The type B has a rounded under body, the forward
end being also skiff-shaped to decrease as
much as possible the resistance of the water impact.
_Fig. 75. Hydroplane Floats._
The third type C is made in the form of a
closed boat, with both ends pointed, and the bottom
rounded, or provided with a keel. Or, as in
some cases the body may be made triangular in
cross section so that as it is submerged its sustaining
weight will increase at a greater degree
as it is pressed down than its vertical measurement
indicates.
All this, however, is a matter left to the judgment
of the designer, and is, in a great degree,
dependent on the character of the craft to which
it is to be applied.
CHAPTER XII
EXPERIMENTAL WORK IN FLYING
THE novice about to take his first trial trip in
an automobile will soon learn that the great task
in his mind is to properly start the machine. He
is conscious of one thing, that it will be an easy
matter to stop it by cutting off the fuel supply
and applying the brakes.
CERTAIN CONDITIONS IN FLYING.--In an aeroplane
conditions are reversed. Shutting off the
fuel supply and applying the brakes only bring
on the main difficulty. He must learn to stop the
machine after all this is done, and this is the
great test of flying. It is not the launching,--
the ability to get into the air, but the landing, that
gives the pupil his first shock.
Man is so accustomed to the little swirls of air
all about him, that he does not appreciate what
they mean to a machine which is once free to
glide along in the little currents which are so unnoticeable
to him as a pedestrian.
The contour of the earth, the fences, trees, little
elevations and other natural surroundings, all
have their effect on a slight moving air current,
and these inequalities affect the air and disturb
it to a still greater extent as the wind increases.
Even in a still air, with the sun shining, there are
air eddies, caused by the uneven heating of the
air in space.
HEAT IN AIR.--Heat is transmitted through the
air by what is called convection, that is, the particles
of the air transmit it from one point to the
next. If a room is closed up tight, and a little
aperture provided so as to let in a streak of sunlight,
it will give some idea of the unrest of the
atmosphere. This may be exhibited by smoke
along the line of the sun's rays, which indicates
that the particles of air are constantly in motion,
although there may be absolutely nothing in the
room to disturb it.
MOTION WHEN IN FLIGHT.--If you can imagine
a small airship floating in that space, you can
readily conceive that it will be hurled hither and
thither by the motion which is thus apparent to
the eye.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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