"Appleton, Victor - Tom Swift Jr 07 - And His Diving Seacopter" - читать интересную книгу автора (Appleton Victor)

but I am working on something. You ought to like it, Bud-it can fly or swim."
"You mean an underwater airplane?"
"No. A flying submarine."
"Cut the kidding," Bud retorted.
"It's the truth," Tom continued. "It'll even crawl around if necessary on tractor
treads."
"No fooling! What do you call it?"
"A diving seacopter."
6 DIVING SEACOPTER
Bud stared in amazement. "You mean a helicopter that can travel
underwater?"
"Right. In the air the rotor blades provide a positive lift to suspend it, much
the same as a helicopter. In water the pitch of the blades is reversed for
submerging. And, because water is much denser than air, the blades will whirl
slower.
"The big advantage of this kind of submersion," Tom continued, "is that these
blades eliminate the need for ballast tanks. With the rotors, the sea-copter can
easily stay at any level beneath the surface the navigator chooses, merely by
adjusting the blade pitch."
Walking over to his secret workbench, Tom pushed a button. Instantly a
drawing board, with a large blueprint of the seacopter, slid out from the wall.
"Wow!" Bud exclaimed, admiring the drawing of the sleek forty-foot craft.
He noticed that the seacopter was divided into three sections: a cabin at
either end, called Compartments A and B-each of which would accommodate
three people-and the center section containing the rotor blades. This section was
open top and bottom to allow the water in. It had narrow corridors on each side of
it for passengers to walk from one compartment to the other.
Bud looked puzzled. "Which is the front end and which is the rear?" he
asked.
"Take your choice." Tom laughed. "The ship
THE STOLEN CODE 7
can travel in either direction. This feature will come in handy should we get
into a submarine cave, or other spot, in which it's impossible to turn around."
"Great," Bud said enthusiastically. "So we just back out." Then he looked at
Tom inquisitively. "But how do you do all this?"
"The rotor blades, as I've said," Tom replied, "are for diving and keeping the
seacopter at any desired level under water."
"Okay," said Bud. "And I suppose the seacopter floats upward and surfaces
without power. Now tell me, how do you propel this contraption once you're under
water?"
Tom pointed to the undersides of the two compartments. In the midsections
of them were triangular protrusions.
"These are jets," he said, "powered by superheated steam created by atomic
reactors."
"I see," said Bud. "And they're your steering apparatus?"
"Yes. The jets are on a gimbal system, so they can be rotated through 360
degrees."
Bud nodded. "Very clever, pal." Then he grinned. "What goes with this
gadget? You going on an oyster-hunting expedition?"
"You're nearly right." Tom chuckled. "But instead of diving for pearls, we're