Private “air truck” for Very Special Delivery
… powered by Lycoming
When deliveries are Rush with a capital “R” . . . today’s progressive businessman turns to a small company plane that relieves him of dependence on the schedules of commercial air-freight systems.
Take the case of the Capital City Printing Plate Company of Des Moines, Iowa . . . operator of a Piper Tri-Pacer powered by Lycoming. Gene C. Meston, General Manager, says: “We could not maintain our production and sales level without the Tri-Pacer. The airplane and the pilot do the work of two trucks and three drivers. We save a lot of expense and keep our customers well satisfied.”
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Stout “hearts” for new Navy sub killers
To power America’s first anti-submarine carrier aircraft that’s equipped for both search and attack, the U. S. Navy looks to Lycoming for air-cooled engines.
Patrolling endless seas in search of enemy subs . . . blasting them out of action with newest destruction devices . . . this Grumman S2F-1 “hunter-killer” depends on the stamina of twin Lycoming-built engines to keep it high and dry.
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This is apparently the second article in the Modern Mechanix series: “How to kill yourself underwater”. The first being Build Your Own Diving Helmet.
They are seriously talking about getting in this thing and being towed 15-30mph at a depth of at least 30 feet. But don’t worry because “The air inside the boat will be sufficient for approximately half an hour’s stay under water”.
Take Thrilling Underwater Cruise in ONE-MAN SUB
YOU get all the keen thrills of deep-sea diving and underwater cruising in this one-man submarine. Towed by a motor-boat, the novel craft will take you down to a depth of at least 30 feet, where you can explore the river or lake bed. Through a special conning tower you can watch the fish as you dart among them, the while maneuvering about like a real submarine.
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I’ve always wanted a bike with an attached sleeping coffin.
Collapsible Bike Trailer Has Comfortable Bunk for Camper
A COLLAPSIBLE bicycle trailer which can be converted into comfortable sleeping quarters has been built by Joseph Do-rocke, 25-year-old Chicago youth. With it he intends to make an 8-months bicycle tour of America, retiring at night in his ingenious sleeping compartment.
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This is another one of those things that would never get by the liability lawyers today.
BUILDING a DIVING Helmet
Improvement follows improvement in the design of home made diving helmets as amateur divers become more and more acquainted with their use. This one of Hoag’s is the last word in helmets so far published by good old M-M.
ALL the thrills of exploring the lake bottom are yours with this simply constructed diving helmet; and, if you do not dive too deep, you are in no particular danger, either. Besides its use in recovering lost outboard motors at a substantial profit, the helmet will give you one of the most interesting experiences of your life; for until you have breathed and walked at leisure under water, you have missed something. It will take a good deal of nerve to go down the first time, but after that it will just be fun.
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After they were decommissioned by the Air Force thousands of the these simulators had coin slots attached to them and were redeployed outside of U.S. supermarkets along with race car and horsey simulators.
BLIND FLYING IN A DUMMY PLANE
A BLIND flying trainer, assembled from miscellaneous player piano, automobile and airplane parts, is furnishing efficient blind flying instruction to army pilots at March Field, California.
The “synthetic” airplane is mounted atop a ball joint and pivot. Lateral and longitudinal stability is controlled by four banks of bellows which function according to the movements of a regulation airplane control stick. A backward pull on the stick, for example, raises the elevators and throws the tail of the “plane” down by releasing the pressure in the rear bellows while the forward bellows retains its pressure. The process is reversed when the stick is moved forward.
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Sounds great, what could possibly go wrong?
Compressed Air to Shoot Packages Into Moving Train
ENGAGING the attention of mechanical engineers who are trying to figure out ways and means of restoring the railroads to a profit-making basis, is the idea illustrated above, in which a torpedo-tube containing packages of mail or express is shot into the funnel-like car at the rear of a moving train, making it unnecessary to stop and pick up small shipments.
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Flying High at Zero Altitude
By BEN PREECE
THE PILOT and copilot of the Douglas DC-8 Jetliner couldn’t see anything through the windshield. It was totally dark outside. The altimeter was winding down as the giant plane dropped through the overcast. The crew chief watched his instrument panel.
“We’ll be out in a minute,” the pilot said, referring to the cloud bank he’d been in since take-off. Then the lights of the field appeared below.
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