Hoffar homebuilt sea plane

 In 1917 Vancouver boatbuilders James and Henry Hoffar built this seaplane. Not too many details but it apparently flew successfully but was later destroyed when it hit a log in the water.

 From this experience, the boatbuilders acquired a contract to build a 2 seat flying boat to be used as a fire patrol craft. It also was successful on a few test flights, but suffered engine failure as it flew over the city. It crashed into the roof of a house and was destroyed. 

In 1929, Boeing acquired the Hoffar-Beeching yard and used it to build their seaplanes.

1927
Westendvancouver

First advertised wireless broadcast

Dame Nellie Melba, the famous Australian prima donna broadcasts from the Marconi works in Chelmsford England on June 15th 1920.

 Dramatization on Youtube. About 44 minutes in...

 

Steel castings

Flickr

 Locomotive 576, Nashvillesteam.org

Tank encyclopedia

I was recently catching up on the Pennsylvania Railroad T1 Trust steam engine reconstruction and noted that they are constructing the main frame as weldments instead of the original castings. I guess that makes sense, casting huge pieces of steel isn't as common as it used to be, the required strength of the frame can be determined by using FEA, the casting can be redesigned as a weldment. Pieces are laser cut and then welded together, no issues, it's a tried and true technology. But I remember reading about large (huge) castings being made more than a hundred years ago, whole 50 or 60 foot long steam locomotive or tender frames being cast in one piece, armour plate tank hulls cast in one piece... Those guys were massively skilled.

The Blitzen' Benz

   Fitted with a 21,504 cc four cylinder engine producing 200 hp at 1500 rpm, this car achieved a speed of 127 mph at Brooklands in 1909, piloted by Hector Hémery. A year later Barney Oldfield went even faster- 131.7 mph on the beach at Daytona.

 

Octave Chanute glider test

 A.M. Herring pilots a multi wing glider built by Octave Chanute in 1896. 

   Chanute, a railway engineer, became interested in flying after seeing a balloon flight in Peoria in 1856. When he retired from his career in 1883 he began studying flying, publishing a book Progress in Flying Machines in 1894.  He built a series of gliders and tested them on the dunes near Miller Beach. The Wright brothers corresponded with him for several years before they achieved powered flight in 1903.
 

Wood plane, section view

Peter Collinette, Woodworking school, Quill Pub. 1984

 I don't do a lot of plane posts, other sites do wood planes far better- people that know their planes, know their planes.

 But this is a nice cross section drawing for someone just learning...

1956 Cadillac ad

Let's gather around the pool, gowns by James Galanos

 

Morgan 3 Wheeler 2011- 2021

Powered by  a 2 litre S&S V twin coupled to a Mazda 5 speed transmission, I expect this thing is a lot of fun to drive. The replacement model featured a Miata motor.

Morgan 3

Alnico magnets

  Before there were rare earth magnets, there were Alnico (Aluminum Nickel Cobalt) magnets.

  Flexible magnets, made by mixing ferrite magnet powders and synthetic/natural rubber binders were brand new in the mid fifties.

  They had been invented by the German company Max Baerman, Goodrich Rubber developed a way to make them in sheet form, specifically for refrigerator door seals.
 

Knott Apparatus clamp

   Here's a nice little scientific apparatus over-center clamp , one of many types the Knott Apparatus Co. of Boston made over their 36 year existence. The company started in 1896, buying out the E. S. Ritchie Instrument company after the principal passed away in 1895. They became one of the largest suppliers of scientific equipment in America but closed during the Depression.

Catalog from 1916