Upon calculation it was found that by providing specially light fly wheels the major portion of this reverse torque could be eliminated for a less increase [p243] in weight than would be occasioned by sufficiently increasing the thickness of the transmission and propeller shafts to safely stand it. Since it was desired to concentrate as much as possible of the weight of the fly wheels in the rims, the idea at once suggested itself of building them up like a bicycle wheel by means of tangent spokes. Two steel automobile-wheel rims were therefore procured thirty-three inches in diameter, and these were provided with tangent spokes connected to special steel hubs fitted to the crank shaft of the engine. The rims themselves not being quite heavy enough, and constructional reasons necessitating their being at different distances from the center of length of the crank pin, the extra weight which it was desired to give to these rims was provided by means of steel wire wound tightly around and fastened to the rims, the weight of each rim being made inversely proportional to its distance from the center of the crank pin. The first spokes which were used for these wheels were standard bicycle spokes three-thirty-seconds of an inch in diameter, but these were soon found to be entirely too weak to withstand the sudden strains due to the rapid starting of the engine. They were therefore replaced by standard spokes one-eighth of an inch in diameter, but these also proved too weak and were later replaced with special spokes made in the shop out of No. 10 coppered-steel wire, which by test was found to have a tensional strength of 2192 pounds. As these steel rims were only one-sixteenth of an inch thick and had not been made exactly true, but had been straightened before being used, it was found that they very quickly went out of shape under the strain due to the centrifugal force at high speeds, and also when the engine was suddenly accelerated. As long as they did stay true, however, it was found that they were sufficiently heavy to provide all of the fly-wheel effect it was necessary to have in order to eliminate all trouble from the reverse torque.