In working out a biplane that could rise from or alight on the water, Glenn Curtiss practically doubled the usefulness of aeroplanes. The experiments, conducted under the auspices of the United States Navy so impressed the officers that several have been added to its equipment. Curtiss has been experimenting with hydro-aeroplanes for several years, but before actually completing one he conducted a number of experiments with ordinary biplanes in the vicinity of Hampton Roads, Va., in 1911, to prove them available for use on battleships. Finally, Lieutenant Ely flew from the deck of the cruiser _Birmingham_ over the water and to a convenient landing spot on land. Later on Curtiss went to California to perfect his hydro-aeroplane, and while conducting the work Lieutenant Ely made a flight from shore to the deck of the battleship _Pennsylvania_ which was lying in San Francisco Harbour. These two incidents were more in the nature of "stunts" than developments, but they showed what an aeroplane could do if attached to a battleship fleet as a scout. Even more convincing was the proof when Curtiss finally worked out a form of wooden float which was put between the mounting wheels. The float was flat-bottomed with an upward inclination at the prow so that when skimming over the water the tendency was to rise from the surface rather than to cut through it. Small floats at the outer tips of the lower main plane helped to keep the machine on an even balance while floating at rest upon the water. The wheels served their regular purpose if the machine started from or alighted upon land. The experiments were conducted on San Diego Bay, and it was only after long and patient labour that the work of Mr. Curtiss and his military associates was rewarded with success. In the course of the experiments he tried a triplane, which had great lifting power, but this later was abandoned in favour of the regular biplane fitted with a float. After the machine had been perfected, Curtiss flew his hydro-aeroplane out into the bay to the cruiser _Pennsylvania_, upon which Ely had landed a month before, and after landing on the water at the cruiser's side was pulled up to her deck and later was put back into the water from where he sailed to camp. The machine was named the _Triad_ because it had conquered air, land, and water. Of the machine Curtiss says: "I believe the hydro-aeroplane represents one of the longest and most important strides in aviation. It robs the aeroplane of many of its dangers, and as an engine of warfare widens its scope of utility beyond the bounds of the most vivid imagination. The hydro-aeroplane can fly 60 miles an hour, skim the water at 50 miles and run over the earth at 35 miles."