99       99       99       99       99  
----------------------------------------
-------------------      ,transcriber's 
,note3                                  
,inconsistent hyphenation in the        
original document has           been    
preserved4                              
----------------------------------------
-------------------         99       99 
99       99       99     ,,opportunities
 ,,in ,,aviation     ,,opportunity      
,,books   ,,opportunities ,,in          
,,aviation     ,,by ,,lieut4 ,,gordon   
,,lamont        ,,captain ,,arthur      
,,sweetser  ,,opportunities ,,in ,,the  
,,newspaper ,,business     ,,by ,,james 
,,melvin ,,lee  ,,opportunities ,,in    
,,chemistry     ,,by ,,ellwood          
,,hendrick  ,,opportunities ,,in        
,,farming     ,,by ,,edward ,,owen      
,,dean  ,,opportunities ,,in ,,merchant 
,,ships     ,,by ,,nelson ,,collins     
,,harper  ,,brothers1 ,,new ,,york      
,,established #ahag     ,illustration3  
,at work on one of the ,f-#e-,l type of 

seaplane at the ,naval ,aircraft        
,factory1 ,league ,island1 near         
,philadelphia4 ,the ,f-#e-,l is one of  
the largest type of naval seaplane1 and 
flew from ,hampton ,roads1 ,va41 to     
,rockaway ,naval ,air ,station1 ,l4,i4  
,,opportunities ,,in ,,aviation  ,by    
,captain ,,arthur ,,sweetser  ,u4,s4    
,air ,service  ,author of ,the ,american
 ,air ,service and  ,,gordon ,,lamont1  
,late ,lieutenant in the ,royal ,air    
,force1 ,canada  ,frontispiece          
,illustration  ,,harper  ,,brothers     
,publishers ,new ,york and ,london      
,acknowledgement is made to the ,new    
,york ,evening ,post for some of the    
material which first appeared in its    
columns4    ,,opportunities ,,in        
,,aviation ,copyright1 #aibj1 by ,harper
  ,brothers ,printed in the ,united     
,states of ,america ,published1         
,january1 #aibj               ,to that  
great new gift which is so soon to come 
to us1 this little book is              
enthusiastically           dedicated by 

the authors4     ,,contents    ,,chap4  
,,page        ,,introduction            
i     ,i4 ,,war',s ,,conquest ,,of ,,the
 ,,air                                  
#a    ,,ii4 ,,the ,,transition ,,to     
,,peace                                 
#aa   ,,iii4 ,,training ,,an ,,airplane 
,,pilot                                 
#bd    ,,iv4 ,,safety ,,in ,,flying     
#ci     ,v4 ,,qualifications ,,of ,,an  
,,airplane ,,mechanic                   
#eb    ,,vi4 ,,the ,,first ,,crossing   
,,of ,,the ,,atlantic                   
#fc   ,,vii4 ,,landing-,,fields--,,the  
,,immediate ,,need                      
#gf  ,,viii4 ,,the ,,airplane',s        
,,brother                               
#he    ,,ix4 ,,the ,,call ,,of ,,the    
,,skies                                 
#if        ,,addendum                   
#ajg     ,,introduction   ,any ordinary1
 active man1 provided he has reasonably 
good eyesight and nerve1 can fly1 and   
fly well4 ,if he has nerve enough to    
drive an automobile through the streets 

of a large city1 and perhaps argue with 
a policeman on the question of speed    
limits1 he can take himself off the     
ground in an airplane1 and also land--a 
thing vastly more difficult and         
dangerous4 ,we hear a great deal about  
special tests for the                   
flier--vacuum-chambers1 spinning-chairs1
 co-ordination tests--there need be none
 of these4 ,the average man in the      
street1 the clerk1 the laborer1 the     
mechanic1 the salesman1 with proper     
training and interest can be made good1 
if not highly proficient pilots4 ,if    
there may be one deduction drawn from   
the experience of instructors in the    
,royal ,air ,force1 it is that it is the
 training1 not the individual1 that     
makes the pilot4  ,education is not the 
prime requisite4 ,good common sense and 
judgment are much more valuable4 ,above 
all1 a sense of touch1 such as a man can
 acquire playing the piano1 swinging a  
pick1 riding a bicycle1 driving an      
automobile1 or playing tennis1 is       

important4 ,a man should not be too     
sensitive to loss of balance1 nor should
 he be lacking in a sense of balance4   
,there are people who cannot sail a     
sail-boat or ride a bicycle--these      
people have no place in the air4 ,but   
ninety-nine out of one hundred men1 the 
ordinary normal men1 can learn to fly4  
,this has been the experience of the    
,royal ,air ,force in ,canada4  ,there  
will be as much difference between the  
civilian pilot1 the man who owns an     
airplane of the future and drives it    
himself1 and the army flier1 as there is
 now between the man who drives his car 
on ,sunday afternoons over country roads
 and the racing driver who is striving  
for new records on specially built      
tracks4 ,if aeronautics is to be made   
popular1 every one must be able to take 
part in it4 ,it must cease to be a      
highly specialized business4 ,it must be
 put on a basis where the ordinary      
person can snap the flying wires of a   
machine1 listen to their twang1 and know

 them to be true1 just as any one now   
thumps his rear tire to see whether it  
is properly inflated4  ,the book1 in a  
large sense a labor of love1 is the     
collaboration of an ,american officer of
 the ,united ,states ,air ,service and  
another ,american1 a flying-officer in  
the ,royal ,air ,force4 ,if the ,royal  
,air ,force way of doing things seems to
 crowd itself to the fore in the        
discussion of the training of pilots1   
the authors crave indulgence4  ,in a    
subject which lends itself dangerously  
to imagination1 the authors have        
endeavored to base what they have       
written1 not on prophecy1 but on actual 
accomplishments to date4 ,the latter are
 indeed so solid that there is no       
necessity for guesswork4 ,aviation has  
proved itself beyond peradventure to    
those who have followed it1 but up to   
the present the general public has not  
sufficiently analyzed its demonstrated  
possibilities4  ,the era of the air is  
undoubtedly at hand2 it now remains to  

take the steps necessary to reap full   
advantages from it4                     
,,arthur ,,sweetser1                    
,,gordon ,,lamont4     ,,opportunities  
,,in ,,aviation     ,i  ,,war',s        
,,conquest ,,of ,,the ,,air   ,the      
,world ,war opened to man the freedom of
 the skies4 ,amid all its anguish and   
suffering has come forth the conquest of
 the air4 ,scientists1 manufacturers1   
dreamers1 and the most hard-headed of   
men have united under the goad of its   
necessity to sweep away in a series of  
supreme efforts all the fears and doubts
 which had chained men to earth4  ,true1
 years before1 in fact1 nearly a decade 
before1 the ,wright brothers had risen  
from the ground and flown about through 
the air in a machine which defied       
conventional rules and beliefs4 ,the    
world had looked on in wonder1 and then 
dropped back into an apathetic          
acceptance of the fact4 ,despite the    
actual demonstration and the field of   
imagination which was opened up1 these  

early flights proved to be a world's    
wonder only for a moment4  ,for years   
aviation dragged on4 ,daredevils and    
adventurers took it up to make money by 
hair-raising exploits at various meets  
and exhibits4 ,many died1 and the       
general public1 after satiating its lust
 for the sensational1 turned its thought
 elsewhere4 ,flight was regarded as     
somewhat the plaything of those who     
cared not for life1 and as a result the 
serious1 sober thought of the community 
did not enter into its solution4        
,business men held aloof4 ,apart from   
circus performances there seemed no     
money to be made in aviation and        
consequently practically none was       
invested in it4 ,what little            
manufacturing was done was by zealots   
and inventors4 ,workmanship was entirely
 by hand1 slow1 amateurish1 and         
unreliable4  ,strangely enough1         
scientists were equally apathetic4 ,it  
might have been expected that their     
imaginations would be fired by the      

unexplored realms of the air and by the 
incomparably new field of experiment    
opened to them2 but they were not4 ,the 
great question1 that of flight itself1  
had been answered1 and but few were     
interested in working out the less      
spectacular applications of its         
principles4 ,aviation remained very much
 of a poor sister in the scientific     
world1 held back by all the discredit   
attaching to the early stunt-flying and 
by failure to break through the ancient 
belief in its impracticability for any  
purposes other than the sensational4    
,so the science limped along1           
unsupported by either public interest or
 capital4 ,now and again some startling 
feat attracted the world's attention1 as
 when the ,english ,channel was first   
crossed by air and ,england was made to 
realize that her insularity was gone4   
,for a moment this feat held public     
interest1 but again without a true      
realization of its significance4 ,there 
seemed nothing which would drive man to 

develop the gift which had been put     
within his reach4  ,up to that fatal    
moment in ,august1 #aiad1 when the      
,world ,war broke out1 aviation had made
 but little progress4 ,all nations had  
what passed as air services1 but they   
were very small and ill-equipped and    
were regarded with doubt and suspicion  
by the military leaders of the various  
countries4 ,compared with what has since
 taken place1 the experiments previous  
to the war were only the most           
rudimentary beginnings4  ,then came the 
war4 ,man's imagination was aroused to a
 feverish desire for the development of 
any device for causing destruction4     
,conventions1 usages1 and prejudices    
were laid aside and every possibility of
 inflicting damage on the enemy was     
examined on its merits4 ,sentiment or   
any regard for personal danger involved 
was thrown to the winds4 ,science was   
mobilized in all lines in the struggle  
to keep one step ahead of the enemy4    
,almost immediately aviation challenged 

the attention of the responsible        
leaders4 ,the handful of ,french planes 
which in those early fateful days of    
,august penetrated up into ,belgium     
brought back the information of the     
,german mobilization there1 and this led
 to the rearrangement of ,french forces 
in preparation for the battle of the    
,marne4 ,as a result aviation at once   
leaped into high repute for scouting    
purposes and the foundations were laid  
for its great development4  ,but as     
aviation had proved itself in the       
warfare of movement leading down to the 
,marne and sweeping back later to the   
,aisne1 so it proved itself in the      
,french warfare which was so            
unexpectedly to follow4 ,when the two   
opposing lines were so close together   
that they locked almost in a death grip1
 each side kept such strict watch that  
ground observation was greatly hampered4
 ,apparently there was only one way to  
find out what was going on behind the   
enemy's lines4 ,that was by looking from

 above4 ,the first aviator1 therefore1  
who sailed into the air and spied the   
enemy introduced one of the most        
important developments in the strategy  
of modern warfare4  ,thereupon began one
 of those silent battles of the rear1 of
 which we see and hear so little1 but   
which indeed decides sometimes far in   
advance of the actual test of battle    
just which side is going to win4        
,scientists1 inventors1 manufacturers1  
and practical fliers began coming       
together in increasing numbers to exact 
from this latest method of warfare its  
last degree of usefulness4 ,in the      
studies and factories on both sides of  
the lines men dedicated themselves to   
the solution of the problem of flight4  
,stage by stage the difficulties were   
overcome4 ,first it was the ,germans who
 with their terrible ,fokker planes     
harnessed the machine-gun to the        
airplane and made of it a weapon of     
offense4 ,then it was the ,allies who   
added the radio and made of it an       

efficient method of observation and     
spotting of artillery fire4 ,increased  
engine-power began to be developed1 and 
bombs were carried in ever-increasing   
numbers and size4  ,the moment an enemy 
plane fell on either side of the line   
the victors gathered about their prey   
with a keenness which could come only of
 the hope that they might find in it    
some suggestion that would make their   
own flying more efficient4 ,each learned
 from the other1 so that the different  
schools on either side of the line had  
all the advantage of watching the       
development of their rivals4 ,very      
shortly after an improvement appeared on
 one side it reappeared in the planes of
 the other side4  ,it is doubtful if    
ever a more desperate scientific battle 
was fought than that which featured the 
development of the air services of the  
various belligerents during the war4    
,control of the air was so vital that   
neither could afford to overlook any    
possibility2 and1 as a result1 the      

scientific evolution was truly          
astounding4 ,no man was reserved on this
 subject of airplane improvement4 ,all  
contributed their best skill and ability
 to the common reservoir of knowledge4  
,very soon man's conquest of the air    
became so complete that different types 
of planes were developed for different  
kinds of work4 ,the plane of the early  
days which wandered off by itself       
wherever it saw fit1 gathered what      
information it could1 and returned to   
drop a note to the commander below1     
developed into a highly efficient       
two-seated plane equipped with          
machine-guns for protection against     
attack1 wireless for sending back       
messages1 and cameras for photographing 
the enemy's positions below4 ,the plane 
which had earlier dropped an occasional 
bomb in a hit-or-miss fashion over the  
side now developed either into a        
powerful two-seater with a great        
weight-carrying capacity and a          
continually more efficient scientific   

method of aiming its missiles or into a 
huge machine for long-distance          
night-bombing work capable of carrying  
from two to a dozen men and from two to 
four tons of bombs4 ,during this time   
the strictly fighting plane1 usually a  
single-seater1 increased in speed1      
ceiling1 and agility till it could dart1
 twist1 and dive about1 three to five   
miles above the trenches1 protecting    
friendly bombing and observation planes 
below from enemy attack or swooping down
 to send enemy planes in flames to the  
ground4  ,vital though all this work was
 for the war1 it had an incomparably    
greater value for the perpetual struggle
 which all mankind is waging against    
nature4 ,while the various nations were 
seeking to destroy one another through  
the air1 they were in reality destroying
 the chains which bound them to the     
ground and winning their freedom in a   
new element4 ,the advance which the     
,allies or the ,germans made over each  
other in scientific aerial development  

was a joint advance over the            
restrictions of gravitation4  ,this1    
indeed1 apart from the spread of        
democracy and internationalism1 may well
 stand out in history as the war's      
richest heritage4 ,problems which had   
been considered insoluble were solved4  
,the casting aside of all conventions1  
all restrictive habits of thought1 all  
selfishnesses1 and the focusing of the  
highest scientific ability in a struggle
 which might mean the life or death of  
the nation1 had brought as a by-product 
a development beyond our wildest        
fancies4  ,aerial operations in any     
future war1 however1 will have at once a
 problem which has only recently and in 
very much smaller degree confronted the 
navy1 namely1 the assurance of attack   
not only on the front1 in the rear1 and 
on both flanks1 but from above and below
 as well4 ,recently the navy has had to 
face that problem--submarines operating 
below and airplanes above2 but the      
problem of attack upon a ship is not so 

serious as upon an airplane4  ,already1 
in order to meet this danger of attack  
from every possible direction1 a most   
complete strategy and system of         
formations have been worked out4 ,in    
this way the various types of planes    
operate in different air strata         
according to their missions1 the upper  
planes echelon somewhat behind those    
below on the order of a flight of steps 
facing the enemy4 ,this system provides 
a quick method of reception of an attack
 and the assurance of quick support1 no 
matter where the attack may come4       
,obviously there would be nothing in all
 of warfare on either land or sea       
comparable to a collision between two   
such aerial fleets4 ,the speed of the   
lighter planes1 quick1 life-taking duels
 in several different strata at once1   
would provide a clash of action1 speed1 
and skill far more beautiful and yet in 
many ways far more terrible than        
anything ever recorded in the history of
 war4  ,fleets of the skies--who shall  

attempt at this day of the infancy of   
the science to limit their scope8       
,aerial battle-planes of colossal size  
and power are as certain to come in     
time1 and in not a very long time1 as   
the dreadnought of to-day was certain to
 follow the first armored ship of only a
 half-century ago4 ,never yet has man   
opened up a new avenue of war that he   
has not pursued it relentlessly to its  
final conclusion4 ,it is certain that he
 will not fail to push aerial           
development with all the energy with    
which he has devoted himself to the     
science of destruction4  ,the avenue of 
the seas has been up to now the world's 
greatest civilizer4 ,very shortly1      
without doubt1 it will be replaced by   
the avenue of the skies4 ,if we are to  
strive for freedom of the seas1 what    
shall we say about freedom of this new  
element8 ,the laws of aerial travel and 
aerial warfare open an unlimited field  
of speculation4     ,,ii  ,,the         
,,transition ,,to ,,peace               

,developments during the war1 despite   
their startling sensational character1  
had1 however1 been so overshadowed by   
human suffering and desperation that but
 few minds were awake to the changes    
that were to influence man's future4    
,amid the disasters1 battles1 and       
unprecedented movements in the politics 
of nations1 the achievements of flight  
could command but a passing notice4     
,people looked and wondered1 but were   
distracted from following their thoughts
 through to the logical conclusion by   
the roar of a seventy-mile gun1 the     
collapse of a nation1 or the shock of   
battle on a one-hundred-mile front4     
,let us1 however1 weave together a few  
things that were done in those days of  
sensation1 which may have a particular  
effect on the future of the science4    
,most conspicuous1 perhaps1 was the     
obliteration of distance and of all the 
customary limitations of travel4 ,german
 airplanes in squadrons penetrated into 
snug little ,england when the ,german   

fleet stood locked in its harbor4 ,the  
,italian poet ,d',annunzio dropped      
leaflets over ,vienna when his armies   
were held at bay at the ,alps4 ,french1 
,british1 and finally ,american planes  
brought the war home to cities of the   
,rhine which never even saw the ,allied 
troops till ,germany had surrendered4   
,none of the conventional barriers stood
 in the way of these long trips4 ,a new 
route of travel had been opened up along
 which men flew at will4 ,the           
boundary-lines of states below1 which   
look so formidable on the map1 were     
passed over with the greatest ease1 as  
well as such natural obstacles as the   
,alps and the ,english ,channel4        
,tremendous saving in time was          
constantly being effected4 ,men were    
able to dart back and forth from the    
front to the rear and from ,england to  
,france with a speed never dreamed of by
 other means of travel4 ,to be sure1 the
 front-line demands for planes were too 
severe to allow a very wide use in this 

way1 but nevertheless the possibilities 
were there and were constantly availed  
of4#a  ,indeed1 the ,british early      
established a communication squadron for
 this specific purpose4 ,in the last    
three months of the war #bgi            
cross-country passenger flights were    
made to such places as ,paris1 ,nancy1  
,dunkirk1 and ,manchester1 all of them  
without a single accident6 ,moreover1 a 
,channel ferry service was created which
 in seventy-one days of flying weather  
made #bbg crossings1 covered over #h1jjj
 miles1 and carried #a1hdc passengers4  
,with trains seldom going above #fj     
miles an hour1 the slowest airplane went
 #hj and the average daylight plane on  
the front probably equaled #aaj4 ,the   
fast fighters went up to #abj1 #acj1 and
 even #adj miles an hour1 over twice as 
fast as any method of travel previously 
known4 ,just as the curtain closed on   
the war1 there had been developed in the
 ,united ,states a plane credited with  
#afb-b_/c miles an hour1 and no one for 

a moment believed that the limit had    
been reached4  ,altitude likewise had   
been obliterated4 ,the customary height 
for two-seated observation and bombing  
planes was between one and two miles1   
and of single-seated scouts between two 
and four miles4 ,these altitudes were   
not the freakish heights occasionally   
obtained by adventurous fliers2 on the  
contrary they were the customary levels 
at which the different kinds of duties  
were carried out4 ,many men1 of course1 
went far higher4 ,since then an         
,american1 ,roland ,rohlfs1 flying a    
,curtiss ,wasp set the unofficial       
altitude record at #cd1faj feet--higher 
than the world's highest mountain4      
,life at these altitudes was not        
possible1 of course1 under ordinary     
conditions4 ,the temperature fell far   
below zero and the air became so thin   
that neither man nor engine could       
function unaided4 ,as a result the      
fliers were kept from freezing by       
electrically heated clothing and from   

unconsciousness from lack of air by     
artificially supplied oxygen4 ,similarly
 the oil1 water1 and gasolene of the    
engine were kept working by special     
methods4  ,the armistice threw the      
different nations into a dilemma as to  
their aviation plans4 ,obviously the    
huge war planes which were still in the 
building in all the belligerent         
countries were no longer necessary4     
,almost immediately1 therefore1 the     
placing of new contracts was halted by  
the various governments1 enlistments    
stopped1 and plans set in motion for the
 new requirements4  ,within a very short
 time the ,united ,states canceled      
several hundred million dollars' worth  
of contracts on which little actual     
expenditure had been made by the        
manufacturers4 ,shipments of men and    
planes overseas were of course brought  
to an end and at the same time          
arrangements were made for bringing back
 from ,france the great aerial equipment
 mobilized there4 ,indeed1 the air      

service units were among the first to be
 returned1 especially the labor and     
construction troops in ,england4        
,nevertheless1 military aviation of the 
future was definitely safeguarded4 ,a   
bill was presented to ,congress for an  
aerial force of #d1jjj officers and     
#bb1jjj men1 a fitting contrast to the  
force of #fe officers and #a1abj men    
with which the country had entered the  
war4 ,certain flying fields and schools 
which had shown the greatest value in   
the past and promised most for the      
future were definitely designated for   
permanent use1 and especial effort was  
made to keep in the service the best of 
the technical experts and designers who 
had helped to solve ,america's problems 
of the air4  ,abroad demobilization was 
less rapid1 as it was in all other      
lines4 ,the ,british1 who had given     
particular thought to after-war         
aviation1 immediately turned to         
converting all their valuable war       
material and experience into a national 

force which should assure ,england of   
the supremacy of the air as well as     
strength in her supremacy of the seas4  
,france1 the custodian of ,germany's    
great aerial force1 found more than     
enough work for all her men in taking   
care of the hundreds of surrendered     
machines4 ,both nations at the same time
 took long steps toward building up the 
civil machinery necessary for private1  
non-military flying4  ,for several      
months1 of course1 there was a hiatus4  
,thought had been so concentrated on    
military aviation that the conversion to
 peace work proved slow4 ,only the most 
general plans had been made in any of   
the countries1 and those by ardent      
supporters of aviation1 who were forced 
to make the most earnest efforts to     
obtain consideration of the subject in  
the midst of all the vital problems of  
peace and reconstruction4 ,greatest of  
all the difficulties was that1 as       
private flying had been prohibited      
during the war1 there were1 with the    

coming of peace1 no rules and           
regulations ready for it4 ,also many    
great projects for international flights
 had to be postponed because of complete
 lack of international rules in this    
respect4  ,nevertheless1 most           
spectacular and convincing flights      
followed one another in rapid           
succession4 ,the most outstanding of    
these flights was1 of course1 the first 
crossing of the ,atlantic by seaplane--a
 triumph of organized effort by the     
navy4 ,at the same time all over the    
world flights took place with astounding
 frequency which illustrated1 as little 
else could1 the certain future of       
aviation4 ,seas1 mountains1 deserts1    
places otherwise almost impassable were 
traversed with ease and speed4  ,army   
fliers flew from the ,atlantic to the   
,pacific within a few months of the     
signing of the armistice4 ,it required  
but fifty hours of flying-time1 just a  
fraction over two days4 ,at that time no
 attempt was made to obtain speed1 as   

the purpose of the trip had been to     
locate landing-fields and make aerial   
maps for future transcontinental        
flights4  ,the four planes that made    
this trip might be considered as the    
pioneers of vast flocks of airplanes    
which within a short time will be       
winging their way from coast to coast4  
,if1 with machines built specifically   
for war purposes and with no special    
landing-fields or routes laid out1      
aviators could successfully travel from 
one coast to the other in fifty hours of
 flying-time1 how much more rapidly will
 future trips be made when special      
touring-planes have been developed1     
routes and landing-fields are laid out1 
repair-shops are built1 and the trip    
becomes a matter of routine rather than 
aerial experiments4  ,the effect that   
this new method of travel will have on  
,american life and development is       
staggering to the imagination4 ,san     
,francisco and ,new ,york will be almost
 neighbors1 while ,chicago and ,new     

,orleans will be but a pleasant day's   
trip apart4 ,the business man1 the      
statesman1 and even the courier can be  
transported from one end of the country 
to the other1 independent of steel rails
 and other devices1 in record time4     
,such experiments have already proved   
successful in ,europe4 ,the ,british    
,foreign ,office in ,london1 anxious to 
keep in close touch with the ,peace     
,conference at ,paris1 turned to the    
airplane to assure quick transportation 
of men and documents4 ,the slow train   
trip with the irksome transfer to and   
from the ,channel steamer and the more  
irksome voyage across the ,channel      
itself1 were avoided by a special       
service through the air4 ,thus two great
 capitals were brought within a few     
hours' time of each other1 which greatly
 facilitated the vital negotiations     
under way4  ,civilians were finally     
granted the right to make the trip under
 military supervision4 ,fourteen        
passengers were transported from ,paris 

to ,london in two hours and forty       
minutes as against six hours and forty  
minutes1 the fastest time ever made by  
any other means of travel4 ,each of them
 had twenty pounds of luggage1 and      
luncheon of cold ham and champagne was  
served on board over the ,channel1      
followed by a game of cards4 ,it was    
easily demonstrated by the return trip  
that men could leave either capital     
after breakfast1 have several hours in  
the other1 and return home for dinner4  
,then a ,french flier with six          
passengers made the flight from ,paris  
to ,brussels4 ,the time consumed between
 the two capitals was but two hours as  
against over five by the ordinary train 
travel4 ,as an instance of some of the  
problems which this particular flight   
brought about1 it was observed that a   
,belgian policeman approached the plane 
as it was about to leave and inquired   
for passports and papers4 ,everybody    
made excuses for not having them4 ,the  
policeman refused to allow the airplane 

to leave4 ,finally the pilot1 losing his
 patience and temper1 started the motor 
and flew off before the angered official
 knew what had happened4  ,two other    
,french aviators about the same time    
crossed the ,mediterranean from ,france 
to ,algiers and back in the same day4   
,though unequipped with seaplane        
devices1 they started out with full     
confidence that their motors would carry
 them over the water4 ,with only their  
navigating instruments and an occasional
 vessel to guide them1 they reached     
their destination after a perfect trip  
and created a great sensation among the 
natives who came down to see the        
airplanes alight4  ,far more            
spectacular1 however1 was the flight    
made from ,london to ,delhi4 ,a         
,handley-,page machine1 which had flown 
from ,london to ,cairo during the war   
and taken part in the final military    
operations against the ,turks1 left     
,cairo1 on ,november #cjth1 shortly     
after the armistice4 ,five and          

three-quarter hours later the airplane  
with five passengers reached ,damascus1 
a trip practically impossible except    
through the air because of the ravages  
of the war4 ,at #g4dj the next morning  
they set out again1 flew northeast along
 the ,jebel esh ,shekh ,range to        
,palmyra1 then east to the ,euphrates1  
down that river to ,ramadi1 and thence  
across to ,bagdad1 a flight of #eaj     
miles made in six hours and fifty       
minutes without a single stop1 part of  
it over country untrod even by the most 
primitive travelers4 ,thence they went  
on via ,bushire1 ,bander ,abbas1        
,tcharbar1 and ,karachi to ,delhi1 where
 they received a tremendous ovation as  
the first fliers to arrive from the home
 country4 ,from ,delhi they continued on
 without mishap to ,calcutta4 ,this     
distance from ,cairo to ,karachi1 #b1edh
 miles1 was made in thirty-six hours'   
flying-time2 from ,karachi to ,delhi the
 distance is #gjd miles1 and from ,delhi
 to ,calcutta #cjj1 a total of #d1jeb   

miles from the main city of ,egypt to   
the greatest commercial port of ,india4 
,no route had been surveyed1 no         
landing-places obtained1 no facilities  
provided4 ,territory inaccessible to    
ordinary travel1 land where the white   
man is almost a stranger1 was crossed4  
,yet it was all done as part of the     
day's work1 in no sense as a            
record-breaking or spectacular trip4    
,the certainty of flight from ,london to
 ,india was demonstrated4 ,a bi-weekly  
service for both passengers and mails   
was at once planned4 ,almost immediately
 preparations for the route were worked 
out1 twenty-five airdromes and          
landing-fields were designated1 of which
 the main ones would be at ,cairo and   
,basra on the ,tigris1 with subsidiary  
fields at ,marseilles1 ,pisa1 or ,rome1 
,taranto1 ,sollum1 ,bushire1 ,damascus1 
,bagdad1 ,bander ,abbas1 ,karachi1      
,hyderabad1 and ,jodhpur4 ,it is        
estimated that the flight of #f1jjj     
miles1 at stages of about #cej each1    

would take seven or eight days as       
against the present train and steamer   
time of five or six weeks4 ,at the same 
time another route far shorter than that
 which would be necessary by following  
the sea route lies over ,germany1       
,russia1 and the ideal flying-land along
 the ,caspian ,sea1 ,krasnovodsk1       
,askabad1 ,herat1 ,kandahar1 and        
,multan4  ,as with ,asia ,minor and     
,asia so with ,africa1 the ,british at  
once made plans for aerial routes4 ,only
 a few weeks after the armistice        
announcement was made of plans for an   
,all ,red ,air ,route from ,cairo across
 the desert and the jungle to the ,cape4
 ,this could all be done over ,british  
territory1 with the part over ,lakes    
,victoria ,nyanza and ,tanganyika       
covered by hydroplanes4 ,the moment men 
were released from the war1 surveying of
 this route was begun and tentative     
plans made for landing-fields every #bjj
 miles over the #e1gjj-mile trip4  ,the 
air is ours to do whatever we can with  

it4 ,there must be developed a large    
interest in this country in the business
 of flying4 ,we must make the air our   
third1 fastest1 and most reliable means 
of communication between points in a way
 to compete with transportation on land 
and sea4 ,the airplane1 instead of being
 the unusual thing1 must become a       
customary sight over our cities and     
villages4 ,the first step in the        
development is the training of airplane 
pilots and mechanics4  ,,footnotes3  #a 
,some of the ,british statesmen flew to 
and from the ,peace ,conference in      
,paris4     ,,iii  ,,training ,,an      
,,airplane ,,pilot   ,any ordinary1     
active man can fly4 ,that is to say1 any
 man with nerve enough to take a cold   
bath or drive an automobile down ,fifth 
,avenue can maintain himself in the air 
with an airplane1 and turn into a good  
pilot with practice4 ,in other words1   
the regular man who rides in the        
,subway1 who puts on a straw hat on ,may
 #aeth or #bjth1 as the case may be1 has

 not only the right to be in the air1   
but owes it to himself to learn to fly4 
,any one with a reasonable amount of    
intelligence can be made a good pilot4  
,he need not hold a college degree1 or  
even a high-school diploma1 tucked away 
in some forgotten place4 ,if he has the 
sense of touch of the normal man1 the   
sense of balance of a normal man1 can   
skate1 or ride a bicycle1 he should be  
in the air1 flying4 ,there is a         
difference between the war or army pilot
 and the peace-time flier yet to be     
developed4  ,war flying calls for highly
 trained men1 a man who has proved      
himself fit for combat under all        
conditions1 a man who can shoot         
straight1 think quickly1 and turn       
immediately4 ,he must possess a little  
more than the average nerve1 perhaps1 or
 he must be trained to the point where  
shooting and maneuvering are the natural
 reactions to certain circumstances4 ,he
 must be able to stand altitudes of     
#bj1jjj feet2 he must be quick with his 

machine-gun1 have a knowledge of        
artillery1 and know1 in fact1 a little  
about everything on the front he is     
trying to cover4 ,this requires training
 and aptitude4  ,the day is coming for  
the man who wants to make a short       
pleasure flight1 or go from town to     
town1 touring by air4 ,he need know     
nothing of machine-guns or warfare4 ,he 
may never want to do anything more      
hazardous in the way of maneuver than a 
gentle turn4 ,his maximum altitude would
 be perhaps #h1jjj feet4 ,he would in   
all probability be flying a machine     
whose ceiling was #aj1jjj feet1 and he  
might never care to tour at a height    
higher than #b1jjj feet4 ,there is no   
reason why he should go high4 ,one can  
have all the thrills in the world at    
#b1jjj feet1 follow the ground more     
easily1 without wasting time or gasolene
 in attempts to fly high enough so that 
the earth looks like another planet     
below4  ,let us illustrate a bit from   
the ,royal ,air ,force of ,canada1 which

 is as good as any other example4 ,the  
experience of the flying service of one 
country has been essentially that of    
another country1 and we ,americans may  
yet learn of the air from the ,english4 
,in ,england the air is just another    
medium of travel1 as much a medium as   
the ground and water--but that is1 of   
course1 another story4  ,in #aiag the   
,royal ,flying ,corps1 later            
incorporated into the ,royal ,air       
,force1 came to ,canada to take up the  
instruction of ,canadian boys for flying
 in ,france4 ,americans enlisted with   
the pick of the ,canadian youth1 and    
droves were sent overseas4 ,very soon   
the cream had been skimmed off and there
 came a time when material was scarce4  
,meanwhile the war raged1 and there was 
no option but to take drafted men from  
all sections1 ,montreal in particular4  
,many could not speak intelligible      
,english1 and few had enjoyed any       
educational advantages4 ,the men who    
came as cadets to be trained as pilots  

in #aiah graded much lower in personal  
and physical qualifications than the    
type of the previous year4 ,and yet     
these same drafted men1 who had         
withstood for three and a half years the
 call of their country1 had more control
 over their machines at the end of their
 course than the men of the year before4
  ,at the end of four1 five1 or six     
hours' solo these men could do all the  
high maneuvers1 commonly thought        
dangerous1 such as the barrel roll1 the 
loop1 the stall turn1 the ,immelmann    
turn4 ,an astounding showing compared to
 the boys of #aiag1 who were forbidden  
to stunt and who rarely disobeyed the   
orders4 ,in our ,american service we had
 specially selected men4 ,they were     
college men1 tested1 qualified1 and     
picked4 ,but our men--and it's no       
reflection on them--seldom did their    
higher maneuvers with less than fifty   
hours of solo flying4  ,there is just   
one answer--it is a matter entirely of  
training4  ,it might be said that the   

,canadian casualties on the ,texas      
flying-fields near ,fort ,worth during  
the winter of #aiag-ah1 when the ,royal 
,air ,force occupied two airdromes1 were
 the cause of comment all over the      
country4 ,there were fifty fatalities in
 twenty weeks of flying1 and machine    
after machine came down in a fatal      
spinning-nose dive1 or tail spin1 as the
 ,americans speak of the spin4  ,shortly
 after the ,royal ,air ,force returned  
to its airdromes in ,canada in the      
middle of ,april the ,gosport system of 
flying training1 which had been used    
successfully in ,england1 was begun on  
the ,curtiss ,j4,n4 #d;,b-type          
training-plane4 ,the result was an      
immediate and material decrease in fatal
 accidents4 ,in ,july1 #aiah1 there was 
one fatality for every #a1gfj hours of  
flying1 and by ,october fatalities had  
been reduced to one in every #e1cjj     
hours of flying4 ,that is a remarkable  
achievement1 as official data from other
 centers of training show one death in a

 flying accident for every #a1agj hours4
  ,briefly1 the ,gosport system is a    
graduated method of flying instruction4 
,the cadet is led by easy steps through 
the earlier part of the training1 and   
only after he has passed aerial tests in
 the simpler methods of control is he   
allowed to continue with the rest of his
 course and go solo4 ,the scheme        
provides that before he goes solo he    
must have spun1 and shown that he can   
take his instructor out of a spin4 ,only
 then is he considered fit to go on his 
own4  ,dangerous and ,safe as terms to  
describe flying technique gave way to   
wrong and right4 ,there was built up    
under sound instruction one of the best 
schools of flying in ,north ,america1   
the ,school of ,special ,flying1 at     
,armour ,heights1 ,ontario4 ,there is no
 reason why there should not be         
established in this country a number of 
such schools1 under men who have had    
army experience1 to train great numbers 
of civilian fliers within the next few  

years4 ,there is going to be a strong   
demand for the best flying instruction  
that can be given4 ,it should be noted  
that only the most perfect system of    
flying instruction should be used1 for  
the best is safest1 and the safest1 no  
matter how expensive1 is comparatively  
cheap4  ,there is no reason why there   
should be an extended period of ground  
instruction for the non-military pilot  
of the future4 ,he should be taught the 
elementary principles of the theory of  
flight1 should know something about the 
engine with which he is going to fly1   
and understand some things about the    
rigging of his airplane4 ,the details   
could come to him in constant           
association with the airplane before1   
during1 and after each flight4 ,no time 
need be spent on such subjects as       
artillery observation1 machine-gunnery1 
wireless1 bombing1 photography1 patrol  
work1 and other subjects of a purely    
military nature1 on which so much stress
 has been laid in training army pilots4 

,what is an airplane8 ,before going     
ahead with the method of ,gosport       
instruction every pupil is given a      
lecture on the ground in which he is    
asked that question4 ,one definition    
which was passed out to us in ,canada   
was1 ,an airplane is a machine4444 ,at  
this point the flight sergeant in charge
 of rigging would look dreamily into the
 distance4 ,an airplane is a machine4444
 he would begin again with an air of    
utter despondency4 ,that was certainly  
no news to cadets4 ,they had an idea    
that it might be a machine1 and wanted  
to know more about it4  ,an airplane is 
a machine with lift-generating surfaces 
attached to a frame which carries an    
engine1 fuel1 aviator1 and devices by   
which he steers1 balances1 and controls 
his craft1 the mournful flight sergeant 
was finally able to convince them4      
,lift-generating surfaces--these are the
 bases of all flying4 ,every one knows1 
for instance1 that a paper dart1 instead
 of falling directly to the floor1 sails

 in a gliding angle for some distance   
before crashing4 ,lift is generated     
under those plane surfaces moving       
through the air--and the lift keeps that
 paper dart gliding4 ,little eddies of  
air are compressed under its tiny wings4
 ,imagine an engine in the dart1        
propelling it at some speed4 ,instead of
 having to nose down to get enough speed
 to generate lift under its wings1 the  
dart would be able to fly on the level1 
or even climb a bit4  ,just so with an  
airplane4 ,a gliding airplane about to  
land with power shut off is that paper  
dart on a large scale4 ,the airplane    
flying is the dart with power4 ,to make 
the airplane safe to fly1 to give       
control to the pilot so that he may     
steer it where he wants to1 there is a  
rudder1 moved by a rudder-bar under the 
foot of the pilot4 ,it is impossible to 
turn a swiftly moving airplane in the   
air by the rudder alone4 ,it must be    
banked to prevent skidding1 even as a   
race-track is banked high on the turns4 

,on its side an airplane will cushion   
its own bank of proper degree by the use
 of ailerons4 ,these ailerons are       
sections of the wing-tips which may be  
moved either up or down4 ,they are      
counterbalanced so that movement of the 
left down gives you the right aileron   
up4 ,with left aileron down1 the lift of
 the left wing is increased1 and it tips
 up2 at the same time the lift of the   
right wing is decreased1 and it sags    
down4 ,in that way the airplane is      
tipped up for a bank4 ,these ailerons1  
wing sections1 really1 are controlled by
 a device known as the joy-stick in the 
cockpit4  ,we have seen how an airplane 
is made to tip and turn4 ,before a      
machine is under control we must be able
 to climb1 or come down to the ground   
for a landing4 ,vertical control of an  
airplane is attained by the use of      
elevators1 flaps on the tail plane      
acting as horizontal rudders4 ,a        
pull-back on the joy-stick lifts the    
flaps1 raises the nose of the machine1  

and causes it to gain height4 ,push the 
joy-stick forward1 the elevators are    
turned down1 and the machine goes into a
 dive for the ground4 ,in making many   
maneuvers all three controls1 rudder1   
ailerons1 and elevators1 are used at    
once and the pilot feels his way with   
the machine1 guiding it with the stick  
and the rudder-bar4  ,after the         
explanation of the use of these         
controls1 and their demonstration on the
 machine as it awaits its turn in the   
air1 the pupil is taken up for his first
 ride--strictly a joy ride1 and not     
always joyous for those who take every  
chance to be seasick4 ,after he has a   
glimpse of what the ground looks like   
from the air1 and has recovered from his
 first breathless sweep off the ground1 
the pupil is given a lesson in the      
demonstration of controls4 ,the         
instructor explains through a           
speaking-tube attached to his helmet the
 very simple principles4 ,forward with  
the stick to nose down1 back to lift it 

up1 left stick tilts the machine over on
 its left wing1 and right stick banks it
 to the right4 ,right stick and right   
rudder1 in proper proportions1 turn the 
machine to the right1 left stick and    
left rudder to take the machine out of  
the turn and fly it straight again4     
,then the wonderful moment when the     
instructor calls through the tube1 ,all 
right1 now you take the stick4 ,you     
clutch it as though it were the one     
straw in a great ocean4 ,not so hard1   
comes the voice4 ,now put your feet     
gently on the rudder-bar4 ,not so rough2
 easier1 man1 easier on that stick6 ,for
 a glorious moment she is yours1 you    
hold her nose up1 and you are flying an 
airplane tearing over the checkerboard  
country far below4  ,then1 like the     
voice of doom3 ,now1 do a gentle turn to
 the left4 ,don't forget to give her    
rudder and stick at the same time4      
,that's right4 ,begin the motion with   
your feet and hands at the same time4   
,the world swings furiously1 and down   

below that left wing-tip a little farm  
sways gently4  ,now you are in a gentle 
turn--feel that breeze on your cheek8   
,we are side-slipping2 give her a touch 
more of left rudder4 ,not so much4 ,now 
your nose is dropping2 pull back on the 
stick4 ,back6 ,not forward6 ,back6 ,now 
your nose is too high2 take us out1 and 
don't forget that opposite stick and    
rudder4  ,now fly straight for a few    
minutes4 ,your right wing is low--bring 
it up4 ,your nose is too high4 ,now it  
is too low4 ,keep it so that the        
radiator cap is above the horizon4      
,that's right4  ,so goes the business of
 instruction through the lessons on     
straight flying1 gentle turns1 misuse of
 controls1 side-slipping1 and approach1 
take-off1 and landing4 ,the trips should
 average thirty-five or forty minutes1  
long enough to teach the lesson1 but not
 long enough to weary the pupil4 ,here  
at take-off and landing the pupil finds 
himself up against the most difficult   
part of his training4 ,he has the       

problem of stopping a large machine     
weighing a ton or more1 traveling at a  
landing speed of forty to fifty miles an
 hour1 with the center of gravity just  
balanced over the under-carriage4 ,an   
error in judgment will pile the machine 
up on its nose with a crashed propeller1
 and perhaps two broken wings and       
damaged under-carriage4 ,not a dangerous
 accident for the pilot1 but very       
humiliating4  ,army practice has shown  
that a pupil should have about sixty    
practice landings dual1 that is to say1 
coached and helped by his instructor4   
,by this time he has a total flying time
 of six to twelve hours4 ,at this point1
 before he goes solo1 the ,gosport      
system provides that he shall be taken  
to a reasonably safe height for the     
practice of high maneuvers4 ,at a height
 of say two thousand five hundred feet  
the instructor shows him how a stalled  
machine falls into a spin4 ,the question
 of teaching higher maneuvers to        
civilian pilots is open to argument4    

,as soon as the instructor shuts off the
 engine the machine rapidly loses flying
 speed4 ,it reaches a point where there 
is not enough air passing over the wing 
surfaces to support the plane in the    
air4 ,her nose begins to drop1 and he   
pulls the stick back4 ,the stick is full
 back1 she stalls1 topples over on her  
side1 and plunges nose first4 ,the      
instructor kicks on full rudder1 and the
 world whirls below like a top1 and the 
air whistles1 swish1 swish1 swish1 in   
the wires at every turn4 ,stick forward1
 opposite rudder1 and she comes out so  
fast that your head swims4 ,that is the 
spin4  ,now you try it1 says the        
instructor4 ,for there is nothing to a  
spin unless a machine does not come out 
of it--a rare thing if the plane is     
properly handled4 ,the pupil is now     
ready to go solo1 and for the first     
couple of hours' solo flying he does    
nothing but make circuits around the    
field1 landing and taking off4 ,then his
 instructor takes him dual for          

forced-landing practice1 business of    
getting down into a field within gliding
 range by gliding turns4 ,then the pupil
 tries it solo1 throttling down for the 
practice1 a most valuable experience    
which increases the confidence of the   
pilot4 ,he learns to use his own        
judgment and to gauge height and ground 
distance as it appears from the air4    
,after three or four hours of solo time 
the pupil is scheduled for another      
demonstration of higher maneuvers1      
spinning and the stall turn4 ,for the   
stall turn the pilot noses the machine  
down to get an air speed of seventy-five
 miles an hour4 ,a little bank1 stick   
back1 she rears into the air with her   
nose to the sky and propeller roaring4  
,full rudder and throttle off4 ,in      
silence she drops over on her side into 
the empty air2 blue sky and green fields
 flash by in a whirl4 ,she hangs on her 
back while the passengers strain against
 the safety belts1 and then her nose    
plunges4 ,the air shrieks in the wires  

as the ground comes up at terrific      
speed4  ,it is time for the pupil to go 
up for his solo spin under the plan     
adopted for army purposes4 ,up1 up1 up  
the pupil flies1 three thousand feet1   
and the ground below looks soft and     
green4 ,would it be soft to hit in a    
spin from that height8 ,it would not4   
,have people ever spun that far8 he     
wonders4 ,they have4 ,have machines ever
 failed to come out of a spin and killed
 the pilot8 ,the answer is too obvious4 
,with faith in nothing in particular1   
and with his mind made up that one can  
die but once in a spin1 he stalls and   
spins her--and comes out4 ,he is so     
surprised and exhilarated that he tries 
it again before he loses his nerve4 ,yet
 again4 ,the pupil is a pilot1 the air  
has no terrors1 and he has learned the  
oldest truth of flying1 that there is   
nothing to a spin unless you don't come 
out4  ,the natural result of training a 
pupil along those lines is that he      
graduates rapidly into a good stunting  

pilot4 ,he realizes that he cannot tempt
 the devil at three hundred feet and    
hope to live1 but he takes a good       
altitude1 throws his machine upside     
down1 and knows that1 given enough air1 
he must come out4 ,he does come out     
unless he loses complete control of his 
mind and body4 ,with fifteen hours of   
solo flying the pupil has really become 
a pilot4 ,he is beginning to show that  
he can control his machine4 ,from then  
on it is a question of the polishing of 
the nice points1 making his forced      
landings perfect1 not side-slipping a   
foot on his vertical banks1 and coming  
out of spin so that he always faces the 
airdrome--all of which distinguish the  
good pilot from the poor pilot4     ,,iv
  ,,safety ,,in ,,flying   ,the         
fatalities on the training-fields of    
every country during the period of      
training in war1 and before and after   
the war1 testify only too surely that   
flying cannot be absolutely safe4 ,it is
 no reflection on the future of flying  

to realize that it has not been safe1   
and that it can never1 perhaps1 be made 
fool-proof4 ,one or two things must be  
remembered before we become despondent  
over the future safety of flying4  ,when
 the ,united ,states entered the war the
 entire personnel of the ,signal ,corps 
numbered one hundred and sixty officers 
and men4 ,at the time the armistice was 
signed more than thirty thousand pilots 
had been trained4 ,they were trained in 
great numbers under high pressure4 ,we  
did not have the machines to train them 
in or the instructors to fly with them4 
,we had not the experience in wholesale 
training of flying-men1 and yet we      
turned out vast numbers4 ,it was a      
question of getting the men through     
their flying and getting them overseas  
as quickly as possible4 ,we had no      
adequate methods of inspection of       
machines1 and no laid-out course in     
flying-training4 ,we had to learn by our
 own experience1 in spite of the fact   
that ,england at all times gave         

unstinted aid4  ,the wonder is really   
that we did not have more flying        
accidents4 ,there were few men in the   
country who really understood what      
conditions tended toward a flying       
accident4 ,there were few who had ever  
gone into a spin and lived to tell about
 it4 ,at that time a spinning-nose dive 
was a manifestation of hard luck--like a
 ,german shell4 ,if you once got into   
it1 it was only the matter of waiting   
for the crash and hoping that the       
hospital might be able to pull you      
through4  ,toward the end1 of course1   
this situation had been largely         
overcome1 the ,gosport system of flying 
had been tried out1 and there was a vast
 increase in the knowledge of flying    
among the instructors and pupils4 ,the  
spin had been conquered1 training was on
 a sound basis1 and accidents were being
 rapidly cut down4  ,one of the most    
obvious ways to cut down crashes was by 
making sure that the pilot was in good  
condition physically4 ,flight surgeons  

assigned to every camp were detailed to 
make a study of the very delicate       
relationship between a sick and stale   
pilot and the crash4 ,it was discovered1
 for instance1 that a man who went up   
not in the best condition multiplied by 
many times the ordinary hazards in the  
air4 ,it became the duty of these       
surgeons to conduct recreation and      
exercises so that pilots would always be
 in good trim4  ,flying for an early    
solo pupil is the greatest mental strain
 that a man can experience4 ,every      
moment the fact that he is up in the    
air1 supported only by wood1 wires1 and 
fabric1 may be on his mind4 ,he is      
making desperate efforts to remember    
everything his instructor has told him  
since he started his dual4 ,he tries to 
keep that nose on the horizon1 the wings
 balanced1 and the machine flying true4 
,he is in fear of stalling and          
consequent loss of control4 ,he goes    
into his turns1 hardly knowing whether  
he is going to come out of them1 and    

noses down for a landing1 mentally      
giving prayer1 perhaps1 that he will    
come out all right4 ,he can't possibly  
remember everything he has been told1   
but he tries to salvage as much         
knowledge as possible to make a decent  
landing4  ,these experiences tend to    
bring about two conditions1 aerophobia  
7fear of the air7 and brain fatigue1    
both resulting in complete loss of head 
on the part of the pilot and inability  
to react to impulses4 ,nothing is more  
likely to produce immediate and fatal   
aerophobia than the sickening sight from
 the air of a crash1 yellow wings       
flattened out against the green ground a
 thousand feet below4 ,a comrade1 a     
tentmate8 ,the pupil looks at his       
machine1 sees the wires throbbing1 and  
watches with wonder the phenomenon of   
rushing through the air--he may let his 
imagination dwell too long4  ,during his
 first hour's solo a swift stream of    
hundreds of impulses is borne along the 
nerve centers to the brain of a pupil4  

,it is like the pounding of heavy seas  
against a light sea-wall4 ,his brain    
reels under the repeated shocks and the 
pupil falls into a detached stupor4 ,he 
waits while his engine throbs ahead1 and
 lets the machine fly itself4 ,he seems 
to take no active participation in the  
operation1 and unless he recovers       
control of his brain and his machine it 
is a crash4 ,physicians then have the   
problem of learning from a dazed and    
perhaps badly injured man how it        
happened4 ,he can recall nothing1 and   
seldom knows when he lost control4      
,these are the things that happened when
 this country was hastening fliers      
overseas4 ,as a matter of national      
necessity it was essential that as many 
men as possible be put through their    
dual and solo flying and sent across to 
the other side4 ,it was better for the  
country at large to turn out five       
hundred pilots a month1 say1 with #e per
 cent4 of casualties1 than one hundred a
 month with one-half of #a per cent4 or 

less of accidents4 ,these figures do not
 represent the actual conditions1 but   
they picture the problem4  ,now the     
civilian who would take up flying has   
just as much time as he wants to spend  
in learning to fly4 ,he is paying for   
his instruction1 and he should continue 
it for perhaps fifteen to twenty hours  
of dual instruction4 ,he should fly the 
machine with an instructor in it1 and   
really get accustomed to the feel of the
 air4 ,he should become sensitive enough
 so that he can differentiate between   
the tight1 firm touch to a machine      
flying under complete control and the   
slack movement of stick and rudder of a 
plane very nearly out of control4 ,he   
should recognize these danger signs and 
know how to correct his flying position4
  ,dual flying should be continued up to
 the point where the pupil flies without
 thinking1 when it becomes the natural  
thing for him to use both stick and     
rudder to correct a bump1 and when he   
thinks no more of it than riding over a 

rut in a road4 ,he should be able to    
tell by ear1 when volplaning1 whether or
 not he is maintaining sufficient speed 
to hold it in the air4 ,he should be    
acquainted with the principle of        
spinning1 and should have had some      
experience in taking a machine out of a 
spin4  ,the treacherous thing about a   
spinning-nose dive is that1 to come out 
of it1 a pilot must put his stick       
forward1 not hold it back1 in spite of  
the fact that the machine is falling    
nose first and spinning at the same     
time4 ,a spin is possible only from a   
stall1 and only when the stick is back  
and rudder in either direction is given4
 ,the position is an easy one to get    
into from a steep turn4 ,air resistance 
against a machine turning becomes       
greater1 it slows down the speed1       
decreases the lifting power of the      
planes4 ,the result is that the nose    
falls slightly4 ,the pilot moves the    
stick back to lift the nose1 and in     
doing so pulls up his elevators1        

offering still more resistance to the   
air1 and checking the speed4 ,the effect
 becomes cumulative2 he tries to hold up
 his machine1 and he has stalled4 ,in a 
last effort to check the spin he kicks  
on the rudder1 and the thing is done4   
,the rudder and elevators have formed a 
pocket in the tail plane1 which is like 
the spoon on a trolling-hook4 ,the      
pocket is off-center and the air rushes 
into it as the machine topples over and 
plunges down4 ,it imparts a twisting    
motion1 which in a turn or two develops 
into a throbbing spin4 ,picture the     
pilot1 trying to lift the nose of his   
machine by holding his stick well back  
and wondering why the nose does not come
 up4 ,the pathetic thing is that so many
 hundred men have thought their         
salvation was to hold the stick back4   
,the only possible thing to do in this  
case is to break the pocket4 ,put the   
stick forward to neutral1 or even       
farther if need be1 and opposite rudder4
 ,the machine will come out in          

three-quarters of a turn with practice1 
into a straight-nose dive4 ,then ease   
the stick back1 and this time the nose  
comes up and the machine flies on its   
course4 ,instructors who have taught    
their pupils this before they let them  
go solo have saved many1 many lives4    
,it is reasonable to say that there are 
no fatal accidents except those from a  
spin1 but1 like all general statements1 
that is open to contradiction4 ,a       
nose-high side-slip may be fatal1 but   
generally the pilot pulls himself out of
 it4 ,there may have been men killed in 
landing accidents1 but one seldom hears 
of them4 ,men have been killed trying to
 loop off the ground1 and ,vernon       
,castle was killed doing an ,immelmann  
turn at fifty feet to avoid another     
machine4 ,these are the exceptions4 ,the
 common or garden variety of accident is
 from a spin4 ,the spin once conquered1 
the air is conquered4  ,one hears about 
stunting1 and the accidents which result
 from taking chances in the air4 ,there 

may be two opinions about whether for   
the flying of the future it should be   
necessary to loop1 to roll1 to half     
roll1 and stall turn1 or even to spin4  
,as to looping and rolling1 the question
 of the type of machine to be flown will
 determine that largely4 ,there are many
 machines which cannot be looped4 ,the  
large naval flying-boats1 for instance1 
describe a circle two thousand feet in  
diameter for each turnover--it is almost
 obvious that not much stunting is done 
on these boats4 ,a small scout or       
sporting plane can loop and come out    
higher than it went in4  ,there is      
certain value in practising such        
maneuvers if the machine will permit it4
 ,in battle they are1 of course1        
essential4 ,in peace1 however1 they may 
be valuable for the very fact that it   
accustoms a pilot to unexpected changes 
in the air4 ,he gets used to the idea   
that he can pull himself out of any     
position1 given air enough1 and he will 
never be afraid4 ,he becomes orientated 

on his back1 does not lose his head1 and
 simply waits with confidence for his   
machine to come around4 ,this means that
 if he is suddenly overturned by        
accident1 or for a minute or two loses  
control1 he knows that his condition is 
temporary and that he must simply carry 
on4  ,army pilots who have had a good   
course in stunting would certainly      
recommend the same for civilian pilots4 
,that does not mean that it would be    
necessary1 or even advisable4 ,there    
have been accidents due to stunting by  
both inexperienced and experienced      
pilots4 ,generally it is a matter of    
altitude1 for with sufficient height the
 greenest pilot can come out of         
anything1 if he does not lose his head4 
,for the man who would be the pilot for 
a large commercial plane1 such as the   
,glenn ,martin bomber1 the ,super       
,handley-,page in ,england1 or the      
,naval ,curtiss flying-boats1 no        
stunting is necessary4 ,he may sit in   
the cockpit of his machine1 and ramble  

off mile after mile with little motion1 
and with as little effort as the driver 
of a railroad locomotive4 ,he has a     
large1 steady machine1 and there will be
 no obligation for him to spill his     
freight along the course by turning over
 in midair4  ,whatever opinions may be  
held regarding the advisability of      
teaching stunting to a civilian pilot1  
there can be no question that a civilian
 pilot must have a long and thorough    
course in the very gentle but essential 
art of making forced landings4 ,the     
problem is that of controlling a machine
 with its engine cut off1 to have       
complete control of it within the radius
 of its gliding distance4 ,again1 the   
dart gliding to its uncertain landing4  
,in the hands of an unskilled pilot1 an 
airplane gliding without power is a very
 dangerous thing4 ,he may pile up the   
machine against some farm-house1 fence1 
haymow1 or clump of woods1 smashing it  
badly and injuring himself4 ,or he may1 
through inexperience1 lose flying speed 

in the course of his descent and topple 
over into a spin4  ,even the best pilot 
may make a mess of his machine if his   
engine goes dud over a forest1 city1    
swamp1 or other impossible              
landing-place4 ,it is his business more 
or less to keep clear of such tracts    
when flying4 ,but one of the tests of a 
good pilot is whether or not he can shut
 off his engine in the air1 pick out his
 particular field below1 taking into    
account that he must land against the   
wind1 then by a series of gliding turns 
find himself just coming out of the last
 turn in front of the fence4 ,he may    
make a gentle little zoom over the      
fence1 using every last bit of flying   
speed for the last kick1 and settle down
 gently on the other side4 ,one test of 
instructors in ,canada1 before they were
 allowed to take up pupils1 was to make 
three perfect forced landings in        
succession--one of them as the pilot    
came out of the spin4 ,with his head    
still reeling he must pick out his      

landing-place and make it4  ,the        
difficulty is1 of course1 not to        
undershoot1 to fall short4 ,it must be  
remembered that in case of actual engine
 failure there is no motive power1 and  
if a man calculates his distance too    
short1 he has nothing left but to make  
his landing where he may be4 ,he has    
lost his height and his chance to reach 
other fields4 ,he may find himself      
rolling into the fence of the field he  
was trying for4  ,or1 equally bad1 he   
may overshoot4 ,the distance was shorter
 than it looked1 he has more height to  
lose than he thought4 ,he can gain      
nothing by sticking the nose down1      
because in his plunge he gains speed    
which will carry him too far on the     
ground4 ,he may bowl over the fence1 or1
 if there is a field beyond1 make the   
next field4 ,more often he finds himself
 in a patch of woods with a broken      
airplane4  ,it is possible that on a    
turn1 a gliding turn with the engine    
shut off1 the pilot may lose his flying 

speed4 ,unless he is experienced1 he    
does not realize that on a turn the     
machine presents more surfaces to the   
air and greatly increases the air       
resistance4 ,it is likely to stall      
unless a safe margin of speed is        
maintained4 ,the dangerous part of this 
is that very often the machine will lose
 its speed when only a hundred feet from
 the ground1 approaching the field4     
,there is no chance to pull it out of a 
spin unless the pilot is alert and      
realizes that he has lost speed1 and    
noses down before he spins4 ,often he   
spins1 and a fall with an airplane from 
a hundred feet is just as nasty as it   
can be4  ,for his own safety in the air 
the civilian who is about to take up    
instruction in flying should insist at  
his flying-school that he be taught     
thoroughly1 to his own satisfaction1 the
 control of his machine with the engine 
shut off for the moment4 ,there is a    
certain feel1 a sing in the wires1 he   
must know4 ,he should continue at the   

work of forced landings1 going on his   
solo flights to various heights1 pick   
out his field1 shut off the motor1 and  
get down into that field--no other4 ,he 
should keep it up until he can make nine
 out of every ten absolutely perfect1   
and the tenth one1 though not perfect1  
still a good landing4  ,then it may be  
said that a pilot is safe4 ,when he     
knows in his own heart that nothing can 
happen to him which will throw him off  
his guard1 or which will worry him1 he  
can take the air without fear4     ,v   
,,qualifications ,,of ,,an ,,airplane   
,,mechanic   ,what chance has a good    
automobile man who knows his engine     
thoroughly to become an airplane        
mechanic8 ,there can be only one answer 
to this question which men ask          
themselves daily--there is every chance 
in the world4 ,commercial flying1 in the
 day when the air is to become a medium 
of transportation1 just as ground and   
water are at present1 must draw to      
itself hundreds of thousands of         

mechanics4 ,the only thing to which the 
future of flying may be compared is the 
automobile industry at present4 ,and the
 only place from which the mechanics are
 to be recruited are from the men who   
are working in garages putting          
automobiles in order4  ,an interesting  
comparison between the future for the   
automobile mechanic or airplane mechanic
 compared with the future for the pilot 
is afforded in the figures of a         
well-known flying-officer of great      
vision4 ,he expects that the skilled    
mechanic1 the man who has spent years at
 his trade1 will command more for his   
services than a pilot4 ,any one can     
learn to fly an airplane in one or two  
months of proper training4 ,a mechanic  
may work for years to learn his         
profession4  ,it was estimated that it  
took ten mechanics of various kinds on  
the ground to keep one airplane pilot   
flying in the air1 and the experience of
 the ,united ,states has shown that     
there must be a large force of trained  

men to keep up flying4 ,the present     
leaders of the automobile world and the 
aeronautical world are men who got their
 first interest in mechanics in some    
little shop4 ,glenn ,h4 ,curtiss and    
,harry ,g4 ,hawker1 the ,australian     
pilot1 both owned little bicycle-repair 
shops before they saw their opportunity 
in flying4  ,most essential of all1 for 
the man who would become an airplane    
mechanic1 is a thorough knowledge of    
gasolene-engines4 ,this should include  
not only a knowledge of such            
fundamentals as the theory of the       
internal-combustion engine1 carburetion1
 compression1 ignition1 and explosion1  
but also a keen insight into the whims  
of the human1 and terribly inhuman1     
thing--the gasolene-motor4 ,nothing can 
be sweeter when it is sweet1 and nothing
 more devilish when it is cranky1 than  
an airplane engine4  ,there are certain 
technical details which distinguish an  
airplane motor from an automobile motor1
 but a man who knows automobile engines 

can master the airplane motor in short  
order4 ,generally speaking1 the airplane
 motor differs from the automobile motor
 in shape4 ,the ,liberty type of engine 
is ,v-shaped1 with both sets of         
cylinders driving toward a common       
center1 the crankshaft4 ,most airplane  
motors have special carbureters1 and    
their oiling systems are extremely      
finely adjusted to take up any friction 
at their high speed4 ,they will be found
 to be lighter in weight1 with pistons1 
piston heads and other parts made of    
aluminium4 ,they are1 as a rule1 more   
carefully made than most automobile     
motors1 with especial attention to the  
fitting of all working parts4  ,one     
advantage which an airplane mechanic has
 is standardization1 which has reached a
 high point with ,liberty1              
,hispano-,suiza1 and ,curtiss engines4  
,once a mechanic has learned his type he
 has learned practically every engine of
 that type4 ,for a long time to come the
 #ah1jjj ,liberty engines which this    

country had at the time the armistice   
was signed will be carrying commercial  
airplanes across broad stretches of the 
,united ,states4 ,if it had not been for
 the pressure of the war this engine    
might have been developed slowly1 as the
 automobile engines were1 with changes  
from year to year4 ,the ,liberty engine 
has reached a high standard of          
efficiency1 and is likely to be the     
standard airplane engine in this country
 for several years to come4 ,an airplane
 mechanic who knows his ,liberty engine 
will be able to look after most of the  
airplanes with which he will come into  
contact4  ,an engine which was not      
developed to the same high point in this
 country as the ,liberty motor is the   
rotary engine1 of which the ,gnome      
,monosoupape or ,clerget are perhaps the
 best-known types4 ,these were favorites
 with airmen flying fighting            
scout-planes4 ,they weighed practically 
nothing1 for an engine4 ,a              
one-hundred-horse-power motor weighed   

only two hundred and sixty pounds1 and  
it was a splendid type for fast work4   
,briefly1 the power generated by the    
explosions in the cylinders1 operating  
against two centers of pressure1 gave a 
rotary motion to the cylinders and      
crankcase1 revolving around a           
stationary1 hollow crankshaft4          
,cylinders and crankcase were bolted    
together1 and the cylinders looked like 
the blades of an electric fan4 ,there   
was always an odd number of cylinders1  
so that there would be no dead-centers1 
no point at which two opposing strains  
would be balanced1 causing the engine to
 stop4 ,the propeller was bolted on a   
nose cap which revolved with the engine4
 ,this type of engine is not likely to  
be used to any extent for commercial    
flying1 or even flying for sport4 ,it is
 expensive1 very wasteful of gasolene   
and oil1 and difficult to keep in       
repair4  ,for men who may have had some 
experience in the assembly of airplanes 
at factories1 or of rigging them at     

flying-fields1 there is great           
opportunity4 ,expert riggers who know   
their craft are few and hard to get4    
,they are invaluable for maintaining a  
machine in flying condition4 ,the use of
 airplanes in this country will require 
men for rigging1 for truing up the wires
 and struts4 ,each airplane must be     
overhauled after a few hours of flight  
to discover hidden weaknesses and to    
tighten sagging wires4  ,rigging an     
airplane has some resemblance to rigging
 a ship for sailing4 ,the first         
requisite is to see that the machine is 
properly balanced in flying position4   
,there is a number of minute            
measurements which come with the        
blue-print of every machine and which   
must be followed out to the letter to   
get the most successful results4 ,an    
important detail is the pitch of the    
planes1 or the angle of incidence1 as it
 is called4 ,this is the angle which a  
plane makes with the air in the         
direction of its motion4 ,too great a   

pitch will slow up the machine by       
offering too great a resistance to the  
air2 too small an angle will not        
generate enough lift4 ,the tail plane   
must be attached with special care for  
its position4 ,its angle of incidence   
must exactly balance the plane1 and it  
must be bolted on so that there is no   
chance of it cracking off under strain4 
,radio operators will be in great demand
 for flying4 ,brig4-,gen4 ,a4,c4        
,critchley1 the youngest general officer
 in the ,british service1 who was a     
pilot in the ,royal ,air ,force1 said   
that the future development of the      
airplane must go hand in hand with the  
development of wireless communication4  
,he added that the most difficult thing 
about flying1 especially ocean flying1  
was to keep the course in heavy weather4
 ,there are no factors which will help a
 man on dead reckoning2 and a shift in  
wind1 unknown to the navigator of a     
plane1 will carry him hundreds of miles 
from his objective4 ,the wireless       

telephone was used to some extent during
 the war for communication between the  
ground and the air2 it will be used to a
 greater extent in the next few years4  
,another development which is being used
 by the navigators flying the ,atlantic 
is the radio compass4 ,this instrument  
may be turned toward a land or sea      
wireless station1 of which the call is  
known1 and it will register the bearing 
from the flying-boat to this station4   
,it may be turned upon another station1 
and this bearing also charted4 ,the     
intersection of these two wireless      
compass bearings gives the position of  
the ship at sea4 ,the radio compass is  
dependable day or night1 and is said to 
be quite as reliable as a sextant or    
other navigating instruments4           
,sailmakers to repair airplane fabrics1 
to sew new covers for planes--these men 
must find an opportunity in flying4     
,there are literally thousands of wings1
 as yet unmade1 which will carry the air
 traffic of the future4 ,it matters not 

whether men or women take up this branch
 of the work1 it must be done1 and done 
with a conscience4 ,like all other      
branches of the mechanical maintenance  
of an airplane1 careless work on the    
part of a sailmaker may mean disaster   
for the pilot4 ,one of the latest       
fatalities at a ,long ,island           
flying-field was due to careless        
stitching1 or weakness of fabric1 which 
gave way under great pressure due to    
high speed4 ,the linen cover of an upper
 plane ripped off at a height of one    
hundred and fifty feet1 and the pilot   
was killed in the fall of the machine4  
,photographers may yet take the place of
 surveyors1 or work hand in hand with   
them in the making of aerial maps of the
 country4 ,the map of the future must be
 an aerial map1 a mosaic map such as was
 used by our army headquarters4 ,nothing
 can exceed the eye of the camera for   
accuracy4 ,cameras bolted to airplanes1 
such as were used by our army for       
reconnaissance1 have already been used  

for mapping cities4 ,the mapping of the 
entire country in such a manner is only 
a matter of time4  ,one thing which an  
aviation mechanic of any sort must bear 
in mind is that he must do his work with
 a conscience4 ,true1 he is handling    
mute metal engines1 or dumb wires and   
struts--but in his work he holds the    
life of the pilot in his hand4 ,it is   
not too much to say that hundreds of    
pilots' lives have been saved by the    
conscientious work of skilled mechanics 
who realized the danger of the air4  ,i 
have seen mechanics rush from a hangar  
in a frenzy of excitement and agitation4
 ,that machine must not go up2 it has   
been repaired1 but not inspected6 ,they 
have done their work with a will in the 
army2 they have learned some of the     
dangers of flying and weak spots which  
must be watched4 ,the civilian mechanic 
must be taught many things4  ,first of  
all he must know the value of           
inspection4 ,every machine which has    
gone through a workshop must be         

inspected and checked over by a skilled 
mechanic before a pilot is allowed to   
fly it4 ,the ideal thing would be to    
have legislation licensing the          
inspectors of aircraft and requiring    
that repairs on all machines be examined
 by a licensed inspector4 ,the          
inspectors would be under civil service 
and would be selected by competitive    
examination4 ,it may sound fantastic1   
but such precautions are as necessary   
for the preservation of life as         
legislation on sanitary matters4  ,in   
the second place1 there should be time  
limits placed by law covering the period
 of usefulness of various parts of an   
airplane4 ,after fifty hours of flying  
there should be an inspection of certain
 working parts of the engine1 certain   
wires in the body which may be strained 
by bad landings1 and other wires in the 
rigging strained by flying in bad       
weather4 ,new wires are always sagging  
and stretching a bit4 ,wings will wash  
out1 lose their usefulness by excessive 

flying1 and must be replaced4 ,there is 
a great volume of data on these matters 
which should be the basis for laws      
covering mechanical inspection of       
airplanes1 and with which the airplane  
mechanic must become familiar4  ,for the
 man who would like to work into the    
piloting of aircraft there is a very    
good opportunity by starting with the   
mechanical side4 ,too many pilots know  
next to nothing about the construction  
of their machines4 ,when an engine goes 
bad they know that it won't run--that is
 all4 ,the pilot who is a good mechanic 
is a gifted man in his profession4      
,there are endless opportunities at     
flying-fields for mechanics who want to 
learn to fly4 ,during the war it became 
customary to take mechanics up for      
flying at least once in two weeks on    
some fields4 ,it gave the mechanic an   
interest in his work and an interest in 
the life of his pilot4 ,perhaps nothing 
stimulated accurate work by a mechanic  
more than the knowledge that at any time

 he might be called upon to ride in one 
of the planes he had helped make or     
repair4  ,some were taught flying by    
their officers1 and later qualified as  
pilots4 ,others went through as cadets  
and became pilots after the regular     
course4 ,the pilot of the future must   
learn the mechanical side1 and the      
mechanic should be a good pilot4 ,the   
two must go hand in hand to make flying 
a success4     ,,vi  ,,the ,,first      
,,crossing ,,of ,,the ,,atlantic   ,the 
story of the ,american triumph in being 
the first to fly from the ,new ,world to
 the ,old ,world is a story of careful1 
painstaking1 organized effort on the    
part of the ,american navy4 ,with the   
flight of ,lieut4-,commander ,albert ,c4
 ,read from ,rockaway ,naval ,air       
,station to ,plymouth1 ,england1 nearly 
four thousand five hundred land miles1  
the navy brought to fulfilment plans    
which had been maturing for two years4  
,since #aiag there have been naval      
flying-officers anxious to cross the    

ocean by air1 and their plans have been 
cast and recast from time to time4 ,at  
first there were many reasons why it was
 impossible to attempt such a thing     
while the ,united ,states was at war4   
,destroyers1 busily hunting ,german     
submarines1 could not be spared for a   
feat more spectacular than useful at the
 time4 ,pilots and mechanics could not  
be spared from the business at          
hand--training hundreds of seaplane     
pilots for service overseas4  ,american 
efforts to cross the ,atlantic by air   
date back to the spring of #aiad when   
the flying-boat ,america was built to   
the order of ,rodman ,wanamaker4 ,she   
was a large seaplane1 a new departure in
 her time1 and represented the combined 
effort of a number of the best seaplane 
designers in the world4 ,lieut4 ,john   
,c4 ,porte1 of the ,royal ,navy1 came   
over from ,england to be pilot of the   
boat1 and after her tests in ,august she
 was to have made her flight4 ,but      
,porte was recalled by his government at

 the outbreak of war and the project    
given up4  ,in the latter half of #aiah 
the naval seaplane ,,nc-#a was delivered
 to the ,rockaway ,naval ,air           
,station--the largest seaplane ever     
built on this side of the water4 ,she   
was originally planned1 with three      
sister ships1 as an aerial              
submarine-chaser4 ,one hundred and      
twenty-six feet from wing-tip to        
wing-tip1 she was equipped with three   
big ,liberty motors--a monster seaplane1
 ideally suited to the purpose for which
 she was designed4  ,the signing of the 
armistice interfered with her use as a  
submarine scout1 and naval plans for    
crossing the ocean in the air were      
brought from their pigeonholes4 ,the    
,,nc-#a and her sister ships under      
construction appeared to have been built
 for just such a flight4 ,when the war  
ended1 the navy as a whole1 and the     
naval air service in particular1        
concentrated attention on the           
possibilities of using the ,,nc planes  

for the flight4 ,one of the first       
decisions made was to increase the      
engine power by adding a fourth engine1 
and to enlarge the gasolene-tanks for a 
long flight4  ,early in ,march of this  
year it became apparent that the spring 
or early summer would see several       
attempts to cross the ocean by air4 ,on 
,march #aith it was reported from       
,england that the unfortunate ,sopwith  
machine with its lucky team of ,harry   
,g4 ,hawker and ,lieut4-,commander      
,mackenzie ,grieve had started from     
,england for ,newfoundland4 ,at the same
 time announcement was made that naval  
officers had been conferring over their 
,atlantic flight plans1 and that a start
 would be attempted some time in ,may4  
,as a matter of fact1 a great deal of   
work had been done in secret by         
,commander ,john ,h4 ,towers1           
,lieut4-,commander ,albert ,c4 ,read1   
and ,lieut4-,commander ,patrick ,n4,l4  
,bellinger4 ,as early as ,february #bdth
 a conference was held in ,washington   

and a date of ,may #aeth or #afth for   
the flight from ,newfoundland was set4  
,this date coincided with a full moon   
over the ,north ,atlantic1 and the      
machines started ,may #afth from        
,trepassey4  ,there were really only    
three routes open to pilots anxious to  
make the first crossing of the          
,atlantic4 ,there was the flight        
straight from ,newfoundland to ,ireland1
 a matter of about one thousand nine    
hundred miles of straight flying1 with  
the possibility of favoring winds4      
,there was the ,newfoundland-,azores    
route which the ,americans took1 and the
 route from ,dakar1 ,french ,senegal1 to
 ,pernambuco1 ,brazil1 which ,french    
fliers attempted4 ,in addition there was
 the possibility of flight from ,ireland
 to ,newfoundland1 given up by ,major   
,woods1 pilot of the ,short biplane1    
after his forced landing in the ,irish  
,sea4  ,the great question of a flight  
straight across the ,atlantic was that  
of fuel consumption4 ,could a machine be

 devised which would carry enough fuel  
to fly across one thousand nine hundred 
miles of water8 ,the ,sopwith ,aviation 
,company designed their machine for such
 a flight1 but sent it out to           
,newfoundland to catch and take         
advantage of the prevailing west winds  
across the ,north ,atlantic4 ,the story 
of the six weeks' wait for favorable    
weather1 and the desperate take-off to  
beat the ,american plane1 the ,,nc-#d1  
at the ,azores1 make it appear doubtful 
whether such winds are to be relied     
upon4  ,the ,american planes took       
advantage of those winds in their flight
 to the ,azores1 that much is certain4  
,but they were well protected with      
destroyers1 were not pushing their      
planes to the limit1 and did not depend 
upon favoring winds4 ,that the ,,nc-#a  
and the ,,nc-#c reached the ,azores1 but
 did not make safe landings in the      
harbor after their long flight1 is one  
of the fortunes of flying which must not
 reflect upon the ,american effort as a 

whole4  ,the ,french route which        
,lieutenant ,fontan1 of the ,french     
army1 tried twice1 and on which he was  
twice forced to land because of engine  
trouble1 was laid to take advantage of  
favoring winds4 ,across the ,south      
,atlantic the winds prevail in the      
spring of the year from east to west1   
contrary to the winds on the northern   
course4 ,a twenty-mile wind at the back 
of a flier jumping the one thousand     
eight hundred miles across this bit of  
water would add just twenty miles an    
hour to the ground speed of the machine4
  ,capt4 ,john ,alcock and ,lieut4      
,arthur ,whitten ,brown startled the    
entire world on ,june #ae1 #aiai1 with  
the success of their straight flight    
from ,newfoundland to ,ireland1 covering
 #a1ifj land miles in #af hours and #ab 
minutes1 at an average speed of #abj    
miles an hour4 ,not only was this the   
longest non-stop flight over land or    
water on record1 but the greatest       
international sporting event4 ,as such1 

though credit for the first flight of   
the ,atlantic belongs to the ,american  
,,nc-#d1 it eclipses for daring the     
flight of the ,american navy4 ,the      
,vickers-,vimy plane left ,st4 ,john's1 
,newfoundland1 on ,june #adth1 at #d4bi 
,p4,m41 ,greenwich mean time1 and landed
 at ,clifden1 ,ireland1 on ,june #aeth1 
at #h4dj ,a4,m41 ,greenwich mean time4  
,the machine was equipped with two      
#cge-;horse-power ,rolls-,royce ,eagle  
engines1 and had a wing span of #fg feet
 and measured #db feet #h inches over   
all4  ,the start of the ,american fliers
 was made after a series of tests of the
 seaplanes which covered a period of    
almost two months4 ,at the outset it was
 decided to fly three out of the four   
,,nc planes1 on the theory that one of  
the machines would probably prove to be 
weaker or less easy to handle than the  
others4 ,the ,,nc-#b proved to be the   
unfortunate sister in this case1 and    
because of some defects in the          
arrangement of her engine-bearing struts

 she was dismantled and left behind4    
,with the decision to start three planes
 simultaneously1 the navy made it clear 
that1 although it hoped all three       
seaplanes might complete the trip1      
allowance was made for one or two       
machines to give up the flight if they  
found themselves in trouble4  ,the      
,,nc-#a1 and ,,nc-#c1 and the ,,nc-#d   
all proved to be up to expectations1    
and1 with increased engine power1 showed
 that they could take-off the water with
 a load of twenty-eight thousand five   
hundred pounds4 ,after the necessary    
tests had been made on ,jamaica ,bay1   
,commander ,towers said on ,may #dth    
that the start would be made a little   
after daybreak1 ,may #fth4 ,there       
remained only the task of filling their 
hulls with one thousand eight hundred   
gallons of gasolene4  ,early in the     
morning of ,may #eth1 while mechanics   
were pumping gasolene into the tanks of 
the ,,nc-#a1 a spark from an electric   
pump fell into a pool of gasolene and   

set fire to her whole right side4 ,in a 
moment the heavily doped linen wings1   
with seasoned spruce spars1 were a mass 
of hot flame4 ,the sailors at work on   
the machine1 with complete disregard of 
their personal safety1 ran for          
fire-extinguishers1 and with the fire   
burning around the mouth of the open    
tanks1 confined it to the right wings of
 the machine and to the elevators of the
 ,,nc-#d standing close by4 ,no one     
believed that the ,,nc-#a could be made 
ready in time for the flight twenty-four
 hours away4  ,she was ready the next   
morning1 with fresh wings from the      
discarded ,,nc-#b1 but the flight was   
postponed on account of a heavy         
northeast wind1 reported all the way to 
,halifax4 ,the machines made their start
 from ,rockaway on the morning of ,may  
#hth1 at ten o'clock1 and two of them1  
the ,,nc-#a1 with ,lieutenant-,commander
 ,bellinger1 and the ,,nc-#c1 with      
,commander ,towers1 arrived at ,halifax 
after nine hours' flying4 ,the ,,nc-#d  

proved to be the lame duck on the first 
leg of the flight1 and came down at sea 
a hundred miles off ,chatham1 because of
 overheated bearings4 ,some alarm was   
felt during the night by the failure of 
destroyers to find her4 ,she appeared   
the next morning off the ,chatham       
breakwater1 taxi-ing under her own      
power4  ,while her sister ships1 the    
,,nc-#a and the ,,nc-#c1 were flying to 
,trepassey the ,,nc-#d waited at        
,chatham4 ,even after the repairs were  
made1 it seemed impossible for the      
,,nc-#d to catch up with the other two  
machines1 and she was held stormbound   
for five days4 ,on ,may #adth she       
finally got away from ,chatham1 and1    
with her new engines1 made the fastest  
time over the short course to ,halifax  
recorded since the beginning of the     
flight4 ,her average for the #cbj miles 
was #he nautical miles an hour1 about   
#bj miles an hour faster time than      
either of the other two machines had    
made4  ,four days later she left        

,halifax for ,trepassey in a last-minute
 effort to catch her sister planes4 ,it 
seemed certain that she could not get   
there in time and would be forced to    
follow on the course a day later4 ,just 
as she flew into ,trepassey ,bay1 on    
,may #adth1 the ,,nc-#a and ,,nc-#c were
 preparing to take-off4 ,they postponed 
their start until the next day4 ,in the 
mean while repairs were rushed and      
adjustments made1 and she was ready to  
start the next afternoon1 when all three
 planes started a little after six      
o'clock4  ,from the beginning of the    
flight from ,trepassey the ,,nc-#d1     
thought to be the lame duck of the      
squadron1 ran away from the other two   
machines4 ,she lost contact with them   
very quickly and plowed through the     
night alone1 laying her course by the   
line of destroyers lying beneath her4   
,she was about half an hour ahead of the
 ,,nc-#a at daybreak the next day and   
within an easy run of ,horta1 ,fayal4   
,the half-hour lead gave the ,,nc-#d a  

chance to get through a fog which was   
coming up over the ,azores ahead of the 
other machines4 ,she held a little above
 it until she thought she was in the    
right position4 ,then she came down     
through the mist4 ,as it happened1 she  
landed in the wrong harbor1 but picked  
herself up and found ,horta a few       
minutes later4 ,she landed in ,horta    
after fifteen hours and eighteen minutes
 of flying1 in which she averaged #gh4d 
nautical miles an hour for the flight4  
,the machine was nearly five hours ahead
 of the schedule laid down by the ,navy 
,department4  ,both the other planes    
were forced to land at sea1 the ,,nc-#c 
after #a1bej miles of flight--the       
longest ever made over water up to that 
time--and the ,,nc-#a after more than   
#a1ajj miles in the air4  ,the ,,nc-#a  
with ,bellinger and his crew was picked 
up on the morning of ,saturday1 ,may    
#agth1 by a ,greek steamer1 the ,ionia1 
and brought into ,horta4 ,towers with   
the ,,nc-#c tossed about for nearly     

sixty hours at sea and was not picked up
 until the following ,monday1 when the  
public had begun to fear for his safety4
  ,on ,tuesday1 ,may #bjth1 the ,,nc-#d 
hopped off for the shortest leg of the  
flight1 #aej miles from ,horta to ,ponta
 ,delgada1 where the fuel and supplies  
for the machines were4 ,with favoring   
winds at her back1 and with the lightest
 load she had carried1 she covered the  
distance in one hour and forty-four     
minutes1 an average speed of #hf4g      
nautical miles an hour1 or more than #ii
 land miles4 ,this was a new record for 
the seaplanes on the ocean flight4      
,meanwhile ,harry ,g4 ,hawker and       
,lieut4-,commander ,mackenzie ,grieve1  
the ,sopwith team waiting so long at    
,st4 ,john's for a chance to fly1       
stimulated in their daring attempt by   
reports of ,american successes at the   
,azores1 took-off on their flight       
straight across on the afternoon of     
,sunday1 ,may #ahth4 ,all through that  
night he flew1 when his engine began to 

give signs of overheating1 due to a     
clogged water-filter4 ,early the next   
morning1 about half-way across1 ,hawker 
decided that there was no chance to make
 the land1 and began looking through the
 fog for a chance for a safe landing4   
,by zigzagging on the steamship courses 
for about two hours1 with his engine hot
 but running well1 he picked up the     
,danish steamer ,mary1 and pancaked on  
the water about two miles ahead of her4 
,because the little tramp steamer had no
 wireless1 the world was kept waiting a 
week1 before word was signaled to land  
that ,hawker and ,grieve were safe4     
,with the ,sopwith team out of the race1
 it became evident that ,commander ,read
 and the ,,nc-#d would actually win the 
honors for the first flight4 ,on the    
morning of ,may #bgth he started over   
his well-patrolled course of eight      
hundred miles1 and1 after a little less 
than ten hours of flight1 brought his   
machine into the harbor before ,lisbon1 
,portugal4 ,americans had crossed the   

ocean in the air1 and the enthusiastic  
,portuguese capital turned out to do    
them every honor4  ,read1 however1      
rather than linger1 pushed on again ,may
 #cjth1 in the midst of the celebration 
for his triumph on the last leg of his  
course to ,plymouth1 seven hundred and  
seventy-five nautical miles4 ,engine    
trouble1 the first since the machine had
 left ,chatham1 developed1 and at the   
end of two hours he was forced to land  
at the mouth of the ,mondego ,river1    
about a hundred miles on his way4 ,the  
trouble was a water leak4 ,it was       
quickly repaired1 and he started again1 
but decided to put up at ,ferrol1       
,spain1 two hundred miles farther on the
 course1 for the night4  ,early in the  
morning of ,may #cast ,commander ,read  
started from ,ferrol for ,plymouth1 and 
at the end of seven hours and six       
minutes of flight came down in the      
harbor1 where a warm reception was      
waiting for him4 ,the actual flying time
 since leaving the ,rockaway ,naval ,air

 ,station was fifty-seven hours and     
sixteen minutes1 and the average rate of
 flight was at a speed of sixty-eight   
nautical miles an hour4     ,,vii       
,,landing-,,fields--,,the ,,immediate   
,,need   ,the immediate need1 to        
establish aviation throughout the entire
 country1 is a series of landing-fields 
from the ,atlantic to the ,pacific      
coast4 ,these landing-fields should not 
be designed primarily for               
transcontinental flying-stations1 but   
for city-to-city flying4 ,there is going
 to be a great amount of aerial traffic 
from ,new ,york to ,san ,francisco1 to  
be sure1 but the future of flying is in 
the linking up of cities a few hundred  
miles apart4 ,the ,war ,department has  
already taken steps1 and will establish 
thirty-two fields in the country to     
encourage flying4 ,many more are needed4
  ,atlantic ,city is apparently the     
pioneer air port of the country1 and for
 many reasons this is natural4 ,there   
are political and social advantages     

which make ,atlantic ,city ideal4 ,rules
 have been laid down for the coming and 
going of airships1 and a field for land 
machines and water space for seaplanes  
have been laid out4 ,a large            
aeronautical convention has already been
 held there4  ,every city in the ,united
 ,states will have a landing-field and  
hangars for airplanes1 as well as       
mechanics to care for them4 ,whether    
this is to be a private or public       
enterprise lies in the hands of the     
people handling such things4 ,much could
 be said for either type of             
establishment4 ,the thing must come2 it 
is as logical as one1 two1 three4 ,there
 are some1 perhaps1 who remember the    
roars of derision which went up when the
 first automobile garage was established
 in their town4 ,such a thing was       
visionary-there would never be enough   
machines to make it pay6  ,there are    
many reasons why it is impossible to    
consider the use of city roofs1 for the 
present1 as suitable landing-places for 

airplanes4 ,in fact1 the first          
successful landing on a roof made by    
,jules ,vedrines last ,january was      
hailed as a feat of almost unparalleled 
daring4 ,he flew and landed on the roof 
of the ,galeries ,lafayette in ,paris1  
and won a prize of #e1jjj for doing it4 
,the police of ,paris refused to allow  
him to fly off the roof1 and he was     
compelled to take his machine apart and 
lower it in an elevator4  ,the theory of
 flight1 the laws which make it possible
 apparently to defy all laws of         
gravitation1 make it impossible for us  
to depend on the roofs of buildings in  
large cities and landing-places4 ,it    
will be a long time before the dreams of
 men who would establish landing-places 
on hotel roofs can come true4 ,the      
progress of aeronautical development has
 been great enough so that there is no  
need to overemphasize it--to set        
ridiculous tasks which cannot be        
accomplished4  ,we shall not see the    
business man flying to his office in the

 city from his country estate--unless   
some landing-field is built on the lower
 end of ,manhattan ,island as has been  
proposed4 ,the ,chamber of ,commerce of 
the ,state of ,new ,york has taken up   
the matter of legislation to make       
landing-fields possible1 and it must go 
through4 ,the business man ought1 in the
 near future1 to be able to use the     
airplane for quick trips to ,albany4 ,it
 would save hours over rail time1 and   
here the airplane has a wonderful field 
of usefulness4  ,airplanes have made the
 trip from ,washington to ,new ,york in 
very quick time1 only to have to go on  
to ,mineola to land on the airdrome     
there4 ,it takes nearly an hour to come 
in from ,mineola1 but even at that the  
saving of time is still considerable4   
,the speed and efficiency of airplane   
travel to and from ,new ,york and other 
cities is materially affected by the    
lack of landing-fields close to the     
business section of the city4  ,there   
must be a large field1 broad in every   

dimension1 to permit the landing and    
taking-off of airplanes4 ,a machine must
 get up flying speed running across the 
ground before it gets into the air4 ,the
 flying speed varies with the type of   
machine1 and it may be estimated that   
most machines take-off and land at a    
speed of from forty-five to sixty miles 
an hour4 ,the air must be passing       
through their planes at this speed      
before they will begin to fly1 and it   
takes a little run to get up flying     
speed4 ,similarly1 when an airplane     
lands1 it must lose its flying speed    
gradually4 ,it may glide to within a few
 feet of the ground1 and then flatten   
out just off the ground and run along   
until it loses its speed1 the air no    
longer passes over its planes fast      
enough to support it1 and it drops to   
the ground4  ,such are the limitations  
which the necessity for speed in        
airplane flight imposes4 ,compare the   
paper dart flying through the air4 ,as  
long as it moves quickly it will fly4   

,or a kite1 that will fly when the wind 
is strong enough4 ,the airplane creates 
its own wind to support itself4  ,there 
are four forces acting on an airplane in
 flight1 and they must be properly      
overcome and balanced4 ,there is lift1  
the upward force exerted on the planes  
by the passage of air over their        
surfaces2 and drift1 the resistance to  
the passing of an airplane1 the         
retarding force acting opposite to the  
direction of motion4 ,then thrust1 the  
forward effort of a machine exerted by a
 propeller pushing or pulling4 ,and     
finally gravity4  ,the primary          
conditions of flight are that lift made 
by the planes shall be equal to the     
force of gravity1 and that the forward  
thrust must be equal to the drift4 ,at  
that point a machine will sustain       
flight--a fairly simple thing on paper4 
,but the times that machines have       
stalled in the air1 with their motors   
full on because their pilots have failed
 to sustain flight1 have let the force  

of gravity overcome lift1 are too       
numerous to mention4  ,that dart1 if    
pointed at a proper angle and let loose1
 will fly2 its lift will overcome the   
force of gravity1 even though it has no 
motive power of its own4 ,an airplane   
without an engine could be pushed off   
the ,palisades at flying speed1 and a   
skilful pilot could bring it to a       
reasonably safe landing at the foot4    
,flight does depend on motion1 but      
motion does not depend on motive power4 
,given a sufficiently high altitude1 the
 mere act of dropping through the air   
creates motion1 and this motion will    
sustain flight4  ,an airplane is in no  
particular danger in the air if the     
motor stops--provided it is in an open  
stretch of country with plenty of       
fields4 ,instinctively the pilot will   
nose down and glide1 and on that glide  
he will find himself maintaining flying 
speed4 ,he can turn and maneuver his    
machine1 and pick out almost any field  
near at hand4 ,the only limitations are 

that he cannot glide more than five     
times his height1 and when he comes down
 to the ground he must stop gliding and 
land4 ,he must land on anything that    
presents itself1 a field if he has good 
judgment2 if not1 then a barn or swamp  
or woods4 ,he must land when the end of 
his glide brings him to the ground4     
,this is commonly termed a forced       
landing1 and in every sense of the word 
it is one4 ,there is no pilot of any    
extensive flying experience who has not 
had to make a forced landing4 ,ninety   
out of a hundred are perfectly orderly  
safe landings2 the odd ones are         
occasionally crashes4 ,incidentally it  
may be said that forced-landing practice
 by flying pupils is the most beneficial
 which may be imagined4 ,it teaches     
control over a machine as nothing else  
will4 ,it may be carried out from any   
height1 shutting off the motor1 picking 
out a field1 gliding for it1 turning and
 twisting to get into proper position as
 regards the wind1 and giving her the   

gun just at the fence and flying on4  ,a
 forced landing over the country is     
safe1 but over a city it is the most    
deadly thing imaginable4 ,for a machine 
caught with a dud engine over ,new ,york
 there is no escape but a terrific crash
 in the city streets1 against the side  
of some building1 with danger to the    
pilot and the people in the street      
below4 ,there has been no motor made by 
the hand of man which would not let a   
pilot down at some unexpected time4 ,the
 instance of ,major ,woods1 starting on 
his flight across the ,atlantic1 and    
forced to come down to the ,irish ,sea  
is one example4 ,the ,,nc-#d1 ,american 
naval seaplane1 had a forced landing at 
sea1 a hundred miles from ,chatham1     
,massachusetts1 on the first leg of the 
,atlantic flight from this side4 ,its   
engines had been carefully cleaned and  
tested1 and yet they failed4 ,harry ,g4 
,hawker's engine failed him half-way    
from ,newfoundland to ,ireland and let  
him down into the sea1 from which he was

 picked up by the greatest good luck4   
,that is one of the most exasperating   
and human things about a                
gasolene-engine4 ,it is efficient1 but  
not thoroughly dependable4 ,the best of 
them are liable to break down at the    
most needed moment1 due to a hundred    
causes outside of the control of a      
mechanic or pilot4 ,care and rigid      
inspection will reduce the              
possibilities1 but engine failure cannot
 yet be eliminated4  ,that is one of the
 principal reasons why the roofs of     
buildings around big cities are so      
dangerous4 ,the sides of a building drop
 away from the roof4 ,an error in       
judgment and the machine is over the    
edge4  ,it is even more dangerous to    
take-off4 ,an airplane motor is ten     
times as likely to develop a weakness   
while it is cold4 ,a motor starting a   
flight is never well warmed up1 and     
fifty feet from the edge of the roof it 
may give out1 with awful consequences4  
,as a practicable thing1 roofs are at   

present impossible4 ,there is not a     
flying-officer in the world who will not
 agree4  ,an interesting series of      
experiments has been carried out in     
,england on what has been known as the  
helicopter machine4 ,this machine is not
 dependent upon speed to fly1 but merely
 on engine power applied through a      
propeller of great pitch4 ,the idea is  
not new1 but is along the lines         
specified by ,orville ,wright when he   
said that a kitchen table could fly if  
it had a good enough engine4  ,the      
effort is being made to make a machine  
which can hover1 can hold itself in the 
air by brute force of its propeller     
blades beating the air4 ,the thing      
sounds impossible to adapt1 say some    
aeronautical engineers4 ,those who have 
seen the experiments1 however1 express  
great optimism4  ,a machine of this sort
 would land and take-off in a very small
 space1 and might be adapted to use     
around cities4 ,it might even make      
flying over cities safe but for the     

human equation of the engine again4     
,this machine is dependent on engine    
power4 ,apparently there would be two   
engines1 or two driving mechanisms1 one 
operating the lifting propeller and the 
other the pulling propeller4  ,for the  
present the great need is for           
landing-fields as near the heart of most
 ,american cities as possible4 ,there   
should be quick transportation to the   
business section provided1 as well as   
hangars and mechanics4 ,when that is    
done we may very well say that aerial   
transportation for passengers and       
freight is an accomplished fact4        
,,viii  ,,the ,,airplane',s ,,brother   
,at the end of #ajh hours and #ab       
minutes of sustained flight1 more than  
four days1 the ,british dirigible ,r-#cd
 swung into ,roosevelt ,field1 came to  
anchor1 and finished the first flight of
 the ,atlantic by a lighter-than-air    
airship4 ,to the wondering throngs which
 went down ,long ,island to see her huge
 gray bulk swinging lazily in the wind1 

with men clinging in bunches1 like      
centipedes1 to her anchor ropes1 and her
 red1 white1 and blue-tipped rudder     
turning idly1 she was more than a great 
big balloon1 but a forerunner of times  
to come4 ,she had come to us1 a pioneer 
over the sea lanes which are to be      
thronged with the swift dirigibles of   
the future plying their easy way from   
,america to ,europe4  ,the performance  
of the ,r-#cd1 undertaken in the line of
 duty1 has eclipsed all the previous    
records made by dirigibles and is1 in   
fact1 a promise of bigger things to     
come4 ,there was that ,zeppelin1 which  
cruised for four days and nights down   
into ,german ,east ,africa and out      
again1 carrying twenty-five tons of     
ammunition and medicine for the ,germans
 who were surrounded and obliged to     
surrender before help arrived4  ,the    
,r-#cd started from ,east ,fortune1     
,scotland1 on ,wednesday1 ,july #b1     
#aiai1 at #b4dh o'clock in the morning1 
,british summer time1 and arrived1 after

 an adventurous voyage1 at ,mineola1    
,sunday1 ,july #f1 at #i4ed ,a4,m41     
,american summer time4 ,she had clear   
sailing until she hit the lower part of 
,nova ,scotia on ,saturday4 ,electrical 
storms1 which the dirigible rode out1   
and also heavy head winds1 kept her from
 making any progress1 and used up the   
gasolene4 ,about noon of ,saturday the  
gasolene situation became acute1 and    
,major ,g4,h4 ,scott1 her commander1    
sent a wireless message to the ,united  
,states ,navy ,department at            
,washington1 asking for destroyers to   
stand by in the ,bay of ,fundy in case  
the gasolene should run short and the   
airship get out of control4 ,destroyers 
were immediately despatched1 but in the 
next few hours the weather improved1 and
 the ship was able to continue on her   
journey4 ,it was feared1 however1 she   
might run out of fuel before reaching   
,long ,island1 and mechanics were sent  
to ,chatham and to ,boston to pick her  
up in case of trouble4  ,the big ship   

surprised everybody by appearing over   
,long ,island about nine o'clock ,sunday
 morning4 ,the officer in charge of the 
landing party having gone to ,boston1   
expecting her arrival there1 ,major     
,john ,pritchard stepped down in a      
parachute from the airship1 and1 landing
 lightly1 took charge of the landing of 
the big machine4  ,an approaching       
cyclone1 which would have made it almost
 impossible to handle the airship at    
,mineola1 was responsible for a rather  
hurried start back at midnight of       
,wednesday1 ,july #ith4 ,she visited    
,broadway in the midst of the midnight  
glare1 turned over ,forty-second ,street
 a little after one o'clock in the      
morning1 and put out to sea and her home
 airdrome4 ,the voyage back was mostly  
with favoring winds1 and she landed at  
,pulham1 the airship station in         
,norfolk1 after #ge hours and #c minutes
 of flight4 ,the voyage back was        
practically without incident except for 
the failure of one engine1 which in no  

way held back the airship4 ,she was     
turned off her course to ,east ,fortune 
by reports that there were storms and   
head winds which might hold her back in 
case she kept on her way4  ,the voyage  
was probably the most significant in the
 history of flying4 ,it brought home to 
the public the possibilities of the     
airship for ocean commerce as nothing   
else could have done4 ,the ship remained
 in the air longer than any previous    
airship1 and pointed the way clear to   
commercial flying4 ,it is1 in fact1 only
 considered a matter of time before     
companies are started to carry          
passengers and mails across the         
,atlantic at a price that would offer   
serious competition to the fastest      
steamships4  ,the airship has been very 
much neglected by popular favor4 ,its   
physical clumsiness1 its lack of        
sporting competition in comparison with 
the airplane which must fight to keep   
itself up in the air1 its lack of       
romance as contrasted with that of the  

airplane in war1 have all tended to cast
 somewhat of a shadow over the          
lighter-than-air vessel and cause the   
public to pass it by without interest4  
,it is a very real fact1 therefore1 that
 very few people realize either the     
services of the airship in the war or   
its possibilities for the future4       
,during the war the airship was         
invaluable in the ceaseless vigil for   
the submarine4 ,england early stretched 
a cordon of airship guards all about her
 coasts and crippled the ,u-boats' work 
thereby4 ,the airship had a greater     
range of vision and a better downward   
view than any sea-vessel2 it could      
travel more slowly1 watch more closely1 
stay out much longer1 than any other    
vessel of the air4 ,the ,british credit 
their airships with several successful  
attacks on submarines1 but they give    
them a far greater place in causing a   
fear among the under-sea boats which    
drove them beneath the surface and      
greatly limited their efficiency4  ,the 

,german ,zeppelins1 on the other hand1  
stand out in public imagination as a    
failure in the war1 especially because  
the ,british shortly established an     
airplane barrage which proved to be     
their masters4 ,this view is correct    
only in so far as it applies to interior
 raiding1 for which1 indeed1 the        
,zeppelin was not designed4 ,how untrue 
it is of the ,zeppelin as the outpost   
for the ,german fleet ,british officers 
will readily admit4 ,indeed1 they credit
 them with the escape of the ,german    
fleet at ,jutland1 one of the deepest   
regrets in ,british naval history4 ,as  
eyes for the ,german fleet in the ,north
 ,sea1 the ,zeppelins1 with their great 
cruising range and power of endurance1  
proved almost invaluable4  ,airships    
have1 then1 behind them a rich heritage 
and before them a bright future4 ,much  
work that the airplane can do they      
cannot do2 while1 on the other hand1    
much work that they can do the airplane 
cannot4 ,the two services are           

essentially different and yet           
essentially complementary4 ,between them
 they offer nearly every facility and   
method of travel in the air which could 
be desired4 ,each must be equally       
developed in order to increase the      
efficiency and the value of the other4  
,the great difference1 of course1       
between the airplane and the airship is 
that the former sustains itself as a    
heavier-than-air vessel by the lifting  
power of the air in relation to a body  
driven hard against it by its powerful  
engines1 while the latter sustains      
itself as a lighter-than-air body       
because of the large amount of air      
displaced by a huge envelop loaded with 
gas much lighter than the air itself4   
,the contrast is obvious2 one vessel is 
small1 agile1 and very fast2 the other  
is slow and clumsy4 ,the airship cannot 
attain anything like the speed of the   
airplane1 nor can it go so high or      
maneuver so quickly1 but on the other   
hand1 at least for the immediate        

present1 it can stay afloat very much   
longer and carry much greater weight4   
,moreover1 the airship has certain other
 easily perceptible advantages over the 
airplane4 ,ordinarily an airship need   
not fly at much more than a thousand    
feet1 which not only makes far less cold
 traveling than at higher altitudes1 but
 also allows the passengers to enjoy the
 view far better than from an airplane1 
whence the world below looks like a dull
 contour map4 ,an airship also flies on 
an even keel2 it does not bank as an    
airplane does nor does it climb or      
descend so quickly4  ,at present airship
 travel gives a greater feeling of      
comfort and security4 ,sleeping is a    
calm experience2 moving about           
comparatively simple4 ,also there is    
less noise than in an airplane where the
 engines beat incessantly and the wind  
rushes through the wires and struts4 ,an
 airship has no wires and can at the    
same time slow down and even shut off   
its engine1 so that it need be no more  

noisy than a motor-car4 ,engine failure 
also is not so serious as in an         
airplane1 for the gas-bag will always   
keep the ship up until there has been a 
chance for repairs4  ,up to the present1
 too1 the airship is less of a          
fair-weather flier than the airplane4 ,a
 surprising record has been attained in 
the war by ,british airships1 as is     
shown by the fact that in #aiah1 a year 
of execrable weather1 there where only  
nine days during which their vessels    
were not up4 ,this is1 of course1 in    
considerable contrast to airplanes as at
 present developed1 but it may          
reasonably be expected that the latter  
will very soon develop to the same point
 of independence of the weather4  ,of   
course1 the great difficulty of airships
 has been their ungainly size and the   
difficulty of housing them4 ,the sheds1 
particularly those for the ,zeppelins1  
have been most costly1 but the ,british 
have recently developed a system of     
mooring masts which make much of this   

expense unnecessary4 ,if such a device  
can be successfully put into every-day  
use it will enormously increase the ease
 of loading and unloading passengers1   
which now makes for considerable        
discomfort and loss of time4  ,some of  
the plans for future airships are       
unbelievable to one who has not followed
 their development carefully4 ,already  
there is planned in ,england a monster  
ship known as the ten million1 for the  
reason that it will have a gas capacity 
of ten million cubic feet1 over four    
times that of the largest ,zeppelin4    
,the length is placed at #a1ajj feet1   
the speed at #ie miles an hour1 the     
cruising range #bj1jjj miles1 and the   
cost at about #a1jjj1jjj4 ,as a matter  
of actual practice1 however1 the best   
division of the space and lifting power 
of this airship would be for it to carry
 a crew of about #bj1 a useful load of  
#bjj passengers or #aej tons of         
merchandise1 and #ej tons of petrol1    
which would give it a non-stop run of   

about #e1jjj miles4  ,airship travel    
would undoubtedly be expensive4 ,the gas
 alone to maintain such a vessel as     
described is expected to cost about #cj 
an hour1 which1 added to the original   
investment for the ship and its house   
and the wages of the crew and the #bjj  
or more skilled men at each station1    
would come up to a high figure4 ,at the 
same time1 the airship would not afford 
the element of very high speed which is 
so certain to justify any expense which 
may have to be put into the airplane4   
,nevertheless1 with the improvements    
that are sure to come1 with the ability 
to reach places not touched by other    
methods of travel1 the freedom from all 
the delays1 inconveniences1 and expense 
of trans-shipment1 this preliminary     
charge will be largely compensated for4 
,those who sponsor the airship urge that
 it will be used almost exclusively for 
long-distance flights beyond the range  
of the ordinary airplane and very little
 for short local flights4 ,for          

transatlantic travel1 for instance1 it  
is being particularly pressed1 as ships 
even of to-day have all the capacity for
 such a voyage1 without the dangers     
which might surround an airplane if its 
sustaining engine power were to give    
out4  ,there are several records which  
would easily justify it4 ,besides the   
flight across the ,atlantic by the      
,r-#cd and the four-day trip of the     
,german airship from ,bulgaria to       
,africa and back1 a ,british airship    
during the war stayed up for #ej hours  
and #ee minutes1 and another1 just after
 the armistice1 stayed up for #fa hours4
 ,an ,american naval dirigible a short  
time after the armistice made a flight  
from ,new ,york to ,key ,west1 #a1bjj   
miles1 at #dj miles an hour1 for        
#bi-a_/b hours1 with one stop at        
,hampton ,roads4 ,as an example of some 
of the difficulties of airship travel1  
this landing was possible only after the
 ship had circled the town and dropped a
 message asking the people to go to a   

large field near by and catch the       
dirigible drag-net when it approached   
the ground4 ,even at that1 however1 the 
time of less than a day and a quarter   
for what is usually a very arduous train
 trip from ,new ,york down the coast to 
,florida gives some indication of the   
possibilities of this method of travel  
when properly developed4  ,practically  
all the new airships contemplated look  
to a much greater speed than the pre-war
 speed of about #dj miles an hour4 ,it  
is not at all uncertain that they will  
not run up as high as #ajj miles1 though
 at the present time that figure is     
extreme4 ,but granted that they no more 
than double the pre-war speed and reach 
the actual figure contemplated of about 
#ge miles an hour1 they still would     
triple the best passenger-steamer speed1
 which would make them a matter of the  
utmost importance in all long ocean     
voyages4  ,just how the balance will be 
struck between airplanes and airships is
 a big question4 ,it is interesting to  

note1 however1 that the supporters of   
the airship have worked out a general   
theory that the lighter-than-air vessel 
with its already demonstrated cruising  
and weight-carrying capacity will be    
used for all long routes1 and for that  
almost exclusively1 while the           
heavier-than-air vessel1 with its great 
speed and facility for maneuvering1 will
 be used for local flights4 ,this1 in   
their viewpoint1 would mean that the    
world would be girded by great lanes of 
airships1 fed from a few main centers by
 swift-scurrying airplanes radiating in 
from every direction4     ,,ix  ,,the   
,,call ,,of ,,the ,,skies   ,the day of 
the air has undoubtedly come4 ,the old  
order of the world has been entirely    
changed4 ,a new life is breaking in over
 the near horizon4 ,almost in a moment  
the span of the world has shrunk to a   
quarter of its former size1 so that     
where before we thought in terms of     
countries very soon we must think in    
terms of continents4 ,the world is      

shortly to be linked up as it never has 
been before1 till the great continents  
are brought as near as were the near-by 
nations of the past years4  ,any one who
 doubts the future of aviation should   
realize the helplessness of the science 
after the armistice because of the      
complete lack of international laws to  
make possible its application in        
,europe1 where it was most highly       
developed4 ,with men and machines ready1
 they had to hold to the ground largely 
because there was in force no treaties  
assuring them the right to cross        
frontiers4 ,the broad plans for         
international routes were held up       
because aviation itself was so big in   
its expanse that it could not meet its  
just fulfilment within national lines4  
,as a result a new law must be written4 
,the law of the air will be one of the  
most intricate and the most fascinating 
in the world4 ,it presents problems     
never before presented and covers a     
scope paralleled only by the laws of the

 sea4 ,very fortunately1 however1 aerial
 international law may be written at the
 very start of the science by a common  
international standard and practice1    
thus obviating the greatest part of the 
divergences which long years of habit   
have grafted into the maritime laws of  
the various nations4 ,the slate is clean
 so that uniformity may be assured in a 
law which is soon to come into the most 
vital touch with the daily lives of the 
nations4  ,who1 for instance1 owns the  
air above the various nations8          
,obviously the individual landowner has 
rights1 especially as to freedom from   
damage4 ,the nation also has rights1    
especially for its protection and for   
police work4 ,how high1 however1 does   
this jurisdiction go8 ,some assert that 
a maximum altitude should be set1 say   
five thousand feet1 above which the air 
would be as free as the seas2 others    
that each nation must have unqualified  
control to the limit of the ether4      
,then comes the question of passports1  

customs1 registration1 safety           
precautions1 and damages4 ,as already   
shown1 the man on the ground is helpless
 against the airplane which chooses to  
defy him4 ,people and goods can cross   
national lines by the air without       
passports or customs4 ,there will be no 
main ports of entry as in sea or train  
commerce1 and it is too much to think   
that any nation can patrol its whole    
aerial frontier in all its various air  
strata4 ,undesirable immigrants or small
 precious freight can be smuggled in    
with the greatest ease through the route
 of the air4  ,obviously the most       
elaborate international rules are       
necessary4 ,planes must have some method
 of international registration and      
license1 just as in a more limited sense
 ships on the seas have what amounts to 
an international status4 ,landing-fields
 must be established and open to foreign
 planes1 each nation providing some kind
 of reciprocal landing rights to other  
nations4 ,arrangements must be made so  

that if a monkey-wrench drops out of a  
plane a mile or two up in the air proper
 damages can be collected4 ,for such    
things there is to-day but little       
precedent in law4  ,this but sketches   
the problems4 ,it shows1 however1 how   
closely this new science will bind the  
world together and obliterate national  
lines and nationalistic feelings4 ,as   
the sea has been the great civilizer of 
the past1 so the air will be the great  
civilizer of the future4 ,through it men
 will be brought most intimately in     
touch with one another and forced to    
learn to live together as they have not 
been forced to live together before4    
,the artificial barriers that have stood
 so firm between nations in the past are
 now swept away and a great common      
medium of intercommunication opened4    
,let it not be understood that all this 
will take place overnight4 ,far from it1
 for the experience of the war has      
taught only too well that the           
organization of an air force takes time 

and patience4 ,up to date the essential 
fact is that the science1 the value1 and
 the possibilities of flight have been  
proved in a thousand different ways4    
,vistas of travel and experience have   
been opened up which but a few months   
ago would have seemed fanciful4         
,everywhere men are dreaming dreams of  
the future which challenge one's deepest
 imagination4 ,already ,caproni1 the    
great ,italian inventor1 has signed a   
contract to carry mails from ,genoa to  
,rio ,janeiro4  ,now comes news of an   
airplane with room for ninety-two       
passengers4 ,engine power and wing space
 have gone on increasing in a dazzling  
way till one is almost afraid to guess  
what the future may hold4 ,but1 omitting
 all prophecy1 the actual               
accomplishments to date are so          
stupendous that there is no need to     
speculate as to the future4 ,if all     
technical development were to stop just 
where it stands1 the factories and      
workshops of the world could well be    

occupied for years in turning out the   
machines necessary for the work awaiting
 them4 ,scientific development has gone 
so infinitely far ahead of actual       
production that as yet aviation is not  
being put to a fraction of its use4     
,even more serious1 however1 is the     
general public failure to realize the   
gift which is within their reach4       
,flying was first a circus stunt and    
later a war wonder4 ,the solid practical
 accomplishments have been lost sight of
 in the weird or the spectacular4       
,people who marveled when a ,british    
plane climbed up nearly six miles into  
the air1 or #cj1jjj feet1 where its     
engine refused to run and its observer  
fainted1 failed generally to analyze    
what the invasion of this new element   
would mean in the future of mankind4    
,what is now needed is a big1 broad     
imagination to seize hold of this new   
thing and galvanize it into actual      
every-day use4 ,there are many skeptics1
 of course1 many who point out1 for     

instance1 that the element of cost is   
prohibitive4 ,this is both fallacious in
 reasoning and untrue in fact4 ,a modern
 two-seated airplane1 even to-day1 costs
 not over #e1jjj1 or about the price of 
a good automobile4 ,very soon1 with     
manufacturing costs standardized and the
 elements of newness worn off1 this     
price will fall as sharply as it has    
already fallen during the war4  ,but    
what1 after all1 is cost in comparison  
with time8 ,modern civilization will pay
 dearly for any invention which will    
increase ever so little its hours of    
effectiveness4 ,the great ,german liners
 before the war lavished money without  
stint to save a day or two in crossing  
the ,atlantic4 ,the limited express     
trains between ,new ,york1 ,boston1     
,washington1 and ,chicago have for years
 made money by carrying busy men a few  
hours more quickly to their destination4
 ,what will not be paid if these times  
of travel can be reduced practically to 
half8  ,the element of danger has been  

reduced to a minimum and will be still  
more reduced as emphasis is laid on     
safety rather than wartime agility4     
,many men1 of course1 will meet their   
death in the air1 just as in the early  
days many men met their death in ships  
and in railroad trains1 but this will   
not be a deterrent if the goal is worth 
attaining4 ,there will be accidents in  
learning to fly1 there will be accidents
 of foolhardiness and of collision or in
 landing1 but they will decrease to the 
vanishing-point as experience grows4    
,already the air routes which have been 
established have a high record of       
success and freedom from fatalities4    
,the great need of aviation to-day is   
faith--faith among the people1 among the
 manufacturers1 among the men who will  
give it its being4 ,its success is as   
inevitable as that day follows night1   
but the question of when that success is
 attained1 now or generations from now1 
is dependent on the vision which men put
 into it4 ,if they are apathetic and    

unreasonable1 if they chafe at details  
or expect too much1 it will be held     
back4 ,if1 on the other hand1 they go to
 meet it with confidence1 with coolness1
 and with a realization both of its     
difficulties and its potentialities1 its
 success will be immediate4  ,the task  
is one of the greatest1 the most vital1 
and the most promising which mankind has
 ever faced4 ,with the general theories 
proved and demonstrated1 the great      
crisis of invention has passed1 and the 
slow1 unspectacular process of          
development and application has set in4 
,now has come the time for serious1     
sober thought1 for careful1 analytical  
planning1 for vision combined with      
hopefulness4 ,it is well in these early 
days1 when flight is with the general   
public a very special and occasional    
event1 to remember what has happened    
since ,watt developed the steam-engine  
only a few generations ago1 when        
,columbus set the first ship westward1  
or when ,america's first train ran over 

its rough tracks near the ,quincy       
quarries4  ,the development of aviation 
will be world-wide and will include all 
sorts and races of men4 ,the nations all
 start pretty much abreast4 ,those which
 developed war air services have an     
advantage in material and experience1   
but this is a matter only for the       
moment4 ,the main lines of progress are 
now pretty widely known and the field is
 wide open to those who have the        
imagination to enter it4 ,there is      
practically no handicap at this early   
stage which cannot be overcome with     
ease4  ,there is1 of course1 an element 
of individual gamble to those who enter 
this competition4 ,undoubtedly there    
will be many failures1 as in all new    
fields2 failures come to those who put  
in capital as well as those who         
contribute their scientific knowledge4  
,but by the same token there will be    
great successes both financially and    
scientifically4 ,the prize that is being
 striven for is one of the richest that 

have ever been offered and the rewards  
will be in accordance4 ,this has been   
the case at the birth of every great    
development in human progress and will  
undoubtedly be the case with the science
 of flight4 ,until a field becomes      
standardized it offers extremes on both 
sides rather than a dull1 dreary1 but   
safe average4  ,as aviation runs into   
every phase of activity it will require 
every kind of man--manufacturer1        
scientist1 mechanic1 and flier4 ,it     
offers problems more interesting and    
more complex than almost any others in  
the world4 ,the field is new and virgin1
 the demand world-wide1 and the rewards 
great4 ,for the flier there is all the  
joy of life in the air1 above the chains
 of the earth1 reaching out to new1     
unvisited regions1 free to come and go  
for almost any distance at any level    
desired1 a freedom unparalleled4 ,for   
the manufacturer there is all the lure  
of a new product destined in a short    
time to be used as freely as the        

automobile of to-day2 for the scientist 
there are problems of balance1          
meteorology1 air pressure1 engine power1
 wing spread1 altitude effects1 and the 
like in a bewildering variety2 for the  
explorer1 the geographer1 the map-maker 
a wholly new field is laid open4  ,the  
best men of every type are needed to    
give aviation its full fruition4 ,in    
,europe this is realized to a supreme   
degree4 ,england especially1 and also   
,france and ,italy1 have put their best 
genius at work to fulfil the conquest of
 the air4 ,their progress is astonishing
 and should be a challenge to the ,new  
,world4 ,after the natural hiatus which 
followed the armistice the leading men  
have set to work with redoubled vigor to
 take first place in the air4  ,in      
twenty years' time our life of to-day   
will seem centuries old1 just as to-day 
it is hard to realize that the          
automobile and motor-truck do not date  
back much over a generation4 ,no change 
that has ever come in man's history will

 be so great as the change which takes  
him up off the ground and into the air4 
,this swift and dazzling era that is so 
close upon us is hardly suspected by the
 great mass of people4 ,the world will  
be both new and better for it4 ,less    
than the train or the motor-car will the
 airplane disturb its features4 ,on the 
blue above white wings will glitter for 
a moment1 a murmuring as of bees will be
 heard1 and the traveler will be gone1  
the world unstained and pure4 ,meanwhile
 high in the clouds1 perhaps lost to    
view of the earth1 men will be speeding 
on at an unparalleled rate1 guiding     
their course by the wireless which alone
 gives them connection with the world   
below4  ,has there ever in all history  
been an appeal such as this8            
,,addendum  ,a ,,page ,,in ,,the        
,,dictionary ,,for ,,aviators   ,what is
 to become of all the new words1 some of
 them with new meanings1 the old words  
with new meanings1 and the new words    
with old meanings1 coined by the        

aviators of the ,american and ,british  
flying services in the war8 ,are they to
 die an early death from lack of        
nourishment and lack of use1 or will    
they go forward1 full-throated into the 
dictionary1 where they may belong8 ,here
 are just a few of them1 making a       
blushing debut1 so that it may be seen  
at once just how bad they are3          
,,aerobatics--,a newly coined word to   
describe aerial stunting1     which     
includes all forms of the sport of      
looping1 spinning1 and     rolling4 ,the
 term originated in the training        
schedule for     pilots1 and all pilots 
must take a course in aerobatics before 
being fully qualified4                  
,,aerofoil--,any plane surface of an    
airplane designed to obtain     reaction
 on its surfaces from the air through   
which it moves4     ,this includes all  
wing surface and most of the tail-plane 
surface4    ,,aileron--,this is a       
movable plane1 attached to the outer    
extremities of an airplane wing4 ,the   

wing may be either raised     or lowered
 by moving the ailerons4 ,raising the   
right wing1 by     depressing the right 
aileron1 correspondingly lowers the left
     wing by raising the left aileron4  
,they exercise lateral control     of a 
machine4    ,,blimp--,a non-rigid       
dirigible balloon4 ,the dirigible holds 
its     shape due to the fact that its  
gas is pumped into the envelop to     a 
pressure greater than the atmosphere4   
,it can move through the     air at     
forty miles an hour1 but high speed will
 cause it to     buckle in the nose4    
,,bump--,a rising or falling column of  
air which may be met while     flying4  
,a machine will be bumped up or bumped  
down on a bumpy     day4 ,a hot day over
 flat country1 at noon1 will generally  
be     exceedingly bumpy4               
,,crash--,any airplane accident4 ,it may
 be a complete wreck or the     plane   
may only be slightly injured by a       
careless landing4     ,crashes are often
 classified by the extent of damage4 ,a 

class ,a     crash1 for instance1 is a  
complete washout4 ,a class ,d crash is  
an undercarriage and propeller broken4  
,,dope--,a varnish-like liquid applied  
to the linen or cotton wing     fabrics4
 ,it is made chiefly of acetone1 and    
shrinks the fabric     around the wooden
 wing structure until it becomes as     
tight as a     drum4 ,the highly        
polished surface lessens friction of the
 plane     through the air4             
,,drift--,head resistance encountered by
 the machine moving through     the air4
 ,this must be overcome by the power of 
the engine4 ,the     term is also used  
in aerial navigation in its ordinary    
sense1     and a machine flying a long  
stretch over water may drift off the    
course1 due to winds of which the pilot 
has no knowledge4    ,,dud--,a condition
 of being without life or energy4 ,an   
engine may be     dud2 a day may be dud 
for flying4 ,a shell which will not     
explode     is a dud4 ,a pilot may be a 
dud1 without skill4 ,it is almost a     

synonym for washout4    ,,flatten       
,out--,to come out of a gliding angle   
into a horizontal     glide a few feet  
from the ground before making a landing4
 ,the     machine loses flying speed on 
a flat glide1 and settles to the        
ground4    ,,flying ,,speed--,speed of a
 plane fast enough to create lift with  
its     wing surfaces4 ,this varies with
 the type of plane from     forty-five  
miles an hour as a minimum to the faster
 scout     machines which require       
seventy miles an hour to carry them     
through the air4 ,when a machine loses  
flying speed1 due to     stalling1 it is
 in a dangerous situation1 and flying   
speed must     be recovered by gliding1 
or the machine will fall into a spin    
and crash out of control4    ,,forced   
,,landing--,any landing for reasons     
beyond the control of a     pilot is    
known as a forced landing4 ,engine      
failure is chiefly     responsible4     
,once the machine loses its power it    
must go into a     glide to maintain its

 stability1 and at the end of the glide 
it     must land on water1 trees1       
fields1 or roofs of houses in towns4    
,,fuselage--,this word1 meaning the body
 of a machine1 came over from     the   
,french4 ,the cockpits1 controls1 and   
gasolene-tanks are     usually carried  
in the fuselage4    ,,hop--,any flight  
in an airplane or seaplane is a hop4 ,a 
hop may     last five minutes or fifteen
 hours4    ,,joy-,,stick--,the          
control-stick of an airplane was        
invented by a man     named ,joyce1 and 
for a while it was spoken of as the     
,joyce-stick1 later being shortened to  
the present form4 ,it     operates the  
ailerons and elevators4                 
,,landfall--,a sight of land by a       
seaplane or dirigible which has     been
 flying over an ocean course4 ,an       
aviator who has been     regulating his 
flight by instruments will check up his 
navigation on the first landfall4       
,,pancake--,an extremely slow landing is
 known as a pancake landing4     ,the   

machine almost comes to a stop about ten
 feet off the     ground1 and with the  
loss of her speed drops flat4 ,there is 
little forward motion1 and this kind of 
landing is used in     coming down in   
plowed fields or standing grain4 ,jules 
,vedrines     made his landing on the   
roof of the ,galeries ,lafayette in     
,paris     by pancaking4                
,,side-,,slip--,the side movement of a  
plane as it goes forward4 ,on an        
improperly made turn a machine may      
side-slip out--that is1 in     the      
direction of its previous motion1 like  
skidding4 ,it may     side-slip in1     
toward the center of the turn1 due to   
the fact     that it is turned too      
steeply for the degree of the turn4     
,side-slipping on a straight glide is a 
convenient method of     losing height  
before a landing4    ,,stall--,a machine
 which has lost its flying speed has    
stalled4 ,this     does not mean that   
its engine has stopped1 but in the      
flying     sense of the word means that 

friction of the wing surfaces has       
overcome the power of the engine to     
drive the machine through     the air4  
,the only way out of a stall is to      
regain speed by     nosing down4 ,a     
machine which has lost its engine power 
will not     stall if put into a glide1 
and it may be brought to a safe         
landing with care4    ,,strut--,the     
upright braces between the upper and    
lower wings of a     machine are called 
struts4 ,they take the compression of   
the     truss frame of the biplane or   
triplane4 ,each wing is divided     into
 truss sections with struts4            
,s-,,turn--,a gliding turn1 made without
 the use of engine power4 ,a     machine
 forced to seek a landing will do a     
number of ,s-turns to     maneuver      
itself into a good field4    ,,tail     
,,spin--,this is the most dreaded of all
 airplane accidents1 and     the most   
likely to be fatal4 ,a machine out of   
control1 due often     to stalling and  
falling through the air1 spins slowly as

 it     drops nose first toward the     
ground4 ,this is caused by the          
locking of the rudder and elevator into 
a spin-pocket on the     tail1 which is 
off center1 and which receives the rush 
of air4     ,the air passing through it 
gives it a twisting motion1 and the     
machine makes about one complete turn in
 two or three hundred     feet of fall1 
depending upon how tight the spin maybe4
 ,the     ,british speak of the spin as 
the spinning nose dive4                 
,,take-,,off--,this is the start of the 
machine in its flight4 ,after a         
short run over the ground the speed of  
the machine will create     enough lift 
so that the plane leaves the ground4    
,,taxi--,to move an airplane or seaplane
 on land or water under its     own     
power when picking out a starting-place1
 or coming in after     a landing4 ,this
 is not to be confused with the run for 
a start     when the plane is getting up
 speed to fly1 using all her power4     
,the ,,nc-#d taxied a hundred miles to  

,chatham after a forced     landing1 and
 the ,,nc-#c came in two hundred and    
five miles to     ,ponta ,delgada after 
she landed at sea4    ,,vertical        
,,bank--,in this position the machine is
 making a turn with     one wing        
pointing directly to the ground1 and its
 lateral axis     has become vertical4  
,the machine turns very quickly in a    
short     space of air1 and the maneuver
 is sometimes spoken of as a            
splitting vertical bank4 ,in a vertical 
bank the elevators of a     machine act 
as the rudder and the rudder as an      
elevator4 ,the     controls are         
reversed4    ,,washout--,means anything 
which was but is not now--anything      
useless1 anything that has lost its     
usefulness1 anything that     never was 
useful4 ,flying may be washed out2 that 
is1 stopped2 a     day may be a washout1
 a vacation2 a machine may be a washout1
     wrecked beyond repair2 a pilot may 
be a washout1 useless as a     pilot4   
,it has a variety of meanings1 and each 

one is obvious in     its connection4   
,the term became familiar to ,american  
fliers with     the ,royal ,air ,force4 
,,zoom--,to gain supernormal flying     
speed and then pull the machine     up  
into the air at high speed4 ,the rush of
 wind will zo-o-om in     the ears of   
the pilot4 ,it is a sport in the country
 to zoom on     farmers1 on houses and  
barns1 nosing directly for the object on
     the ground and pulling up just in  
time to clear it with the               
undercarriage4   ,,the ,,end