, their sympathy for Herb, the
gratitude they felt for the generous rancher, and their eagerness to
solve the mystery of the Bread Pudding ranch, which was heightened by
the incidents of the last few weeks, coupled with their growing interest
in aviation, gave the boys an enthusiasm for the work of constructing
the biplane which guaranteed success.
Hawke set up his model in the shop for their guidance, and, desiring to
start them with fundamentals, he dissected the wing of a hawk, and, the
first thing Wednesday morning, explained to them the first principles of
plane construction, using the formation of the wing as an illustration.
"The early planes were straight," he explained, "but we have since
learned that the curved surfaces are far more efficient. Keep in mind
the idea of the bird, the shape of his wings, and you have the best
working basis for building a plane." The aviator believed, with some
other specialists, that examples taken from nature were the best sort of
instruction for the novice.
The materials were unpacked, including all necessary tools, and without
wasting much time on preliminaries, the boys set heartily to work.
"I am planning to equip this machine with swinging wing ends," said
Hawke. "This is something not used on many biplanes, but it will be
necessary to have them if we are to follow the maneuvers of a bird. If
the wing tips are made with a down curve at their ends, the result of
swinging them to the rear will be to increase the lifting power, while
at the same time reducing the resistance of the air to forward movement.
This would afford an ideal method of steering, being exactly like that
employed by birds."
Later, when work was begun on these wing tips, the boys fully understood
Hawke's theory.
Another innovation which Hawke planned for the machine was a mica window
in the forward part of the fuselage, which would enable them to see what
was passing below them, without leaning over or altering the angle of
the planes.
While the boys worked and followed directions, Hawke explained the parts
and their use on the machine. Fred and Fly proved themselves the most
accomplished at first, owing to their previous experience with mechanics
and aeroplanes. Gray also had a previous knowledge of the possibilities
of aeronautics, and it was not long before all of the boys were
intelligently working on Hawke's model and making progress.
Mr. Phipps rode over from the ranch almost every day to see them at
work, and was much pleased with the rapid advance his son was making.
Entirely recovered from the accident, Herb was as useful as any of his
companions, and, besides evincing a great deal of mechanical skill,
which he had never been called upon to display before, he readily
grasped the principles Hawke continually ground into his pupils.
"You see, Dad," Herb said, when the rancher had inquired, on the
occasion of one of his visits five or six days after work had been
begun, about the use of the propeller, the particular part on which Herb
was working, "the propeller is everything on an aeroplane. It's got to
be made just right, or the whole thing goes to smash. If it wasn't for
the propeller the machine wouldn't go at all," he finished triumphantly.
"Oh, indeed," remarked the southerner, an amused twinkle in his eye.
"And what's the reason for that?"
"Well, yuh see," replied Herb, seriously, not noticing the smile playing
about his father's mouth, and anxious to display his newly acquired
knowledge, "it's the thing that moves the machine forward, and it has
almost everything to do with the pitch and speed. The surfaces of the
aeroplane are called the skin, and there is some friction of air against
these surfaces, and that is called skin friction. Well, yuh see, the
propeller has to make the machine move through the air with the smallest
amount of skin friction. It has to travel through as large an amount of
air as possible in a certain time, and take as little power as possible.
Yuh understand?"
"Oh, yes," exclaimed the rancher, unable to restrain a short laugh. "How
about that, Hawke?"
"He's right," responded the aviator, slapping his young pupil on the
back. "He's got the dope exactly."
"Yes, but a good deal depends on the operator," chipped in Fly, who was
ambitious to excel as an aviator, and could scarcely wait until the
machine was finished to try his hand.
"I'm working on the box-girder," said Dunk, feeling called upon to give
an account of himself.
"What's that," asked Mr. Phipps indulgently.
"It's the part that really bears the greatest weight--a sort of a beam
with the weight in the center, fixed so it bears the load equally
distributed. You can see one on Hawke's model."
"And one of the important things," said Jerry, not to be outdone, "is to
build the plane so the guy wires remain taut, and the main spars, ribs
and struts are properly placed."
"Yes, and then we have to remember to build it as light as we can and as
strong as we can," put in Gray. "We want to go fast, but we don't want
accidents, so we can't make it as light as we'd like. Oftentimes we have
to make a part heavier to be sure it's strong enough."
Other technical information was glibly imparted when Captain Crawford
dropped in occasionally. Dr. Rivers also paid the shop frequent visits,
while the ladies did not neglect to show an interest in the work.
In fact, everyone in and about the fort shared the enthusiasm of the
young aviators, and the aeroplane got to be the most important topic of
conversation. Hawke was obliged to put a sign on the door of the shop:
"NO ADMITTANCE," in order to keep away the soldiers, Greasers, loafers,
and even Indians who had a habit of dropping in and interrupting the
work.
About eight days after construction started they were ready for a
hangar. As Mr. Phipps sent over two of his idle Greasers to erect this,
work on the aeroplane was not stopped. The shed was erected just north
of the machine shop, facing the old parade grounds, which was an ideal
spot for the first try-out.
"I'm anxious to test my new feature of equalizing the stress and
distribution of weight," Hawke explained to Mr. Phipps, who had come
over with the Greasers. "I want to be able to carry all of the boys, if
possible, and this is a difficult feat, for the greater the number of
passengers carried the greater is the tax on the stability of the
machine. The boys have shown such unusual ability in carrying out my
ideas, however, that I think I am going to be able to perfect the device
and prove its efficiency in a flight or two."
The day the hangar was completed, the engine arrived. A small truck
which Mr. Giles had in the shop was to be used in wheeling the aeroplane
out of the shop through the big middle doors of the stable, and into the
hangar.
"My, ain't she a beautiful bird," exclaimed Jerry, when they put away
their tools, and were proudly viewing the result of their work, for the
aeroplane was set up complete with the exception of the engine, and
stood mounted on the small wheeled truck ready for removal. A trial
flight was to be made in the morning.
"You can't beat that anywhere in the world," said Dunk, proudly.
"I almost feel as though she were alive," commented Herb.
"I must say you did a mighty fine job, boys," said Hawke, "and if she
flies as well as she looks, we'll put in our application for medals."
"Is there any chance that she won't fly?" asked Fly anxiously.
"You never know what a brand new plane is going to do," responded Hawke,
"and you're never sure till you're gliding safely up in the air, whether
or not all the cogs are in tight. But I don't think there's much danger
that this one won't fly."
"We'll steer straight for that old tower," said Jerry, "and see if we
can't roust out the Thunder Bird--or devil bird, whatever it is."
"Better watch for it some dark night near the sheep fold," suggested
Herb. "It's about due to be around here now. We haven't seen it for some
time. But another rancher several miles north of father says he's had
some sheep hurt and taken, so I suppose it's shifted its hunting ground
for a while."
"Gee, I'm awful anxious to find out just what it is anyway," exclaimed
Fred. "Certainly is a mysterious animal."
"Have you seen that old Indian snooping around here?" inquired Herb,
changing the subject. "I saw him a minute or two ago peeping in through
the door over there, but I didn't say anything at the time."
"Oh, I suppose he has some superstitious idea that this is a destroying
evil spirit we're building," said Carl. "Only I wish he would keep away.
The way he stands around and peers makes me nervous."
"He doesn't seem to pay any attention to the "No Admittance" sign,"
remarked Hawke, smiling.
"Suppose he can't read English," said Carl. "But I have a sneaking
suspicion that he can understand it. It's an old trick of the Indian to
stand around and look as innocent as a brick wall, and yet take in
everything you say."
"We've been talking a lot about the Thunder Bird lately," observed Fly.
"Maybe that's interested him."
"I wouldn't be surprised if he's planning some deviltry," Carl remarked
as they left the shop. "He's got some exaggerated notion about the
Thunder Bird already."
As they entered the parade grounds they saw the retreating form of the
strange Indian.
"I'll bet he's been listening," exclaimed Carl, a little disturbed.
"There's no tellin' what a half-cracked, superstitious Indian may get
into his head."