Excellent condition.

Popular Mechanic

H. H. WINDSOR, Founder

September, 1938

H. H. WINDS

Vol. 70, No. 3

Special Features

The Mosquito Fleet

-

Uncle Sam's Flying Fortresses

Speed Races for Amateur Drivers

The Missing Link in Aviation

Fireworks That Save Lives

Manicuring the Diesels

-

Secrets of the Master Violin Maker

Mystery Tie Between Sun and Life

Thrills of the "Ironing Board" Sport

Barnyard Wizards of the Films -

The Miracle Men of Radio

Trick Photos and How to Make Them 410

WE

(Continued on next page)

The Age of Color

WE ARE spending millions of dollars for color to-

day and, as a result, this world is being changed

from a dull, drab sphere into a gay and cheerful place

garbed in all the hues of the rainbow. America alone

uses about $50,000,000 worth of dyes annually. These

dyestuffs sell, or help to sell, six or seven billion dol-

lars' worth of merchandise each year because, to a

great extent, we buy what pleases the eye. Not so

long ago only royalty or the very wealthy could afford

richly colored possessions. Today nearly everything

we own or use is made more attractive by color, and

the most inexpensive piece of cotton goods may be

adorned with most of the hues of the spectrum. This

miracle has been wrought largely by coal and chem-

istry, and an article next month explains not only the

importance of color in our lives but the chemical magic

which extracts much of it from black, unlovely coal.

Eight pages of Coloroto pictures illustrate the story.

Published monthly by POPULAR MECHANICS CO

Santa Fe

THE hearts of railroad men still thrill a

the sight of a big steam locomotive

pet today is the pampered streamliner, the

dainty high-speed

I racer of the rails.

eye

Steam goes on the siding while stainle

steel swishes across the switchpoints at 1

miles per hour. Dispatchers tilt their e

shades for a look and telegraphers a

mountain junctions listen for the blare

its horn. In the terminal yards, inspec

and machinists drop their work when

streamliner is due and prepare to swan

over her.

Let's swing aboard the M-2, latest i

Santa Fe's Super Chiefs, as she finishe

her 2,225-mile dash from Chicago to Las

Angeles in less than forty hours. Passen

ger coaches are dropped at the termin

station to be shunted to the coach yard fr

cleaning and servicing. Then the locom

tive with its additional power car m

to the roundhouse. The engineer pulls

throttle to idling, spills enough air to bra

the two cars and drops a yoke over the

control buttons to lock

the power off the wheels,

Then the yard crew takes

over.

During the next eight-

een hours the two power

units receive the same

scrupulous attention that

an air liner gets at the

end of a flight. Inspectors

go over every moving

part. Report sheets from

the crew and the expert

who rode with the great

engines from Chicago are

studied, and every inch

of the power cars, inside

and out, is washed and

cleaned until paint and

metal sparkle.

First, the power cars

are moved to the wash

rack where the dust and

grime of mountains and

desert are scrubbed

----------- 3 -----------

SANTA

SANTA F

Part of Santa Fe streamline fleet. All are

Diesel electrics except the steam engine in

center. Below, engineer of streamliner sig

naling for crossing

361

----------- 4 -----------

THE START of a new day for the men who man a "Flying Fortress." With parachute harness adjusted,

they are ready to board one of Uncle Sam's big bombers.

----------- 6 -----------

to keep Uncle Sam's men of

the air, in "the pink" for

admittedly the Army Air

Corps personnel must con-

sist of men who more

nearly approach mental

and physical perfection

than any other branch of

the service. At March

Field a gymnasium, bowl-

ing alleys, hand-ball courts

and swimming pools offer

healthy recreation,

Unlike other branches of

the service, there is little

pomp at March Field. The

usual army formalities,

such as reviews, seldom are

held. However, squadron

inspections and some of the

other routine "chores" of

army life are in vogue at

this famous air base.

Some of the most famous

of all Air Corps groups

have their base at March

Field. Records of long

MECHANICS, top, checking

Army plane after a flight. Right,

preparing an attack plane for a

smoke screen flight.

----------- 5 -----------

fighting forces and the addi-

tion of many new planes of

various types create the de-

mand for young men to fill

positions as officer pilots for

the new equipment. This sud-

den call for prospective Army

Air Corps pilots is one of the

most unusual ever made by

the Army which, in addition

to throwing open the doors of

the service, has gone a step

further by creating special

flying boards which will visit

every college in America

which has an R.O.T.C. unit in

the search for desirable young

men to be trained as pilots for

the Army Air Corps.

WASHINGTON

NTANA

OREGON

5TH

----------- 7 -----------

BOTHAY

SPEED RACES

for AMATEUR DRIVERS

2

GETTING more power and

speed out of their cars is the

hobby of thousands of young driv-

ers. In every neighborhood they

are trying to make their cars go

faster by changing the valve tim-

ing or installing racing pistons and

"high heads." Then they wonder

how they can safely try out their

"hopped up" cars.

In southern California 500

young men have an answer. In-

stead of chancing death on the

highways, they hold regular rac-

ing meets. Each owner drives his

car wide open and finds out just

how fast he can go. One of their

race days is a sort of junior In-

dianapolis meet.

The drivers have their own con-

test board, starters and judges.

They use electric timing to clock

their cars and a portable tele-

phone system for starting and

keeping the course clear. Scores

Midget racers, top, fighting for lead as they come out of a

turn. Bottom, powder puffs on backs of driver's gloves

are used to wipe goggles clean during a dusty road race

339

----------- 8 -----------

POPULAR MECHANICS

lowed in each car. No driver is

allowed to follow closely in an-

other's air wake.

Almost the only motor restric-

tion is that it must be American-

made. Special high-compression

heads, overhead valves and extra

racing gear are permitted. An

owner can do almost anything he

likes to get more speed. Model A

and B Fords, V-8s, and Chevrolets

are the most popular engines and

four-cylinder engines win nearly

all races. Cars are raced as stock

roadsters, as modified roadsters

on which changes to convert them

into racing cars have been made,

and as coupes and sedans. The

two latter classes compete togeth-

341

er. No driver can use more

than $100 worth of borrowed

equipment on his car. Silver

cups are awarded by the dif-

ferent racing clubs as prizes, and

service shops put up equipment

prizes.

Each driver is allowed two qual-

ifying time trials, his average de-

termining the class in which he

will race. There are five racing

classes, from eighty to ninety

miles per hour, from ninety to 100,

and up to the fifth class in which are cars

qualifying at 120 miles per hour or more.

An entrant who oversteps his class divi-

sion by more than one mile per hour is

(Continued to page 125A)

124

Driver at top is tightening water hose on his

"flat-head" high-compression engine. Center,

modified roadster with special racing engine.

Bottom, touring car, dilapidated in appear-

ance, but equipped with a racing engine

which gives it a speed of 100 miles an hour

----------- 9 -----------

ying

POPULAR MECHANICS

349

field, no matter how bad conditions are. It

can fly at zero or 125 miles per hour. It

can climb 1,200 feet per minute and go well

above 15,000 feet. It performs as well at

thirty to fifty miles per hour as at 100 and,

in a wind of twenty miles per hour, it can

stop, hover, and gently move off sidewise,

if that is desired.

American-built giros need a stiff breeze

to leap into the air with a forward run of

only ten or fifteen feet but the British

makers have built-though perhaps not

wholly perfected-the direct jump-off giro

which goes into the air from scratch, pull-

ing itself from the ground by its rotor en-

ergy. The Pitcairn Autogiro company

hopes to have such a ship, possessing road-

able characteristics, on demonstration here

later this year.

The autogiro differs from its cousin, the

helicopter, as much as it does from the air-

plane. The helicopter has no propeller but

actually flies itself through the forward

pull of its rotor system. That means the

power at all times passes directly into the

rotor, turning it mechanically. In the au-

togiro, the rotor blades turn automatically,

Today, there are about thirty-six pri-

vately owned and licensed autogiros in the

United States. In addition, there are seven

Blade stop

Blade fork Extension link

Horizontal pin

225 H. P.

RADIAL ENGINE

Lateral control trunnion

Lateral control

push pull tubé

Lateral

control

bellcrank

Shear pin

Longitudinal control

push pull tube

Longitudinal,

control bellcrank

Rotor starting

drive shaft

Yoke

Longitudinal

control trunnion

Lateral

control cables

Longitudinal control

push pull tube

Pylon

WEIGHT LOADED

2,267 LOS

10 FEET

HIGH

29 FEET

IN LENGTH

CRUISES 100 MILES

PER HOUR

Top, loading mail at Chicago airport, preparatory to trip to roof of post office. Below, view of

Kellett autogiro, showing dimensions, and detail of rotor head