CHAPTER VII GLIDING AND CYCLE-SAILING A FUTURE SPORT FOR BOYS, THE

AIRMEN OF TO-MORROW (By Augustus Post.)

There is great popular interest in the problem of soaring, or flying as

birds do, without any apparent effort, and also in gliding flights, or

descending from a high altitude without the help of a motor.

Wonderful keenness of feeling on the part of an aviator, akin to that

remarkable sensitiveness which is exhibited by all blind people, may be

highly developed–for an aviator is just like a blind person in the air

as far as concerns seeing the eddies, gusts, and currents, which are so

dangerous to the balance of the machine–but the ability to advance and

go ahead against the wind is as far off as the wireless transmission of

power is to-day. It is necessary to have an up-current of air to enable

a machine to soar and it is necessary to find where these upward blowing

currents are. Any bicycle can coast down hill and a glider is only a

coasting aeroplane, and it may be as difficult to find the right air

current as to find a hill to coast down on a bicycle.

Great advances will be made in the art of aviation along the lines of

training men in the art of handling an aeroplane. No opportunity is so

good for this purpose as handling the machine as a glider with the motor

shut off, or by practise with a regular gliding machine. Boys will

naturally take to gliding, and as a glider was the first form of

flying-machine and the easiest to build mechanically, there is every

reason why sailing or soaring flights should be thoroughly mastered. The

instinct which birds have which enables them to seek out and to utilise

the rising currents of air in the wind and so to set and adjust their

wings as to enable them to take advantage of these rising currents, is

latent in the human mind and can be developed by practice to a point far

exceeding that of birds, on account of man's superior intelligence. It

is quite possible that some arrangement may be made by which an aviator

can see the air and can prepare for or escape conditions that are not

favourable to his manœuvres. It is clear that the wind gusts, swirls,

and turbulences exist in the air, for they are quite evident when we

watch a snowstorm and can see the snowflakes as they float, impelled now

in one direction, now another, or as we see dry leaves carried about by

a sudden gust of wind, or, even more clearly when over sandy plains we

can see the great columns of dust ascending in the center of whirlwinds

for hundreds of feet, carrying heavy particles to great heights. It is

quite possible that birds can see the air itself by some arrangement of

the lenses of their eyes which may either enable them to see the fine

dust particles or to so polarise the light that the direction of its

vibrations can be determined and the course of flight so changed that an

air lane favourable to the path of the bird can be followed and by

following out one stream lane among many, which has an upward trend

sufficient to counteract the falling tendency, the bird can remain at an

equal elevation.

Mr. Orville Wright has clearly demonstrated this to be possible by his

experiments lately made at Kitty Hawk, N. C., where he was able to soar

for ten minutes over the summit of a sand dune, so delicately adjusting

the surfaces of his glider to the up-trend of the wind that he was

falling or descending at the same speed that the wind was rising, and

thus he seemed to stand still over one spot on the ground. After

increasing his descent and approaching the ground, he was able by the

delicacy of adjustment of his controls to change the relation in such a

manner that the wind rising overbalanced the descending of the machine

and he was carried backward and upward to the crest of the hill again,

where he remained for a short time before again gliding downward to the

level ground below. In the same manner that a boat sails against the

wind by the force of the wind blowing against the sail, which is placed

at an angle to it and which resists sidewise motion by the pressure of

the water against the hull of the boat, a glider with horizontal sails

set at the proper angle will also sail into the wind which blows against

its surfaces and which makes the path of least resistance a motion

forward and slightly descending with relation to the direction of the

wind, but which, in the case of an upward moving current of air, may be

a path rising in respect to the ground.

The development of skill in this art will come by practice, and young

men will follow out the ideas and suggestions of the more experienced

until we will have small, light, flexible machines with such sensitive

control that, with small motors to enable them to rise or to get from

one place to another, much as a bird flaps its wings when necessary to

add a little to the power which it gets from the wind itself, or in

rising from the ground, will be able to sail around and glide on the

strength of the wind for hours at a time.

The clever aviator or real birdman with his keen instinct cultivated to

a state of perfection, fitted with polarising glasses possibly, may seek

out and utilise the various powers that are present in the air;

adjusting his wings so that he will be supported by the upward motion of

the air itself where it exists, or, by turning on his motor, moving from

one rising column of air to another, upon which he may hover and circle

around, steering clear of all those other air lanes which are leading in

some other direction.

These glasses, by showing where the air waves are all of one direction,

may reveal a current flowing in one way, while they may make great

masses of air flowing in some other direction appear as of some other

colour, say red, for instance; or, again, in another direction, all may

look green, and it will only be necessary to keep where all is pure

white.

Entirely new types of machines have been recently constructed in France

called "aviettes" and "cycloplanes." These are machines like gliders

which are mounted on bicycle wheels and small aeroplanes with wings

which have aerial propellers turned by the pedals which drive them along

the ground and through the air.

A contest was held in France in June, 1912, for a prize offered by the

Puegeot Bicycle Company for the first machine of this type to fly a

distance of about forty feet and later a second prize for the first

machine to fly over two tapes one meter three feet nine inches apart and

four inches high. Both of these prizes were competed for by machines

without any motor and driven solely by man power. Over two hundred

entries were received by the promoters of the contest, but no one

accomplished the flight on that date of the public contest. Three days

afterward, however, Gabriel Paulhain succeeded in winning the prize put

up for the second test. He flew eleven feet nine inches on his first

trial and ten feet nine inches on the second, which was made in the

reverse direction.

There seems to be great interest in this form of human flight, which was

the original way of attacking the problem of flight itself. When the

gasoline motor was perfected mechanical flight followed very quickly and

was rapidly developed to a high degree of practicability. It is possible

that with encouragement human flight may also become more common than it

now is.

PART V EVERY-DAY FLYING FOR PROFESSIONAL AND AMATEUR BY GLENN H. CURTISS

WITH CHAPTERS BY AUGUSTUS POST AND HUGH ROBINSON

CHAPTER I TEACHING AVIATORS HOW AN AVIATOR FLIES

Teaching another man how to fly is a very important matter, in whatever

way you look at it.

You can take a perfect machine and select ideal conditions and let

everything be right for making a flight and then it is directly up to

the pupil–he must do the operating of the machine, no one else can do it

for him. In a single passenger machine, the instructor can clearly show

how it is done and then the other fellow must do it. The trick in

learning to fly is self-confidence and that must be gained by personal

practise. Any man who wants to fly badly enough can fly.

Almost all of the aviators that have flown and are now flying Curtiss

machines, like Hamilton, Mars, Ely, McCurdy, Beachey, and Willard and

the army and navy aviators, have been practically self-taught although

now we have a regular school under the supervision of Lieut. J. W.

McClaskey, U. S. M. C. (retired), who has had great success with his

pupils. I have been flying for over four years and I feel that I don't

know much about it yet.

The would-be aviator should go to a good school where the best

facilities can be had and where there is a good large place to fly,

without obstructions. The machine should be thoroughly mastered and

every part understood. Training a man to fly does not, as I regard it,

consist in putting him in an aeroplane and letting him go up before he

knows how to get down again. Anybody may be able to go up in an

aeroplane, but it requires skill and practice to come down without

damage to man or machine.

HOW TO FLY

An aeroplane is supported in the air by its wings. These are placed at a

slight angle to the direction in which it goes so that the front edge is

slightly higher than the rear edge. This tends to push the air downward

and the speed of the aeroplane must be great enough to skim over the air

before it has a chance to flow away. You may have had the experience of

skating over thin ice which would bend beneath your weight as long as

you kept moving, although it would have broken if you remained in one

place. This is precisely the same phenomenon, and as the water has not

time to flow away underneath from the thin ice so the air is caught

under the surfaces of the wings and the machine passes on gathering new

air as it goes to support it, faster than the air can flow away. A

curved surface is better than a flat one and to find just the proper

curve to be most efficient at the speed at which the machine is to fly

is a very difficult problem and must be determined by very careful

laboratory experiments.

The various flying machines have different ways of accomplishing the

control of the rudders for steering to the right or left, and up and

down, for a flying machine is different from all other vehicles in this

one respect. In addition to the steering, the machine must be balanced,

and as the air is the most unstable of all mediums, how to maintain the

equilibrium becomes perhaps the most important point in the construction

of an aeroplane, as well as the most necessary one for the aviator to

master. This is accomplished in various ways and is the characteristic

feature of the different machines.

The Curtiss machine is considered one of the simplest of all. When it is

remembered that Mr. C. F. Willard, my first pupil, learned to operate a

machine with hardly any instruction it would seem that the mere learning

to operate should not be a serious obstacle to overcome. If the air is

still and there are no wind gusts to strike the machine sideways and

upset it, flying is easy, but if the air comes in gusts and is rolling

and turbulent even the best and most skilful operator is kept busy

manoeuvring the front rudder and endeavouring to keep the machine headed

into the wind, and when it tips, moving the side controls to maintain

the balance. With all of these movements it is no wonder that the

aviator's mind must be active there is no time to think, every movement

and act must be absolutely accurate and the body must be under full

control.

The operator sits on a small seat just in front of the lower main plane;

directly in front of him is a wheel which he can push out or pull back.

Pushing the wheel out turns the elevating surfaces so that the machine

points down. On the other hand, pulling the wheel toward you points the

machine up, causing it to rise higher into the air. Turning the wheel to

the right or left steers the machine to the right or left in the same

manner as a boat is steered by turning its rudder.

The operator now must consider how to balance the aeroplane. On each

side at the extreme outer ends of the machine are placed small

horizontal planes so hinged at their front edge that they may be turned

up or down. They are connected together in such a manner that when one

points up the other points down, thus acting as a "couple"; wires

connect these stabilising planes to the movable back of the pilot's

seat. This has a yoke which fits over the shoulders of the operator.

When the machine tips to the left the aviator naturally leans to the

right or the highest side and the lever is moved to the right by the

pressure of the shoulder. This causes the left hand stabilising plane to

be pulled down so that it offers its surface at an angle to the wind and

exerts a lift on its side while the right hand plane is turned the

opposite way, which causes it to exert a depressing effect on its side;

this tends to right the machine.

The operator must use his feet also for there is a pedal for the left

foot which operates the throttle of the engine, causing it to go faster

or slower, and one for the right foot which operates a brake on the

front wheel, which helps to stop the aeroplane after it has landed and

is running over the ground on its wheels.

THE FIRST STEPS

It is necessary to know every detail of the machine–every bolt, nut and

screw, and the purpose each serves in the economy of the whole. It is

absolutely essential for the successful aviator to know his motor. The

motor is the heart of the aeroplane, and keeping it in good order is

just as necessary to the aviator's safety as is the keeping of his own

heart strong for any emergency that he may be called to face.

After becoming familiar with its workings, so that it becomes second

nature to make the right movements, get into the machine and when the

air is perfectly still run it over the ground. When there is no more

novelty in the sensation and the machine is in a good position to get up

speed you raise the elevator a little and try making short jumps into

the air. The other pupils standing in a group at the end of the field

are usually hoping and praying that you will not smash the machine

before their turn comes and so cause delay until it is repaired.

In San Diego, there was great rivalry between the Army and the Navy.

Witmer and Ellyson used to get up by sunrise and go over to the island

and take out the old machine we used for teaching, which was nicknamed

"Lizzy." They did this secretly because there was only one machine and

they did not want the Army to smash it and so keep them down on the

ground. After making their practice, they would go home and come back

later, pretending that it was their first appearance.

When the officers began their schooling they fell steadily into my way

of looking at the problem, and not one of them spared himself bruised

hands or grimy clothing. For the first ten days I did not offer them a

chance even to give the motor its full power while they were in the

aviator's seat. After they had worked around the aeroplane long enough,

however, and were familiar with all its details, they were allowed to

make "runs" over the half mile course, straight-away.

That is, they took their seats in the machine in turn, the propeller was

started, and the machine propelled along the ground on its wheels, like

an automobile, without being able to rise. To prevent the machine rising

while one of the men was in it, the throttle of the engine was so

arranged that it only got half power, which was not sufficient to give

it lifting power, but enough to drive it along on the ground at twenty

or twenty-five miles an hour. This "grass cutting," as the boys soon

dubbed it, gave them the opportunity to become used to the speed and the

"feel" of the machine. It also taught them to steer a straight course by

using the rudder and the front control, and to practise balance by the

use of the ailerons. After a few days of these runs the throttle was

given full vent, allowing full speed on the wheels, but the propeller

was changed to one without the usual pitch. Thus, while the engine would

drive the aeroplane at full speed on its wheels, this propeller did not

have enough thrust to lift it from the ground. In this way the military

pupils got the advantage of the speed, acquired balance, and adjusted

their control to suit it, without the danger of getting up in the air

too soon.

A little later, when they had thoroughly accustomed themselves to these

conditions, still another propeller was put on. This one had just

sufficient pitch to lift the aeroplane from the ground, when well

handled, and it would make "jumps" of from twenty to fifty feet at a

height of a few inches or, perhaps, a few feet.

These jumps served still further to develop the ability of the men to

control the machine and perfect their balance, and it gave them the

first sensation of being in flight at high speed, though not high enough

to do any great damage should one of them be so unlucky as to smash up.

A smash-up was what we particularly wished to guard against at all

times, not only because of the cost of repairs and the delay, but

largely because an accident, even though it may do no injury to the

aviator, may seriously effect his nerves. I have known of beginners who,

while making rapid progress in learning to fly, suffered a complete

setback just because of an unimportant accident to the machine in

flight, or in landing. Eagerness to fly too soon is responsible for many

of the accidents that befall beginners. An ambitious young man may

become thoroughly convinced after a few jumps that all he needs for

making a long and successful flight is the opportunity to get up a

hundred feet or so. The first chance he has, he goes up as he had

planned, and unless he is lucky or an exceptionally quick thinker, the

odds are that he will smash up in getting back to earth again.

I have never seen any one more eager to fly, and to fly as quickly as

possible, than were these officers. Probably they were following the

military bent of their minds or, perhaps, it was the enthusiasm of the

pioneer in a new science.

As a rule, the mornings at San Diego are fine. There is seldom any wind

during the forenoon, except when one of the winter rain storms blows in

from the ocean. We tried to get in as much work during this calm period

as possible. The mornings were found to be the best for doing this work.

It was most desirable, not to say necessary, that the pupils should have

a minimum of wind during their early practice work. Even the lightest

wind may sometimes give serious trouble to the beginner. A gust may lift

the aeroplane suddenly and then just as suddenly die out, allowing the

machine, should it be in flight, to drop as quickly as it rose. Such a

moment is a critical one for an inexperienced man. He feels himself

dropping and unless he keeps his head clear, he may come to grief

through doing too much or too little to restore his equilibrium.

In the practice work all the officers, as well as two private students,

C. C. Witmer of Chicago and E. H. St. Henry of San Francisco, used the

same machine. This was one of the older types of biplane, with

especially strong wheels, and with a four-cylinder engine. This type was

selected as best adapted to the strain of heavy work. It had sufficient

power, under its regular equipment, to fly well, but had not the very

high speed of the latest type, fitted with eight-cylinder engines. For

beginners, I consider the four-cylinder machines the best.

While most of the practice runs and jumps were made during the hours of

the forenoon, when there was little or no wind, there was plenty of work

on hand to fill in the afternoons as well. We were all the while

experimenting with various devices, some of them new, others merely

modifications of the old. All of these, whether new or old, involved

many changes in the equipment of the aeroplanes. There was seldom a time

when at least one or more of the four machines we kept on the island was

not in the process of being taken down or set up. Besides, there was the

long series of experiments with the hydroaeroplane, which were carried

on from day to day without affecting the regular practice work.

These frequent changes in motor, propeller, planes, or controls, were

always taken part in by the officers. Thus they became acquainted with

everything about an aeroplane and knew the results produced by the

changes. I consider this the most valuable part of their training.

All this "building up" process, as it may be called, that is, building

up a thorough knowledge of the aeroplane until every detail is known, I

believed to be necessary. I proceeded on the theory that confidence is

sure only when the aviator has a thorough understanding of his machine,

and confidence is the absolute essential to the man who takes a trip in

an aeroplane. If the aviator has not the knowledge of what to do, or

what his machine will do under certain conditions, he would better not

trust himself in the air. Once the men learned to make the runs and

jumps successfully and to handle the machine with ease and confidence,

they were ready for the next stage of their training before they could

be trusted to make a flight. This was to go as passengers. For the

carrying of a passenger, I chose the hydroaeroplane.

This machine was not equipped with wheels for landing on the earth, when

I first began to use it, but had all the equipment for starting from or

landing on the water. We had built a hangar for storing it at night

close down to the water on Spanish Bight, which gave us the smooth

shallow water for launching it and hauling it out with ease.

First, the men were taken in turn as passengers for runs over the

surface of the bay. On these runs I made no attempt to rise from the

water. I wanted to give the men time to accustom themselves to the new

sensation of skimming over the water at forty miles an hour, for that is

the speed at which I was able to drive the hydroaeroplane. The machine

would skim along under full power, with the edge of the float "skipping"

the water as a boy skips a stone on a pond.

After this I undertook short flights, taking each officer in turn as a

passenger, and keeping within fifty or a hundred feet of the water. At

intervals I would make landings on the water, coming down until the

float touched the surface, and then getting up again without shutting

off the power. When these flights had been made for several days and the

men had accustomed themselves thoroughly to the sensation of being in

flight, I believed they had progressed far enough to be taken up for

longer and higher flights over both land and sea. In these flights I

used a machine equipped for landing on both land and water with equal

safety.

One of the most important things that should be developed in the

beginner, and, at the same time, the most difficult, is the sense of

balance. Every one who has ever ridden a bicycle knows that the sense of

balance comes only after considerable practice. Once a bicycle is under

way the balance is comparatively easy, but in an aeroplane the balance

changes with every gust of wind, and the aviator must learn to adjust

himself to these changes automatically. Especially is a fine sense of

balance necessary in making sharp turns.

Some aviators develop this sense of balance readily, while others

acquire it only after long practice. It may be developed to a large

extent by going up as a passenger with an experienced aviator. I have

noticed that it always helps a beginner, therefore, to make as many

trips as possible with some one else operating the aeroplane. In this

way they soon gain confidence, become used to the surroundings, and are

ready for flights on their own hook.

One by one the officers were taken up as passengers on sustained flights

until they felt perfectly at ease while flying high and at great speed.

The machine I used for passenger-carrying practice work was capable of

flying fifty-five miles an hour without a passenger, and probably fifty

miles an hour with a passenger. This speed gave the men an opportunity

to feel the sensation of fast and high flying, an experience that

sometimes shakes the nerves of the amateur.

All this took time. As I have said elsewhere, I did not want to force

the knowledge of aviation upon the young officers. Bather, I wanted to

let them absorb most of it, and to come by the thing naturally and with

confidence. It was much better, as I regarded it, to take more time, and

give more attention to the little details, than to sacrifice any of the

essentials to a too-quick flight.

The men who had been detailed to learn to fly, I assumed, would be

called upon to teach other officers of the Army and Navy and, therefore,

they should be thoroughly qualified to act as instructors when they

should have completed their work at San Diego. This is the view they

took also, I believe, and I never saw men more anxious to learn to fly.

During the last period of instruction, when the men had gone through all

the preliminaries; when they had learned how to take down and set up a

Curtiss aeroplane; knew the motor, and how to operate it to the best

advantage; in short, were thoroughly acquainted with every detail of the

machine, they were ready for the advanced stage of the work. This was to

take out a four-cylinder aeroplane for flights of from three to ten

minutes' duration at various heights.

My instructions to all of the men were never to ascend to unaccustomed

heights on these practice flights; that is, not to venture beyond the

heights at which they felt perfectly at ease and capable of handling the

machine, and to make a safe landing without danger to themselves or to

the machine. These instructions were obeyed at all times. Perhaps the

caution exercised at every stage of the instructional period had had its

effect on the men and they felt no desire to take unnecessary chances.

When they were able to fly and to make safe landings in a four-cylinder

machine, I considered that I had done all I could do to make aviators of

them. I had tried not to neglect anything that would prove of benefit to

them in their future work things I had had to learn through long years

of experiments and many failures. In other words, I tried to give them

the benefit of all my experience in the many little details that go to

make the successful aviator.

Given the proper foundation for any trade or profession, the intelligent

man will work out his own development in his own way. I could only start

the men along the road I believed to be the easiest and safest to

travel; they had to choose their own way and time to reach the goal.

It has been a pleasure and satisfaction to work with the officers of the

Army and Navy. Their desire to learn the problems of aviation,

intelligently applied, has made the work easier than I had anticipated.

The many little annoyances that often beset us are forgotten in the keen

satisfaction of having been of some service to the men themselves, and

above all to our War and Navy Departments.

A BULLETIN ISSUED AT THE CURTISS AVIATION CAMP

The course is divided into six parts or stages.

1st. Ground work with reduced power. To teach running in straight line.

2nd. Straightaway flights near the ground, just sufficient power to get

off.

3rd. Straightaway flights off the ground at a distance of ten or fifteen

feet to teach use of the rudder and ailerons.

4th. Eight and left half circles and glides.

5th. Circles.

6th. Figure eights, altitude flights and landings without power and

glides.

In the above stages of instruction the men should learn the following

about flying:

FIRST STAGE

Learn to run straight, using rudder and keeping on the ground. The idea

is to be able to control under reduced power. Student must be kept at

this continuously until he is perfectly at home in the machine and

accustomed to the noise of the motor and the jar and movement of the

machine on the ground. This practice should be kept up from one to two

weeks, depending upon the ability the student shows in handling the

machine in this part of the instruction.

SECOND STAGE

Motor throttled, but with sufficient power to allow the student to jump

the machine off of the ground for very short distances. Care must be

taken in adjusting the throttle to allow for wind conditions, otherwise

machine may be shot up into the air suddenly and the student lose

control of it. Student should be also instructed during these jumps to

pay attention to the ailerons to keep the machine balanced. The throttle

can be gradually let out to full as soon as the student begins to

acquire the use of the ailerons and keeps good balance.

THIRD STAGE

Student should be instructed to rise fifteen or twenty feet from the

ground in straightaway flights, and use rudder slightly in order to

become accustomed to its use and its effect on the machine in the air.

As soon as the student has accomplished the above he may be permitted to

rise to the approximate height of one hundred feet if the field is large

enough and to glide down under reduced power. When he has done this

successfully many times, let him repeat the above gliding with motor cut

out completely.

FOURTH STAGE

Student may be permitted to rise to the height of twenty-five to fifty

feet and make half circles across the field to the right and then to the

left. These circles should be shortened or sharpened with increased

banking on turns until they are sufficient for any ordinary condition or

case of emergency.

FIFTH STAGE

The student may be permitted to rise to a height of not less than fifty

feet, and if the field is sufficiently large, permitted to make long

circles, gradually shortening these circles until the shortest circle

required is reached. Student should be cautioned not to climb on the

turns. He should be instructed to drop the machine on the turns, thus

increasing the speed and lessening the possibility of slipping side wise

in banking. He should be instructed to land as nearly as possible on all

three wheels at once. This may be accomplished by flying or gliding as

close to the ground as possible and parallel to it, then slowing the

engine and allowing the machine to settle to the ground.

SIXTH STAGE

In making figure eights for pilot's license, student should try to climb

as much as possible on the straightaways between the turns and drop

slightly on the turns. In making glides from high altitudes where motor

is voluntarily cut off, it is best to start the gliding angle before the

power is cut off. In case the motor should stop suddenly, the machine

should be plunged instantly if machine is at sufficient altitude and

considerably sharper than the gliding angle, in order to maintain the

head-on speed, and then gradually brought back to the gliding angle.

A DAY AT HAMMONDSPORT–NOTE BY AUGUSTUS POST

The Curtiss Aviation Camp at Hammondsport broke all records on June 22,

1912, by the number of flights made in a day. In all, two hundred and

forty flights were made. One hundred and twenty-six of these were with

the practice machine called "Lizzie" and constituted straight flights

for the length of the field and half circles. Sixty-four flights were

made with the eight-cylinder practice machine, and consisted of half

circles, circles, and figure eights. The other sixty flights were made

with the hydroaeroplane.

The twelve students who made these flights, some of whom were taking the

course in the hydro and land machine both, expressed themselves as

pretty thoroughly tired out at the end of this strenuous day's work. One

hundred or more flights are made practically every day in the week, but

the twenty-second being a particularly fine day, this new record was

made.

The day's flying used up a barrel of gasoline and four gallons of

oil.–A. P.

CHAPTER II AVIATION FOR AMATEURS

The man who contemplates buying an aeroplane for his own use will be

especially interested in three subjects: First, how difficult it is to

learn to fly; second, how long it takes to learn; and third, what is the

cost of up-keep. By difficult I do not mean dangerous; any one who has

gone far enough to consider owning and operating a machine knows and

discounts the element of danger, and as to cost, it is easy to get

figures on the first cost of an aeroplane; what the investigator would

like to know is what it is likely to cost him for maintenance, breakage,

and so on.

With a competent teacher and if ever competence was necessary it is here

learning to fly is neither difficult nor dangerous. Six weeks ought to

be time enough to teach one to fly, provided the pupil knows something

about motors and is apt in other ways. Contrary to popular belief,

reckless daring is not one of the requirements for success. Indeed, a

man who applies for a position as aviator with the announcement that he

is a daredevil afraid of nothing under heaven, is very likely to be

rejected for this very reason, and a pupil who has the common sense to

know that there is no especial point in defying a quite impersonal force

like gravitation will get up a much better start than one who has so

little caution that he wants to get up in the air too soon. Caution is

the great thing for the beginner. Let him learn the machine first from

the ground and on the ground, learn the controls and find out what to do

when he shall be up in the air. Then let him learn how it feels to run

over the ground on the wheels. Then he will begin to make "jumps,"

little ones, then longer and longer, until he is free of any fear of the

air. This comes sooner with some than with others, and it is said that

in some rare cases fear of the air never exists at all, for the great

aviator, the star performer, like any other great man, has to be born

with certain qualifications and a good many of them. There is no reason,

with the advancing improvement in the flying machine, why almost every

one with a real desire to fly should not be able in a comparatively

short time to learn to do so.

As for the third point, it will cost no more to keep an aeroplane than

to own an automobile. The initial cost is the greatest. Of course, there

are the same qualifications that obtain with the automobile the cost of

up-keep will depend upon whether you have many and serious breakages and

whether the owner looks after his own machine. Should the owner prefer

to hire a competent mechanic, his wages will be about the same as those

of a first-class chauffeur. As for smash-ups, the expense of these would

be considerable, but not as much as it would be if an automobile should

have an accident. For contrary to the ideas of a good many of the

uninitiated, it is quite possible to injure an aeroplane, and quite

seriously, too, without in the least hurting the aviator. In this

respect the hydroaeroplane is of course safest of all; I am reminded of

a recent accident at Antibes, near Nice, France, where Mr. Hugh

Robinson, who was demonstrating a Curtiss hydroaeroplane, suffered a

badly wrecked machine without the least injury. Forced to make a quick

landing, he chose, in order to avoid a flock of motor boats filled with

spectators, to dive directly into the water. The shock threw him out of

the machine and he swam about unconcernedly until a motor boat picked

him up. Of course a similar sharp contact with the solid ground would

have wrecked the aviator to some extent as well, but it is possible to

put a hydroaeroplane completely out of commission, necessitating

expensive repairs, and not be more than shaken up.

Really there is much less danger of smash-ups than the outsider would

think, provided the aviator is a careful driver. The main thing is to

have great judgment in choosing a time for flights. An inexperienced

aviator should never take up his machine in an unsteady wind of greater

velocity than ten miles an hour. The less wind the better, for the

beginner. The dangerous wind is the puffy, gusty sort, and this should

be avoided by any but the most experienced aviator. It must be

remembered, however, that it is the variations and not the velocity of

the wind which causes trouble.

Another item of expense to be taken into consideration is the

transportation of an aeroplane from one place to another, for it does

not always go on its own wings. This, however, is neither difficult nor

expensive. I am able, for example, to take down my machines and pack

them in specially constructed boxes so that they take up but a

comparatively small space for shipment. The setting up process is not

difficult, nor even complicated, and can be performed by any one having

had the proper instructional term at a first-class aviation school. An

illustration shows an aeroplane, in its case, carried on an automobile.

With regard to safety as a steady, every-day means of transportation,

all of us, in and out of the profession, know that, as Mr. Hudson Maxim

has said, to make the aeroplane a common vehicle for, say, the commuter,

"It must be improved so that flights shall become more a function of the

machine and less a function of the aviator." At present a great deal

depends upon the man who is flying especially upon his quick and

accurate judgment and his power to execute his judgment instantly and

automatically. The man who buys an aeroplane to fly knows this

beforehand and takes it into account; indeed it is a question whether,

if the flying machine were as safe as a rocking-chair, there would be so

much fascination about it; but while the aviator will always have to

take into account, no matter how the mechanism may be improved, a

certain element of danger that must attend it, he may as well remember,

to quote Mr. Maxim once more, that "the tenure of life of no

automobilist is stronger than his steering gear."

It certainly is not looking too far ahead to forecast the entrance of

the aeroplane into the commuter's life. The great mass of the people

certainly will not take the air-line, any more than they are now coming

in by automobile every morning, and yet how many business men–and not

necessarily the richest–do make the trip, that twice a day they used to

take in a railroad car, in the open air, with the exhilarating breezes

of their own automobiles? Perhaps not these same business men, but a

corresponding class, will undoubtedly reduce the dull hours of train

travel by half and turn them into hours of delight by the popularisation

of aeroplane transportation. As has been the case with every means of

transportation that has shortened time of travel, the habitable zones

around cities will grow larger and larger as places hitherto

inaccessible open before the coming of the swiftest form of

transportation known to man, and the only one not dependent upon the

earth's surface, whether mountain, swamp, or river, to shape its course.

If we had a course only a few hundred feet wide from New York to St.

Louis or Chicago, aeroplanes could go through every day and there would

be little danger; indeed, even as things are now, it would be a much

safer method of travel than by automobile, as well as of course much

faster. Long lanes with grass on each side and an automobile highway in

the middle would be of the greatest advantage to both forms of travel.

In crossing mountains on the downhill side an aeroplane could glide for

long distances at an angle of one to five, so that if the elevation were

a mile high it could glide five miles before landing. And on the up-hill

side it could of course land immediately and with ease.

To return to the amateur, it is always better to go around an object

that you can not land on immediately. Landing is indeed one of the most

important points for the amateur aviator to consider. If it is possible,

watch all accidents and study them closely. I take every means I can to

learn what causes an accident so as to guard against it myself. Strictly

speaking almost everything about the art of aviation is being learned by

experimentation and the causes of accidents, while not always exactly

ascertainable, are of the greatest interest to builders and operators of

flying machines, for out of the accidents of to-day often come the

improvements of to-morrow.

While learning, and indeed whenever possible, you should examine the

ground before attempting to fly over it. The pupil should inspect every

inch of the course over which he is to fly, by walking carefully over

it, noticing all the holes and obstructions in the ground. Then should

it be necessary to land, for any cause whatever, he will know

instinctively where to land and what to avoid in landing. Keep away from

other aeroplanes, for the wind-wash in their wake may tip up your plane

and cause serious trouble.

My advice to the amateur begins and ends with one injunction: "Go slow."

Yes, for more than a month, "Go slow." It is hard to resist the

temptation to try to do stunts; with a certain amount of familiarity

with your machine, so that you feel you could do a great deal more than

you are doing, and with some experienced and confident performer all but

turning somersaults with his machine over your head, to the delight of

the crowd, it is hard to resist giving one's self the thrill that comes

from taking a risk and not being caught, but you will do the stunts all

the better for going slow at first.

Mr. Charles Battell Loomis, the late American humourist, said once, in

talking about the opening of the fields of air:

"It was thought that the automobile was a machine of danger, but the

aeroplane has made it comparatively safe. A man in an aeroplane a mile

above the earth, taking his first lesson all by himself, is in a

perilous position. He has not one chance in a thousand of ever owning

another machine.

"A man who will fly over a city full of hard-working people is a selfish

brute. Until a man is absolutely sure of himself he should always fly

with a good-sized net suspended beneath his machine.

"The man in the street has always hated new things. He hated

velocipedes, then bicycles, then safeties, then automobiles, then

motorcycles, but he has not yet learned to hate the aeroplane. But wait

until monkey wrenches begin to fall on Broadway or beginners begin to

fall on the man in the street. Then he will be mad at the aeroplane–if

there is anything left of him."

Allowing for the humorous exaggeration, there is this element of truth

in this that mechanical flight has as yet a strong element of

uncertainty.

Yet there are certainly wonderful stunts to be done with a flying

machine, and the fun is as much in the effect on the flier as on the

audience; perhaps even more so. I would fly for the mere sport if I were

not in the business, for there is a fascination about flying that it is

unnecessary to explain and difficult to resist. You can chart currents

of the sea, but the wind is such a capricious element that though there

are, so to speak, outline maps that could be made of the general

direction of the winds, there will always be a certain uncertainty about

their conduct. Nevertheless there are so much greater possibilities in

flying than in any other of the arts, that it is no wonder the amateur

wants to develop them. And in conclusion I can say that an aeroplane in

perfect condition is as safe as an automobile going at the same

speed–*and I mean it!*

CHAPTER III HOW IT FEELS TO FLY (By Augustus Post.)

There is no one question that people ask more often than: "How does it

feel to fly!" Perhaps a passenger feels more keenly the sensations of

flight than an aviator because his mind is not taken up with the

operation of the controls.

As for the passenger, he climbs into the flying machine, takes his seat

beside the operator, and becomes at once the centre of interest to all

the people standing by. If he is himself an aviator it is another

matter, but if it is his first experience in the air, he is usually the

object of a certain shuddering admiration, not unmixed with envy.

The motor is started, making a terrific noise that almost deafens him,

and quite drowns the parting speeches and the efforts of the funny men

present to improve the occasion. With perfect calm, without the least

excitement, the aviator listens to the noise of the motor; he hears it

run and carefully notes the regularity of the explosions. When all is

ready, he waves his hand the signal for the man holding the machine to

let go. The machine runs along the ground, gathering speed, bounces a

little, so that one hardly knows when it leaves the ground; the front

control is raised, and the machine is in the air.

You feel the rushing of the wind, and things below seem dancing about

down there. The machine keeps its exquisite poise in the air, sensitive

to the slightest movement of the control. As it rises, the forward plane

is turned a little down, and as the machine varies in its elevation, the

plane is turned to bring it back to the level; it tips a little to one

side and the aviator moves, as it were instinctively, to correct the

balance. The rush of the wind by your face becomes more violent, and the

machine pitches and balances as if it were suspended by a string or by

some unseen force which holds it up in the air.

[Illustration: (A) AUGUSTUS POST FLYING AT THE FIRST HARVARD-BOSTON MEET]

(B) AN AEROPLANE PACKED FOR SHIPMENT–POST DRIVING

[Illustration: CURTISS' PUPILS]

(A) J A D McCurdy racing against automobile, Daytona Beach. (B)

Lieutenant T. G. Ellyson, U. S. N. (C) Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Atwater,

pupils at San Diego.

When the flight nears its end and the machine flies low over the

aviation field, the fences and trees there seem in a moment to be

rushing to meet one. The planes are pointed downwards, the machine

descends, is caught up again by the control, and glides along level with

the ground, skimming just above the grass. The wind moves it a little

side wise, perhaps, but the pilot, with the rudder, straightens the

machine around until it points right into the wind's eye and the wheels

are parallel with the direction of the machine over the ground. The

control now causes the machine to come lower until the wheels strike the

ground it rolls along bounces a little over the rough field the brake is

set, and the machine comes to a stop.

The aviator jumps down, the passenger climbs out with somewhat less

agility, perhaps, and expresses his very hearty thanks, the plane is

turned around, the propeller started, and the machine flies off again,

leaving the passenger to tramp slowly through the grass, contemplating

the insignificance of the human creature who is forced to walk humbly

along the ground. You may remember that the first time you descended

from an automobile and began to walk, you seemed to yourself to be only

marking time.

This new experience, though of the same nature as that, is far more

impressive; not alone the difference in speed, but the whole character

of the motion the altitude, the rushing wind, the sense of something

long awaited and now realised sets the sensation of flight apart from

any other, and makes him who once experiences it resolved to repeat the

experience as soon and as often as possible.

The passenger is at once the object of eager inquiries as to how he

felt, and he usually makes it his business to express his satisfaction

whenever asked and sometimes without being asked, so there is little

wonder that aviators are besieged by applicants for rides. A few months

ago a lady who had been a passenger in an aeroplane was certain to get

her picture in the papers; now there are so many that it would be

difficult even to keep a record of them.

Now that we are coming to regard the aeroplane seriously, more from the

practical and less from the grandstand side, it may be noted without

fear of loss to gate receipts, that its dangers have been greatly

exaggerated. Rational flight is hardly any more hazardous than motor

speeding, steeple chasing, and many other sports, not to mention

football! Engines stop and planes split, but steering gear breaks and

horses stumble. Danger lurks everywhere, but we disregard it because the

chances are long in our favour.

The real danger in aviation lies in the chances men take as desire lays

hold upon them; chances the dangers of which they fully realise, but

disregard for various causes. There are so-called "holes in the air,"

but they are hardly more numerous than gullies in the road. High wind is

dangerous, but the aviator can often avoid its perils if he will.

Briefly, aviation confined to its now well-defined limitations, is a

thoroughly rational sport.

The "queer" sensation of flight comes in a quick rise, dip or short

turn, and you can experience the same sensation in the elevator of a New

York sky-scraper, Ferris wheel, shoot-the-chutes or even the back yard

swing, for that matter! Dizziness from height is not experienced, for

one sees the landscape spread out from high up and afar off, as if from

a sheltered balcony; the tendency is not to look down but away.

While the rush of air is tremendous, it is not disagreeable, and one

even forgets the deafening, unmuffled motor in the indescribable joys,

mainly because of the wondrous charm and variety of the landscape which

we have known only in detail, ignorant of its beauty as a mass.

Apprehension, shuddering, gruesome, childish apprehension perhaps, at

the starting, replaced by profound security as mastery, perfect mastery,

is apparent; a sense of joyous freedom following as the marvellous world

below is revealed. Like an exquisite monotone in low relief it is, each

note of colour with its value and in perfect harmony with the whole;

ever subtly changing, always some new surprise, some unexpected

revelation, lifting one on the wings of exaltation.

The popular literary vehicle of to-day, rivalling the "fairy coach of

Cinderella," is without question the alluring aeroplane, fitted with all

the latest improvements: tachometer, inclinometer, animometer,

barograph, aneroid, compass with map holders, lights, and all the modern

conveniences and aviation equipment, including a wire-less telegraph

outfit, having shock absorbers for landing and an enclosed limousine

cabin with mica or celluloid windows, in which not only can our spirits

be wafted about, but in which we may enjoy all the material comforts of

speedy travel, free from present annoyances and inconveniences, and

without requiring the inflated rubber suits which Mr. Rudyard Kipling so

kindly provided for his passengers on board the now famous "Night Mail."

Vehicles of this description already exist and an "aero-bus" has carried

as many as thirteen passengers besides its driver. It is confidently

predicted that twenty passengers will soon be carried in an aeroplane at

one time.

There is no doubt but that in flying the higher faculties are called

into play. No such elaborate preparation is necessary for learning to

drive an automobile, but some instruction is usually found necessary

when learning how to balance a bicycle for the first time and until

confidence is secured, as is also the case in learning to swim. A good

chauffeur does not necessarily make a good aviator even though he have

exceptional ability as a driver of racing automobiles, although I think

that an aviator might make a good driver of a racing automobile. This

seems to indicate clearly to my mind that there is some additional

quality required in flying. I know of one case where a successful

automobile builder and driver killed himself on account of desperation

over the fact that he could not master flying.

Actors and men with a keen sense of feeling seem to do well in the air.

They seem to get the "feel of the air," or to have the delicate sense of

touch which is required to handle an aeroplane among the illusive

vagaries of the atmosphere, and to be able to sense its rapid action and

feel its ever-changing conditions almost before they take effect. One

must be absolutely en rapport with his machine, as an expert horseman is

part of his horse or his horse is part of him; such a rider stands out

from all the rest, a beautiful sight to see and an expression of the

poetry of motion; such also is the manner of the master at the piano,

whose very soul is in tune and vibrating with every subtle and rich

harmony of the instrument, feeling at the same time the ever-changing

mood of his audience as he sways them or is swayed by them in turn,

keeping in close sympathy with their thoughts as well as suggesting to

their minds the trend that they shall take.

AVIATING AND BALLOONING

The sensations which an aviator has during great flights of both

duration and altitude are somewhat comparable to those of the balloon

pilot[9] who sails in the sky far above the earth, feeling a peculiar

realisation of the immediate presence of the Supreme Being, overwhelmed

with the magnitude of the universe, with a sense of being a part of it,

untrammelled, unaffected by ordinary things, surrounded with

extraordinary conditions, supersensitive and yet keenly realising, now,

matters of vast importance; now, minutely weighing his life in his hands

as if it were something far removed from himself; breathing an air full

of vigour and inspiration, with a sense of exaltation pervading every

cell of the body is it a wonder that men enjoy such delights and really

live only when they can cast off mere existence and rise either to the

contemplation of such experiences by reading and thinking about them or

to a full realisation of these experiences by actually trying them out

personally? Such moments, rapidly passing moments each going to make up

our individual life are usually but too few.

Is it then a wonder, that, after actual days of such vivid living, upon

descending to earth or coming back among people, one should look at

those who gather around about one as some kind of lower order of animal,

that it should take a few moments to feel their presence gradually

dawning upon him, and to bring his faculties slowly back where they can

begin to understand what these bystanders are thinking and talking

about?

This seems but a dream, but is in reality an actual experience of a

return to earth after two days spent in the air and a visit to regions

over four miles above its surface, much of the time out of sight of this

dear old sphere, when ears had become unaccustomed to sound, and so

impaired by the change of pressure due to the high altitude that we

could not, for some time after landing, hear when spoken to. Our own

voices rang hollow and stuck in our throats, and our thought had become

unattuned to those expressed by the gaping, wondering crowd, struck dumb

at the sight of our arrival, and standing like cows in the pasture when

you walk among them.

Such is the state of mind in store for the airman, the artist, the

thinker, the person desiring to become isolated for a while to feel as

Adam felt in all reality, when he stood in the midst of the garden of

Eden, monarch of all he surveyed. This appeals strangely to the

imagination but when it becomes a reality by virtue of actual

experience, it also becomes a sensation most difficult to express; for

so few people understand what you are talking about, few having had the

sensations of being removed from this world and coming back again to it.

CHAPTER IV OPERATING A HYDROAEROPLANE (By Hugh Robinson.)

The general impression among aviators and manufacturers of aeroplanes is

that the hydroaeroplane is rapidly becoming the flying craft of the

future, by reason of its ease of control, extensive bodies of water upon

which to operate it, and, above all, its safety.

It is practically impossible for the operator of a hydroaeroplane to

suffer injury in case of accident. Even in the worst kind of an

accident, the most that can happen to the operator is an exhilarating

plunge into salt or fresh water as the case may be, with the beneficial

effects of a good swim if so desired, otherwise, the operator may "stand

by" the wreckage, which cannot possibly sink. The several pontoons,

together with the necessary woodwork to construct the planes, etc.,

furnish ample buoyancy to support the machine and operator even in case

of a total wreck, which rarely ever happens. One can bang down upon the

water with a hydro in any old fashion, and beyond a tremendous splash

nothing serious happens.

Of course, this article refers entirely to the Curtiss hydroaeroplane,

which I have been operating since its invention. The Curtiss pontoon is

divided into six water-tight compartments, three of which will support

the machine under average conditions. Recently, while the writer was

abroad, a demonstration was made of these compartments for safety in

case of accident to any part of the pontoon.

This demonstration took place at Monaco, and consisted in removing the

drain plugs from two compartments, after which the hydro with pilot and

passenger was pushed out into the harbour and allowed to stand thirty

minutes to let the opened compartments fill with water, after which the

motor was started and a flight made without the slightest difficulty.

The operation of a hydro is very similar to that of the ordinary land

machine–only, if anything, considerably easier and more simple. The

start of the hydro is simply starting the motor while the hydro is

resting on the land or bank of the lake or river, with the front towards

the water. The operator takes his place, and on opening the throttle

gradually the thrust of the motor slides the apparatus along the ground,

or planks if ground be unsuitable, and into the water. The pontoons

being fitted underneath with steel shod runners makes it possible to

start on rocks, gravel, or in fact most any reasonable surface. The

finish can be made in the same manner, without assistance.

It is possible to start the hydro on dry land if the surface is

reasonably smooth, with the assistance of one or two mechanics. It is

also possible, in an emergency, even to land on the earth with the hydro

pontoon attachment; and, of course, with wheels attached to the landing

gear, one can come down on land as with the ordinary type of machine.

Once out upon the water, the operator rapidly increases his speed by

opening the throttle, taking care, however, to accelerate gradually, to

allow the pontoon to mount the surface of the water without throwing an

unnecessary amount of water into the propeller. Once a speed of

twenty-five to thirty miles an hour is obtained, the pontoon skims

lightly over the surface of the water. As the ailerons do not become

effective until the machine acquires considerable speed, the small

floats on the lower ends of wings maintain the balance until necessary

speed is acquired. The small flexible wooden paddles on the lower rear

ends of the wing tanks slide over the water and exert a great lifting

effect, thus rigidly preserving the balance on the water at slow speeds

or standing, and also preventing damage to wings in case a bad landing

is made whereby one wing strikes the water first. In such a case,

instead of the wing digging into the water, the paddles cause a glancing

blow which levels the machine automatically.

When the machine has acquired a certain speed it leaves the water in

exactly the same manner as on the land and immediately increases its

speed, due to the released friction from the water. It also has a slight

tendency to jump into the air due to the released friction between the

boat and water. Once into the air, the operator is the same as with the

regular land-equipped Curtiss aeroplanes.

The landing is made in the ordinary manner, bearing in mind to keep the

boat as near level fore and aft as possible, and if the water be very

rough to allow the tail of the machine to settle on the water first.

This will prevent any possibility of sticking the front of the boat into

an unexpected wave.

As should be the case with any aeroplane, it is advisable to start and

land against the wind if there be much, but this is not compulsory. The

hydro may be landed even while drifting sideways, in an emergency case.

It is obvious that to do this with a land machine would be to invite

disaster.

The writer saw a forcible demonstration of the one and two pontoon types

of hydros during the Hydroaeroplane Meet in France, and he had the only

machine there with the single pontoon, and also the only one able to go

out on rough water. He successfully made flights and landings in waves

six to eight feet high, whereas three hydros of the two pontoon type

were wrecked in waves less than two feet high. The single

pontoon-equipped hydro may be dragged out on the banks any place where a

space two feet wide may be obtained, and on my recent trip down the

Mississippi, I had occasion to rejoice in this fact and put it to a

practical test, as I was hauled out on shores between large rocks or

stumps in several instances. The turning of the hydro is accomplished by

simply turning the rudder and leaning towards the turn, the same as on a

bicycle, allowing the motor to run on reduced or half throttle.

The exhilaration of flying a hydro cannot be described on paper. It is

the fastest motor boat in the world, and to be able to approach a launch

and jump over it and observe the consternation of the passengers is the

keenest pleasure imaginable.

The hydro may be used solely as a motor boat if desired, at a speed of

sixty miles per hour, without a drop of water ever touching its

passengers, or if weather be favorable, flights may be made at will of

the operator.

The surface of a river or lake offers the ideal condition for landing or

starting an aeroplane, and these are more numerous than suitable grounds

for land machines, besides this the air conditions over water are always

better than over land, due to its unbroken surface, which does not

obstruct the air currents as do trees, houses, etc., on land.

An automatic safeguard exists in the hydro to prevent accidents, such as

has caused the loss of lives on land, and that is as follows:

It is possible to rise in an ordinary land machine with too little power

to make a turn or climb fast, and as a result get a bad fall. Owing to

the fact that there is a suction between the water and the pontoon it

requires more power actually to leave the water than to fly once the

plane is in the air. This fact prevents a hydro taking flight with too

little reserve flying ability, and once in the air the operator may be

sure of a considerable reserve of power to enable him to fly strongly

and safely under all conditions.

PART VI THE CURTISS PUPILS AND A DESCRIPTION OF THE CURTISS AEROPLANE

AND MOTOR BY AUGUSTUS POST

CHAPTER I PUPILS

All great masters have been represented by pupils who have done honour

to their teacher and have achieved personal success in a large measure.

Mr. Curtiss is no exception to this rule, for he has taught more than a

hundred pupils.

There have been representatives of all classes and all nationalities.

The list includes all trades and professions, from horse trainers to

bankers. And in all these have been pupils from thirteen nationalities

including Russians, Germans, French, Canadians, Scotch, Irish, English,

Japanese, Indians, Cubans, Mexican, Spaniards, and Greeks.

Instruction has been given in all languages, including the sign

language. Some nationalities are naturally a little harder than others

to instruct, largely because of national characteristics of thought, and

also for the reason that in a southern climate those native to it are

often unaccustomed to the rapid action necessary at times in flying.

Negroes have not yet as a class taken to aviation, but there is one

Chinaman in California, Tom Gun, who has been successful as an aviator.

But conspicuous among the list of pupils is the number of Army and Navy

officers of our own, as well as of foreign countries, that have

graduated from the Curtiss School.

Hydroaeroplane operation has also been taught to a number of pupils both

at Hammondsport, N. Y., and at San Diego, California, where the training

camps are located.

The life that the pupils lead at these schools is most interesting and

healthful. The students get up early, sometimes at four in the morning,

when it is just light enough to see and when the air is usually calm and

the best conditions for learning to fly exist. Pupils are outdoors

practically all day, flying, or working on the machines when any thing

breaks or goes wrong. Many pupils have engaged in exhibition flying

after completing their course of instruction, and among the large number

of very excellent aviators that have followed in Mr. Curtiss' wing beats

(for you can hardly say foot steps) have been some of the foremost

aviators in the world and men whose fame and exploits are household

words to-day.

A partial list of some of these men at present active in the field is

here given:

Chas. F. Willard, Hugh Robinson, Chas. K. Hamilton, J. C. Mars, C. C.

Witmer, E. C. St. Henry, Lincoln Beachey, Beckwith Havens, Lieut. T. G.

Ellyson, U. S. N.; Capt. P. W. Beck, U. S. A.; Lieut. J. H. Towers, U.

S. N.; William Hoff, J. B. McCalley, S. C. Lewis, C. W. Shoemaker, W. B.

Atwater, Al. Mayo, Al. J. Engle, J. Lansing Callan, G. E. Underwood,

Irah D. Spaulding, C. F. Walsh, Carl T. Sjolander, Fred Hoover, E. C.

Malick, Ripley Bowman, T. T. Maroney, C. A. Berlin, H. Park, W. M.

Stark, E. H. McMillan, F. J. Terrill, Francis Wildman, F. J. Southard,

Lieut. P. A. Dumford, W. B. Hemstrought, Earl Sandt, E. B. Russell,

Lieut. J. E. McClaskey, W. W. Vaughn, Barney Moran, M. Kondo, J. G.

Kaminski, Mohan Singh, K. Takeishi.

[Illustration: CURTISS' PUPILS]

------------------- --------------------------------- ------------------

Beckwith Havens C. C. Witmer Cromwell Dixon

Chas. K. Hamilton J. A. D. McCurdy Chas. F. Walsh Chas. F. Willard

------------------- --------------------------------- ------------------

[Illustration: LINCOLN BEACHEY FLYING IN GORGE AT NIAGARA]

(Insert: Portrait of Beachey)

Among those in this list who have done wonderful things, it might be

interesting to mention some of the marvellous feats of daring as well as

a few of the achievements of Lincoln Beachey, who is credited with being

the greatest exhibition aviator in the world.

At the meet in Chicago in the summer of 1911, Beachey flew more miles

than any other aviator. He flew all the time and was in the air during

all the flying hours in one contest or another. He did all the special

tricks in the air that were known, he carried passengers, won speed

races, and established a new world's altitude record at 11,642 feet.

After flying as high as he could, at Chicago, with a seven gallon tank

full of gasoline, Beachey came down and said: "To-morrow I'll go

higher." He had a ten gallon tank fitted to his machine, filled it full

up to the top, and started right up from where his machine was standing

on the ground, so as not to waste a drop of gasoline, and flew up and up

until it was completely exhausted and his motor thus compelled to stop,

but not until he had set the world's record at 11,642 feet. He

deliberately started out on this trip to climb up as long as his fuel

would last. He knew his motor would stop and he would have to glide

down. It was not an unintended glide but it was the longest glide on

record. He brought out all the points and possibilities of his machine;

distance, speed, weight-carrying, and altitude. Wilbur Wright said:

"Beachey is the most wonderful flyer I ever saw and the greatest aviator

of all." Calbraith P. Bodgers said upon his arrival at Los Angeles after

flying across the American continent, a distance of over four thousand

miles, "Beachey's daring flight down the gorge of Niagara and through

the spray of the falls was a greater achievement than mine." Beachey has

been remarkably free from serious accidents even though now he pitches

straight down from the sky, seeming to fall straight to the earth and

just catching his machine up in time to avoid striking the earth.

At Hammondsport on July 29th, 1912, Beachey was trying out a new model

military type and he ascended six thousand five hundred feet in fifteen

minutes, while he came down in one minute, making one of his

perpendicular dives with the engine still. The whistling of the wind

through the taut wires of the machine could be heard half a mile away.

On this occasion one of the lady visitors to the testing grounds, who

had never seen Beachey fly before, thinking that he was falling and

would surely strike the ground and be dashed to pieces, fainted. Beachey

said, "Flying did not come to me at first but it seemed to come all of a

sudden and then it came big."[10]

Once Beachey had to land in a very small place surrounded with trees and

the only way he could do it with the fast machine that he was driving

was to kill its speed in the air by skimming over the trees, shutting

off his motor, and gliding along to the place where he wanted to stop,

and then pointing the machine up suddenly, very much as a bird comes to

a stop, and then "pancaking" down, as it is called when you come down

"kerflop" like a pancake.

Beachey broke a wheel by this performance and he has worried over that

little breakage as much as another man would over smashing up a whole

machine.

Beachey flew from New York to Philadelphia in company with Eugene Ely

and Hugh Robinson in August, 1911, winning the first inter-city race to

be held in the United States.

Among the skilled operators of hydroaeroplanes is Mr. Hugh Robinson who

flew down the Mississippi River in the spring of 1912, carrying mail and

covering the river course between Minneapolis, Minn., and Rock Island,

Ill. Mr. Robinson also went to France in May of 1912, and competed in

the first contests and races ever held in this new sport at Monte Carlo.

Since his return to America, Mr. Robinson has been the instructor in

hydroaeroplaning at Hammondsport.

CHAPTER II A DESCRIPTION OF THE CURTISS BIPLANE

No type of aeroplane is more familiar in America than the Curtiss

biplane. By long experimentation, this machine has been developed for

practical use; and is now used for military purposes in Russia, Japan,

Italy, Germany, France, and the United States. The machine is of the

general type known as "biplane," in which there are two sets of wings,

or surfaces, one being directly above the other. This type of machine

seems to be the most favoured by Americans, for it not only allows of a

greater spread of lifting surface for a given width of plane than in the

monoplane, or single-wing type, but also it is much stronger than other

machines of the same weight, as its design permits of a system of

bridge-trussing known as the "Pratt Truss." In the Curtiss machine this

feature is especially pronounced, because of the greater safety which

rigid planes have when compared with the flexible wings.

The woodwork of these aeroplanes is entirely of selected spruce and ash,

all the posts, beams, and ribs being laminated. The propeller is a

particularly difficult piece of laminated work, being built up of from

twelve to eighteen layers of thinly cut wood, while the upright posts of

the central section are made up of ash and spruce, the heavier and more

flexible wood forming the core. A feature of strength is to be found in

the double trussing which is placed in all of the vital parts of the

aeroplane, where the greatest strength is required. All this trussing is

made with a cable of galvanised steel wire tested to withstand a pulling

strain of nearly half a ton.

Transportation and military use have been especially considered in the

construction of the planes. The upper and lower planes are made up of

interchangeable panels, which are so joined together that the machine is

easily assembled and taken apart and may be transported compactly in two

flat boxes which scarcely make one full wagon load, as indicated in an

illustration in this book.

The wing-panels are made up with a light and strong wooden framework

covered with cloth especially made and treated with a rubber coating for

the purpose. The curved ribs are laminated also and the panels held

together by a system of trussing which gives them great strength. These

panels are covered both top and bottom.

Light and strong bamboo rods extend to the front of the main planes,

supporting the elevator or forward horizontal surface, which acts as a

rudder to steer upward and downward. Similar bamboo rods at the rear

support the vertical rudder and rear elevators and stabilising plane.

Front and rear elevators work in conjunction with each other so that as

the front of the machine is directed up, the rear of the machine is

depressed by the two rear elevators, called "flippers" from their

resemblance to these appendages of a seal or a turtle, each of which is

controlled by an individual set of cables, so that if one should break

or get out of order the other may be used independently. The front or

rear elevators are sufficient to maintain the fore and aft balance of

the machine in flight, so if anything happens to one the other will

enable a safe landing to be made. Some aviators take off the front

elevating plane entirely, relying solely upon the two rear ones for

horizontal control.

The elevators and the vertical rudder are manipulated by a single

steering post at the top of which is the steering wheel. Turning the

wheel to the right or left steers the aeroplane to the left or to the

right as a boat or an automobile is steered, while pushing the wheel

forward directs the machine downward and pulling the wheel causes it to

rise, a system of control in accord with the natural impulse of the

operator.

To maintain the lateral balance of the aeroplane, there are small

movable planes, or "ailerons," attached at the ends of the main

framework, midway between the upper and lower planes, at the rear. These

ailerons are so arranged that the front edge remains in the same

position; while one swings upward, the other swings downward, at the

back, thus giving an upward pressure of air on the under side of the

one, while the other is depressed by the air which strikes it on top.

This movement is controlled by a movable back to the aviator's seat or a

frame or yoke which fits around the shoulders of the aviator in such a

way that he moves the ailerons to the proper position when he leans to

the high side of the aeroplane as it tilts and is thus able

automatically to correct its balance.

The motors with which the military and cross-country models are equipped

are of the eight-cylinder "V-shaped" type, developing sixty and eighty

horse-power. The propeller is attached directly to the motor shaft, thus

doing away with any necessity of gearing, which consumes power,

increases the risk of breakage, and decreases reliability. The speed of

the motor is controlled by a throttle opened and closed by a movement of

the left foot.

The seat for the aviator is placed well forward of the main planes,

giving him a clear view not only ahead, but also straight downward. On

the military model, a passenger-seat is provided immediately beside that

of the aviator, and a dual system of control makes it possible for

either passenger to operate the machine independently of the other.

[Illustration: 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.

[Illustration: 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.

The aeroplane is mounted upon a three-wheeled chassis with one skid

extending from front to rear, the whole landing gear being built strong

and rigid to withstand the shock of landing, the most dangerous part of

flying.

Elaborate tests are made of the different parts of the machine; the

panels forming the surfaces are tested by loading them with gravel until

they break and weighing the amount of gravel heaped upon them before

they give way. These tests have shown a factor of safety in excess of

any strain that could be put on the machine in the air.

The strain on the various wires and cables is also measured, with a

special instrument made for that purpose, as seen in an illustration.

Every conceivable test has been tried which could give information that

would lead to any improvement in strength to withstand strains, in

addition to the complete knowledge that has come from actual tests under

all conditions in the air, and on the ground itself, by expert flyers

who have done almost everything that it is possible to do with the

machine as far as trying to find its weak point is concerned. Dives

almost straight down with abrupt turns at the end of the drop put many

times the ordinary strain on every part. Rough landings also show up any

lack of strength or fault in the design of the running gear or frame of

the machine, especially since this machine is not provided with any

springs or other device for taking up the shock of a bad landing.

CURTISS AEROPLANE PARTS–A COMPLETE LIST[11]

1, Engine Section Panel; 2, Wing Panel; 3, Wing Panel, Sparred Beam;

4-5, Aileron, Right & Left; 6, Tail; 7-8, Flipper, Right and Left; 9,

Rudder; 10, Front Control, Elevator only; 11, Hydro Front Control,

Elevator only; 12-13, Fin, Top & Bottom; 14-15, Non Skid Surface,

Headless & Large.

BAMBOOS

16-17, Front, Upper, Right & Left; 18-19, Front, Lower, Right & Left;

20, Front Cross Tie, Headless; 21-22, Front Bamboo Brace, Right & Left;

23-24, Rear, Upper, Right & Left; 25-26, Rear, Lower, Right & Left; 27,

Push Rod Bamboo, 45"; 28-29, Bamboo Post, Short & Long.

30, Full Set Rear Bamboos, Wired Complete; 31, Full Tail Equipment,

consisting of Rear Bamboos, Posts, Tail, Rudder and Flippers.

POSTS

32, Wing Panel, 3/8" x 2 3/4" x 54 1/2"; 33, Wing Panel, 3/8" x 2 3/4" x

60"; 34, Engine Section, 1 1/2" x 2 3/4" x 54 1/2"; 35, Engine Section,

1 1/2" x 2 3/4" x 60”.

DIAGONAL ASH BRACES, FROM FRONT WHEEL TO ENGINE BED

36-37, Diagonal Ash Brace, Tinned, Right & Left; 38-39, Diagonal Ash

Brace, Left & Right; 40-41, Diagonal Ash Brace, Tinned & Ironed, Left &

Right.

DIAGONAL SPRUCE BRACE, FROM FRONT WHEEL TO WING PANEL

42-43, Diagonal Spruce Brace, Left & Right; 44-45, Diagonal Spruce

Brace, Ironed, Left and Right; 46, Skid; 47-48, Engine Bed, not Tinned,

Right & Left; 49-50, Engine Bed, Tinned, Right & Left.

ENGINE BED POSTS. BRACES AND TUBING BRACES ABOVE LOWER PLANE

51-52, Engine Bed Post, Front, Right & Left; 53-54, Engine Bed Post,

Rear, Right & Left; 55-56, Engine Bed Brace, Front, Lower, Right & Left;

57-58, Engine Bed Brace, Rear, Lower, Right & Left; 59-60, Engine Bed

Brace, Rear, Upper, Right & Left; 61-62, Engine Bed to Surface, Rear,

Upper, Right & Left; 63, A Brace to Surface, Front, Upper; 64, Cross Tie

Brace under Upper Surface; 65-66, Aileron Brace, Upper, Right & Left;

67-68, Aileron Brace, Lower, Right & Left; 69-70, Seat Post, Right &

Left; 71-72, Carburetor Brace, Right & Left.

CHASSIS BRACES. FORKS AND TUBING UNDER LOWER PLANE

73, Cross Tie Rod, Lower, Under Lower Surface; 74, Long Span Brace, Rear

Wheel to Rear Wheel; 75-76, Skid Fork, Right & Left; 77-79, Vertical

Fork, Front & Rear, Right & Left; 80-81, Leader Fork, Rear, Right &

Left; 82-83, M Brace, Right & Left; 84, Y Brace; 85, V Brace, Front,

Skid to Diagonal; 86, V Brace Spreader and Bolt, Front; 87, Brace,

Center, Skid to Diagonal; 88, V Brace, Center, Skid to Double Seat; 89,

V Brace, Rear, Skid to Diagonal; 90-91, Combination Foot Throttle &

Brake, Single & Dual.

92, Brake Shoe; 93, Brake Shoe Hinge; 94, Brake Shoe Lug; 95, Brake Shoe

Spring; 96, Steering Column, Single; 97, Steering Wheel, Spider, Fork

and Bolt; 98, Steering Wheel, Spider, Fork & Column, Assembled & Wired;

99, Steering Column, Dual; 100, Steering Wheel, Spider, Fork & Bolt,

Dual; 101, Steering Wheel, Spider, Fork, Bolt & Column, Assembled &

Wired, Dual; 102, Foot Rest; 103, Push Rod, Metal, with Swivel End,

Dual.

104, Seat, Single; 105, Seat with Fittings for Shoulder Yoke, Single;

106, Seat, Complete with Shoulder Yoke, Whiffle-tree Case and

Whiffle-tree, Single; 107, Seat, Double; 108, Seat with Fittings for

Shoulder Yoke, Double; 109, Seat, Complete with Shoulder Yoke,

Whiffle-tree Cases and Whiffletree, Double; 110, Seat, Passenger; 111,

Seat Supporting Brace, Passenger; 112, Rear Beam Reinforcing Plates.

113, Cable, 1/32"; 114, Cable, 1/16"; 115, Cable, 3/32"; 116, Cable

Casing; 117, Short Circuiting Switch; 118, Snaps, 3"; 119, Main Plane

Socket; 120, Main Plane Socket, Wired Complete; 121, Main Plane Plate;

122, Aileron End Wire Connection; 123–124, Aileron Cross Wire Clamp &

Clip; 125, Aileron L; 126, Aileron Post Lug; 127, Aileron Brace Wire

Connection; 128, Aileron Corner Wire Guide; 129, Aileron Corner Pulley,

3"; 129, Aileron Pulley, 3".

131, Bamboo Curved Rudder Wire Guide; 132, Skid Safety Wire Connection;

133, Copper Sleeve; 134, Tin Thimbles; 135, Diagonal Ash Brace Iron;

136, Diagonal Spruce Brace Iron; 137-138, Engine Bed Post Plate & Wire

Connection; 139, Engine Bed Bolt; 140, Fin L Irons; 141, Fin Hinge;

142-143, Front Control Bracket & L Iron; 144, Hydro Front Control, Brace

Lug; 145-146, Hydro Front Control Supporting Post, L & R; 147-148, Hydro

Front Control, Supporting Post Lug, Left & Right; 149-150, Hydro Front

Control Push Rod & Bracket; 151-152, Hydro Front Control Post & Diagonal

Brace; 153, Hydro Splash Boards.

154-155, Flipper Post & Wedge; 156, Flipper Hinge; 157, Flipper Wire

Guide, Straight; 158, Rudder Swivel; 159, Curved Corner Wire Guide; 160,

Rudder Lever Clip; 161, Rudder Wire Connection; 162, Rudder Wire Guide,

Curved; 163-164, Terminals, Short & Long; 165, Turnbuckles; 166, Wheel,

20" x 4", Complete; 167, Wheel, 20" x 4", Less Tire; 168-169, Wheel, 20"

x 2 1/2", Complete & Less Tire; 170, Inner Tube, 20" x 4"; 171, Casing,

20" x 4"; 172, Tire, 20" x 2 1/2"; 173, Axle.

174, Gas Tank, to Attach to Engine Bed; 175, Bamboo Brace Clip; 176,

Flexible Gasoline Pipe; 177, Radiator; 178, Radiator Brace; 179-180,

Propeller, Bolt & Tinned; 181, Propeller, Complete Not Tinned; 182, Cap

Screw, Nickel Steel, 5/16-24 x 1 3/4; 183, Cap Screw, Nickel Steel,

5/16-24 x 2 1/4; 184-185, Spring Washer, 1/4 x 3/16 & 5/16 x 3/8; 186,

Wing Pontoon, Complete; 187, Pontoon Paddles; 188, Hydro Drain Plug;

189, Hydro Braces; 190-191, Hydro Spacing Tube & Bolt, Short & Long.

CHAPTER III THE CURTISS MOTOR AND FACTORY

The history of the Curtiss motor goes back to the early days at

Hammondsport; it was the keynote of the development of the motorcycle,

the airship, the aeroplane, and the hydro. From a crude single-cylinder

engine used on an experimental bicycle, the motor has developed to an

eight-cylinder engine giving over eighty horsepower, on which the

reliability of the Curtiss aeroplane is dependent. Indeed, flight

itself, in the history of the world, was delayed until the development

of the gas engine made it possible to get a power that was applicable

for this purpose, and one that was, at the same time, light enough.

To describe the motor intelligibly to one who has had no

acquaintanceship whatever with gas engines would require many chapters,

but to those who have ever examined automobile, marine, or other motors,

the following technical data will give an idea of the distinctive

feature of this aeroplane motor.

MOTOR DESIGN AND MATERIAL.

Crankshaft:

The crankshaft is supported in five bearings of more than ample size. It

is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to design a shaft which will

be light enough for aeronautical purposes, and still be sufficiently

rigid without a special support. The propeller end of the shaft is

supported in two places eleven and three-eighth inches apart, at one end

in a plain bearing two and seven-sixteenth inches long and at the other

in a combined radial and thrust ball bearing of ample size. This

construction is stronger than is the case where the propeller is mounted

immediately behind the last main bearing proper or even in some cases

carried at a distance of several inches from the bearing without

support. Any lack of mechanical or thrust balance is multiplied and

transmitted directly to the last crank throw, the tremendous racking and

twisting strain thus occasioned causing ultimate failure.

The crankshaft is made of imported Chrome-Nickel steel, properly heat

treated. This steel, particularly after heat treatment, has an enormous

tensile strength combined with a very high elastic limit and great

resistance to fatigue and crystallisation.

Connecting Rods:

The connecting rods are machined from a solid Chrome-Nickel steel

forging, heat treated. The body of the rod is tubular, which cross

section gives a maximum strength with minimum weight. Rough forging

weighs five pounds; finished weight one pound eight ounces.

Piston:

The piston is long enough to give sufficient bearing surface to sustain

the side thrust from the connecting rod and at the same time weighs but

two and one-half pounds. The domed head, with properly placed ribs,

assures strength. The piston pin bearing is seven-eighth inches diameter

by two and three-fourth inches long. Reversing common practice, the pin

turns in the piston instead of the rod end, as considerable gain in

bearing surface is thus made.

Engineers will appreciate that with a combined piston and rod weight of

four and one-half pounds, the strains from twenty-two hundred reversals

of motion per minute at normal speed are very slight.

It has three rings together with fourteen oil grooves aiding the rings

in retaining compression and assisting the oiling. All pistons are rough

turned and then thoroughly annealed before grinding, to insure against

warping in service.

The piston rings are of clean springy iron, ground all over. As a ring

must be tight on the sides as well as where it comes in contact with the

cylinder, there must not be a variation in width of over a quarter

thousandth of an inch.

Cylinder:

The cylinder is symmetrical in design, insuring even expansion without

distortion.

Valve-in-the-head construction gives an efficient shape of combustion

chamber; the compact charge fired in the centre giving quick, complete

combustion, and the large valves give free ingress and egress for the

gases.

The water jacket is brazed to the cylinder-casting autogenously, the

metal being a composition of nickel and copper known as "Monel" metal,

which is proof against corrosion.

Cylinders are bored, ground and finished by lapping, to get a glass

smooth surface.

Water Circulation:

The water circulation is so carried out that all cylinders are cooled

equally, the water pump being divided by a partition which passes water

in equal quantities to each set of four, thus avoiding any possibility

of a steam-trap on one side causing all the water to pass through the

other side. The pump is driven from the crankshaft by a floating joint.

The pump shaft is made of a carbon spindle steel.

A portion of the hot water is returned through the carburetor water

jacket, which is essential with present day gasoline, particularly in

cold weather or high altitudes.

Lubrication:

The lubrication is a combined circulating and splash oiling system. A

gear driven oil pump submerged in the oil pan forces a constant stream

of filtered oil through the hollow cam shaft bearing, thence to each

individual cam shaft bearing, thence to the main crankshaft bearings

whence it is forced through the hollow crankshaft and cheeks to the

crank pins, the surplus replenishing the oil pan into which the rods

dip, thus oiling the cylinder walls by splash and also filling oil

pockets on each main bearing, as an additional insurance against their

running dry.

The pump is driven off a bevel gear integral with the crankshaft and is

of the gear type, being without valves or moving parts other than two

simple spur gears. It is entirely enclosed in a fine mesh screen through

which the oil must pass to reach the pump.

Valves:

The valves have cast-iron heads reinforced with a perforated steel disc

embedded in the cast iron, the whole being electrically welded to a

carbon steel stem. The cam shaft is hardened and ground and cams formed

integral with the shaft. The cam contour is also ground, the valve

timing being exactly the same in each cylinder.

[Illustration: CURTISS MOTORS]

(A) The first Curtiss aerial motor; used In Baldwin dirigible. (B) Motor

used in both the "White Wing" and "Red Wing." (C) Motor of 1912.

[Illustration: AT THE AEROPLANE FACTORY, HAMMONDSPORT]

(A) Testing aeroplanes. Gravel on reversed planes tests strength; scale

shows wire-strain. (B) Assembly room of factory.

Castings:

The majority of non-moving parts, including the crank case, are cast of

special aluminum alloys. Recent laboratory tests have shown tensile

strengths of as high as fifty thousand, five hundred pounds per square

inch.

Weight:

The weight of model "A" motor alone is two hundred eighty-five

pounds–three and eight-tenth pounds per horse-power. The weight of power

plant including propeller, radiator, and necessary connections is three

hundred forty-seven pounds.

Note that the forty horse-power cylinder motor weighs one hundred

seventy-five pounds and gives a thrust of three hundred ten pounds when

equipped with a seven foot diameter by six foot pitch propeller turning

at nine hundred revolutions per minute. The pitch speed of the propeller

at this rate is in excess of a mile a minute.

Gas-Consumption:

The consumption of gas is three-fourths pint per horse-power per hour.

The engine can be throttled and consumption reduced in nearly direct

ratio to the horse-power developed.

Consumption on full throttle per hour is seven and one-fourth gallons

gasoline and one gallon of oil. The oil capacity of the small pan is

four gallons; of the large pan, six gallons.

Testing and Power:

Each engine is given an extended run with propeller load. After giving

the required standing thrust at the proper speed, the engine is

completely torn down for inspection and carbon removed. After

assembling, it is given a second test on a water dynamometer, which

gives the horse-power developed.

Miscellaneous:

Few people realise that the aeronautical motor is subjected to usage

equalled by few internal combustion engines. The average car engine is

seldom run on full throttle for extended periods. The marine engine is

ordinarily a very heavy, slow speed machine. The aeronautical motor, to

run at the high speeds under full load demanded to-day, must of

necessity be designed with this fact in mind, and particular attention

paid to numerous weaknesses apt to develop under this treatment.

Adding to the above the necessity for minimum weight while still

retaining a sufficient factor of safety in all parts, it is evident that

an aeronautical motor must be designed as such and not be a modified

edition of an automobile engine with a few pounds removed here and

there.

PARTS OF CURTISS MOTOR–A COMPLETE LIST.

1-5, Breather Pipe Cap Screw & Flange, Collar, Cap & Clip; 6, Ball

Bearing (Radial); 7-8, Crank Case, Upper Half & Lower Half; 9-10, Crank

Case Bolt, Small & Large; 11, Crank Shaft.

12, Cam Shaft; 13-15, Cam Shaft Bearing, Front, Centre, & Rear; 16, Cam

Shaft Bearing Sleeve, Rear; 17-18, Cam Shaft Gear & Retaining Screw;

19-20, Cam Shaft Bearing Clamping Screw, Centre, & Retaining Screw; 21,

Cam Follower Guide Stud; 22, Cam Follower Guide Screw; 23, Cam Follower;

24-25, Cam Follower Guide & Plug.

26, Cylinder; 27, Cylinder Tie Down Yoke; 28-29, Cylinder Stud, Long &

Short; 30, Cylinder Stud Nut; 31-32, Connecting Rod & Bolt; 33,

Connecting Rod Bolt Nut; 34, Compression Tee for Oil Pipe; 35,

Compression Coupling Sleeve; 36-37, Cable Holder & Screw; 38-39, Cable

Tube & End; 40-41, Cable Tube Clip & Screw; 42, Carburetor Water Pipe

Clip.

43, Exhaust & Inlet Valve; 44, Exhaust Valve Spring; 45, Felt Oil

Retainer for Rear Thrust Bearing; 46, Felt Oil Retainer for Magneto

Gear; 47, Gasket for Intake Manifold; 48-49, Gear Case Cover & Screw;

50, Gear Cover Packing Nut; 51, Half Time Gear; 52, Intake Pipe Elbow;

53, Intake Pipe with 2 Union Nuts; 54-56, Intake Pipe Y & Support Base &

Cap; 57-62, Intake Manifold, & Bolt, Bolt Nut, Cap Screw, Union Nut, &

Elbow Cap Screw; 63, Intake Valve Spring; 64, Magneto Bracket; 65,

Magneto Gear; 66-67, Magneto Bracket Cap Screw, Large & Small; 68,

Magneto Base Cap Screw.

69, Main Bearing Stud Nut; 70, Main Bearing Stud, New; 71-73, Main

Bearing Cap, Front, Centre & Rear; 74-75, Main Bearing Babbitt, Front,

Upper, & Lower; 76-77, Main Bearing Babbitt, Centre, Upper & Lower;

78-79, Main Bearing Babbitt, Rear, Upper, & Lower; 80, Main Bearing

Babbitt Clamping Screw; 81, Main Bearing Liner, Front & Rear; 82, Main

Bearing Liner Centre; 83, Main Bearing Liners.

84, Nipple for Oil Pump; 85-86, Oil Pump & Leader Gear Shaft; 87-94, Oil

Pump Follower Gear, Cover, Drive Pinion, Screen, Support Bolt, Cover

Screw, Follower Gear Bushing, & Shaft Bushing; 95, Oil Pipe for Pump;

96-97, Oil Pump Compression Coupling & Nut; 98-99, Oil Sight, Base &

Glass; 100-101, Oil Sight Glass Guard & Cap; 102, Oil Splash Pan; 103,

Oil Bleeder Pipe; 104, Oil Bleeder Pet Cock.

105-107, Piston, Pin & Ring; 108-109, Pump Packing Nut, Large & Small;

110-114, Push Rod, End Bearing Pin Lock Screw, Spring, Spring Support,

Forked End, & End Bearing Pin; 115, Propeller Bolt; 116-121, Rocker Arm,

Support, Bearing Pin Set Screw, Tappet Screw, Support Cap Screw, &

Bearing Pin; 122-124, Spark Plug (Herz) Gasket,--& Wrench; 125-129,

Thrust Bearing, End Clamp, Lock Ring, End Clamp Screw, End Clamp Bolt,

End Thread Bolt Nut; 130, Valve Push Rod; 131, Valve Stem Washer; 132,

Valve Stem Lock Washer.

133-135, Water Jacket, Inlet Nut, & Inlet; 136, Water Pump; 137-140,

Water Pump Shaft, Support Stud, Impeller, & Driver; 141, Water Pump

Friction Sleeve; 142-143, Water Pump Friction Washer, Front & Rear;

144-145, Water Pump Bushing, Front & Rear; 146, Water Pump Gasket;

147-149, Water Pump Universal Joint Member, Male, Female, & Spring;

150-151, Water Pipe, Right Hand, Bottom, & Left Hand, Bottom; 152, Water

Pipe Outlet Elbow; 153-156, Water Outlet Top Pipes for Cylinders.

A VISIT TO THE FACTORY

A visit to the Curtiss factory is of interest to any one interested in

machinery and there you will see the latest machines of all types, from

powerful milling machines to a delicate modern "Printograph" that is

almost human in its manner of getting out letters and printing, for it

is a cross between a printing press and a typewriter. Another unique

machine is one that carves out propellers from a laminated block of

wood. One arm of this machine runs over a model, and the other, about

two feet away, arranged to move exactly with it, and provided with a

tool of cutting edge, forms the propeller blade with absolute accuracy,

out of a block of wood placed parallel to the model. The cutting tool

follows all the complex changes in the surface of the wooden propeller

with the greatest ease and rapidity.

The brazing room, where the oxy-hydrogen torch is used to braze metal

parts together, and the room where they weld the water jackets on to the

cylinders, are places of special interest; the nickel plating room,

japanning room, and the room where painting and drying are done, almost

complete the tour of the various departments, but there still remain the

wood-working shop, boat shop, assembling rooms, where the aeroplanes are

put together and completely set up, and the motor testing room, where

motors are run for whole days, ten hours at a time, driving an air

propeller and showing on scales the amount of thrust given at all times.

Here you may also see a machine to make "brake tests" of the motors, by

which is told how much horse-power the motors give. This machine

consists of a large drum with a brake fixed against it and cooled by

water so it will not get too hot. This brake absorbs the energy of the

motor, which is measured by an arrangement of scales and lever arms.

There is a tremendous racket when the big motors are running at full

speed in this small room, and the hillside rings with the roar of their

fiery exhaust.

In the laboratory of the factory, where the designs and drawings are

made, there is one of the most interesting pieces of apparatus in the

whole plant. This is a "wind tunnel," where models of aeroplanes are

tested and where experiments are tried to see what occurs in the stream

of air. Here tests are made which assist in determining what the best

form and shape of objects such as upright posts and exposed parts shall

be and where a measure of their relative resistances may be made. The

tunnel itself consists of a square box with a propeller or fan mounted

at one end to create a draft or current of air which passes through a

screen to cause it to assume uniform motion. There is a window in the

tunnel through which the observer can see the action of the objects to

be tested. Varying the speed of the fan varies the speed of the air

current and its pressure, and in this manner the stream-lines of air

under the varying conditions and the effect upon models of different

forms and shapes may be studied to enable refinements to be made in the

aeroplane's construction.

Down on the shore of Lake Keuka, about a half mile from the factory, are

the aeroplane sheds and the flying field. Here is where the aviation

school is situated, and where flyers are made. Over the smooth field,

the pupils start with the four-cylinder "grass cutters," or machines

hobbled so they cannot get but a little way off the ground. They hop,

hop, hop, almost all day long, one after the other taking regular turns,

and now and again varying the monotony by being called away by the

flying instructor to take a real flight in the hydroaeroplane out over

the lake to get accustomed to the upper air, and to the high speed of

the big machine.

Later in his course of instruction, the student takes out an

eight-cylinder machine and flies around in circles over the field until

he is able to take the test for his Aero Club of America License, which

requires him to make two series of figure eights around two pylons

fifteen hundred feet apart, landing each time within one hundred and

fifty feet of a mark and rising to an altitude greater than two hundred

feet.

This is the goal of the novice, and after his test, the student is ready

to fly as far and as fast as he likes. He has become the complete

airman.

[1] It is interesting to note that Lieutenant Frank P. Lahm, the sole

American entrant for the Gordon Bennett Balloon Cup in 1906; Mr. Edgar

Mix, the only representative of America in the balloon contest in 1909,

and Mr. Charles Weymann, the only entrant from America in the Gordon

Bennett Aviation Cup race of 1911, held in England, all won.

[2] Tod Shriver, or "Slim" as he was known to all American aviators

because he was very tall and slender, went to Rheims as a mechanic

before taking up flying himself. He was successful as an aviator and

accompanied Captain Thomas Baldwin to the Orient in the spring and

summer of 1911. This trip created great excitement among the Chinese,

who had never seen the "foreign devils" fly before. Captain Baldwin

tells a story of the crowd that witnessed the flights in Tokyo, Japan,

which he describes as numbering seven hundred thousand persons! In proof

of this he states that advices received from Japan in the spring of 1912

report that the crowd had not entirely dispersed even at that time!

"Tod" Shriver flew in many places in the United States and in the winter

of 1911 met his death in Puerto Rico. He fell while flying at Ponce. His

death was a shock to his many friends. [Note by AUGUSTUS POST.]

[3] NOTE BY AUGUSTUS POST While flying in the Chicago meet we had four

machines in the air at once. I was a novice at flying then but entered

the air while the other fellows were flying around. Circling the track I

was just passing the grand stand when Willard swooped down in front of

me having passed right over my head. I clung on to the steering post and

held the wheel as firmly as I could while to my great consternation the

machine rocked and swayed fearfully in the back draft from Willard's

propeller. He kept doing the Dutch Roll and the Coney Island Dip right

in front of me, which made it all the worse, as the wash of the

propeller wake would strike above and below my machine as he pitched up

and down in front of me. I stood it as best I could, hardly daring to

breathe but holding my course and balancing with all my might, until

Willard turned off, and then after a bit I made a good landing. When

Willard came down he rushed up to me and grabbed me by the hand and

said, "Oh, Post! will you ever forgive me for that? I ought to have

known better than to back-wash you but you know I thought you were Ely,

and I wanted to scare him!"–A. P.

[4] NOTE BY AUGUSTUS POST An interesting story is told of how the

hydroaeroplane came to be invented. During the period when he was

planning a new series of experiments, Mr. Curtiss, accompanied by Mrs.

Curtiss, attended a New York theatre in which there was being presented

a play much talked about just then. The curtain went up on the first

act, and the noted aviator was apparently enjoying the show when, just

as the scene was developing one of its most interesting climaxes, he

turned to Mrs. Curtiss and said: "I've got it." On the theatre program

he had sketched what ultimately became the design of the hydroaeroplane.

This is like a time when Mr. Curtiss was standing one day by the side of

one of his motorcycles talking with a customer. He kept turning one of

the grips of the handle-bar with his fingers while talking and after

finishing the conversation went into his office and developed the idea

of a handle-control which had come to him while apparently absorbed in

conversation.–A. P.

[5] The fame of the hydroaeroplane has reached the Orient and a

demonstration was recently given at Tokyo, Japan, for the benefit of the

Japanese Army and Navy officials by Mr. W. B. Atwater, of New York. Mr.

and Mrs. Atwater are on a tour of the world, carrying with them two

Curtiss hydroaeroplanes and giving demonstrations of a practical

character before the military authorities of all the countries en route.

On Saturday, May 11th, 1912, he made three flights at Tokyo, the first

hydro flights ever seen in the Orient. There was a great gathering of

military men to witness the flights, among them Prince Kwacho,

representing the Japanese Imperial Family; Admiral Saito, Minister of

the Imperial Navy, and Vice-Admiral Uryu. According to the statement of

the Japan Advertiser the Japanese Navy has followed the example of

Russia, and forwarded to America an order for four Curtiss

hydroaeroplanes.–A. P.

[6] The first start from a roof-top was made on June 12, 1912, when

Silas Christoferson in a Curtiss biplane rose from a platform built on

the roof of the Hotel Multnomah, Portland, Ore., and flew safely

away.–AUGUSTUS POST.

[7] A very important service was rendered only a short time ago by the

hydroaeroplane which might easily have served to save a human life if

the accident had been more serious than it actually was. Mr. Hugh

Robinson the instructor of the Curtiss hydroaeroplane school was having

Sunday dinner at the hotel in Hammondsport, where Dr. P. L. Alden, one

of the well-known physicians of that place, was also eating dinner, when

the doctor received a telephone message that Mr. Edwin Petrie's little

son had fallen from the steps of the Urbana Wine Company at Urbana, five

miles down the lake, and had a compound fracture of his thigh with a

serious hemorrhage. It was a very serious injury and the little fellow

was in intense pain, and Mr. Petrie asked the doctor to come as quickly

as he possibly could. Dr. Alden realised the urgency of the situation

and knew that delay might mean serious results from hemorrhage, so he

went immediately over to Mr. Robinson and asked if he would take him

across the lake in the hydroaeroplane right away. Mr. Robinson said, "I

will be ready in five minutes; just as soon as you can get over to the

field." Dr. Alden got his bandages and instruments and hurried down to

the shed where Mr. Robinson had already gotten out the hydro; he jumped

in and they were off without a moment's delay. They covered the five

miles in five minutes, at times running on the surface of the lake

because the wind was blowing so strong; as they ran up on the beach the

doctor jumped out and hastened to his patient. The boy was so much

interested in the fact that he was the first patient to be treated by a

hydroaeroplane doctor, and so fascinated at hearing Dr. Alden tell about

the trip, that he forgot for the moment the seriousness of his condition

and allowed the doctor to reduce the fracture without an anesthetic.

When all that could be done just then had been done, Dr. Alden and Mr.

Robinson returned in the hydroaeroplane as rapidly as they had come on

their errand of humanity, and at last accounts young Mr. Petrie was

getting well as fast as he could so he could have a ride in the

hydroaeroplane himself!–AUGUSTUS POST.

[8] In July, 1912, Captain Beck was granted by the War Department the

title of "Military Aviator"; the first time that any American has been

given this title, which implies finished skill in both aviation and

military tactics, and for which all the army aviators are to

qualify.–AUGUSTUS POST.

[9] Mr. Post is not only intimately connected with the development of

the aeroplane but also one of the most capable practical balloon-pilots

in the world. Mr. Post accompanied Mr. Allan R. Hawley in October, 1910,

when the balloon "America II," representing the United States, broke the

world's competition record and won the Gordon Bennett balloon cup by

sailing one thousand one hundred seventy-two miles from St. Louis to

Lake Tschotogama, in the wilds of Quebec. The trip took forty-six hours.

This record still stands as American distance record. Mr. Post also

holds, with Mr. Clifford B. Harmon, the American endurance record of

forty-eight hours, twenty-six minutes.–THE PUBLISHERS.

[10] Ralph Johnstone said in a conversation about experiences while

learning to fly, "I learned to fly all right but one day when I was up

in the air pretty high I seemed to forget all about it and how to

operate the controls. I tried them and tested how they worked and it

seemed to me that I learned all over again, but it did seem funny to me

for just a few minutes." Geo. W. Beatty said, "When I was flying at

Chicago, in the contest for duration, when the weather was calm, and I

had nothing else to do but sit and think while the machine flew on,

round and round, lap after lap, I would look out at a wire and watch it

as it vibrated and wonder if it was possible for it to break, while I

realised that I could not get out to fix it. This worried me more than

flying in a high wind. It seems more natural for me to fly than not to.

I have been in the air on an average of two hours every day for over a

year."

[11] To indicate the exact technical knowledge required in building an

aeroplane, a matter quite apart from the obvious dash and daring of the

aviator, nothing seems more adequate than to include the list of

aeroplane and motor parts.–THE PUBLISHERS.