The commercial aeroplane, even when perfected, would not be likely to compete successfully with other means of transit unless it could offer the advantages of a greater speed. Here, indeed, in the speeds they will attain, lies the future of aircraft. The air will be our highway because, in the air, speeds will be reached that are impossible on land or sea. As civilisation extends—this is of course a truism—there grows with it a need for speedier travel; and we have seen land and sea transit striving to meet this demand. But both have reached, or are rapidly reaching, a limit of speed—a limit imposed by the need to carry their passengers and goods on a remunerative basis. On the sea, by burning excessive quantities of coal, it is possible to add a few knots to the speed of a great liner. But then the problem becomes one of profit and loss; while with trains—so nearly under existing conditions have they reached a limit of speed—that a difficulty is experienced, even on long runs, and under favourable circumstances, in saving a minute here and there. It is not of course to be assumed, when the spur of a greater necessity comes, that land and sea transit will fail altogether to increase their existing speeds. There is the mono-rail system of land traction, electrically propelled, which has yet to be tested in a practical way; while on the sea, perhaps, under pressure of competition, and with an increasing demand for greater speeds, it may be possible to adapt with advantage, even on large craft, some principle of the hydroplane.

But by way of the air, granted even a speeding-up on land and sea, should go the high-speed traffic of the future. By a greater efficiency in lifting surfaces and by reductions in the resistance a craft offers to its own passage through the air; by the provision of systems which will permit a pilot to reduce plane-area when his machine has gained altitude and he desires a maximum speed; by the equipping of craft with motors developing thousands of horse-power for a very low weight—by such means, and by a general improvement in design, it should be possible, eventually, to attain flying speeds of 150, 200, and even 250 miles an hour. From London to New York by air liner, in less than twenty hours; such, for instance, should be an attainment of the future.

It seems probable, in the development of the commercial aeroplane, we shall have machines for touring and for pleasure flights—craft not of large size but in which efforts are made to obtain a greater reliability and comfort. Then it appears likely that aircraft may reach a practical use as carriers of mails and of light express goods; first of all in localities, and under conditions, which favour specially an aerial transit. And from this phase we should move to the passenger-carrying craft; to the days when we shall be able to spend a week-end in New York, as readily as it has been the habit to do in Paris; when we shall be able to reach any part of the world in a journey by air lasting, say, a week or ten days. Then, as a recompense for the lives that have been lost, and for a conquest that has been so dearly won, the world will enter upon an age of aerial transit—the age when frontiers and seas will act as barriers no longer, when journeys that now last weeks will be reduced to days, and those of days to hours; when first of all Europe, and then the world, will be linked by airway.

THE END.



INDEX

AERODROMES, their evolution, 14

Age, its relation to flying, 11

Alighting, operation of, 51

BIPLANES and tuition, the "pusher" type, 16

Bleriot, Louis, study of his methods as a pilot, 84

CERTIFICATE of proficiency, tests for, 54

Cody, S. F., 90

Commercial possibilities of aviation, 107

Conneau, Lieut. J. ("Beaumont"), 87

Constructional weakness in aeroplanes, risks of, 60

Controllability of aeroplanes, problems of, 33

Cross-country flying, pupils' first experiences, 92

DUAL-ENGINE machines, 79

ENGINE failure, risks of, 65

Enjoyment of learning to fly, 12

FARMAN, Henri, pioneer work as an aviator, 86

Fees for tuition, 13

First flights, pupil as passenger, 39

HEALTH and flying, 10

Human factor in relation to accidents, 71

IMPROVEMENTS in aircraft which spell safety, 76

Industry of aviation, its expansion, 100

Instructors, qualifications necessary, 15

LATHAM, HUBERT, temperamental study, 86

Learning to fly not dangerous, 11

MANUAL dexterity, need of, 12

OPPORTUNITIES for the newcomer in aviation, 101

"ROLLING" (handling a machine on the ground), 43

SCHOOL aeroplanes, types of, 16 —— aeroplanes, need for ample supply, 15 —— biplane, its controls, 34

Schools, modern, their conveniences, 18

Sensations of flight, 41

Speed in its relation to flying, 31

Speed, promise of the future, 109

Straight flights, 44

Sustaining planes, their operation, 32

TEMPERAMENT, the ideal for flying, 22

Time required in learning to fly, 19

Touring by air, 105

Turning in the air, 46

VEDRINES, Jules, his piloting, 90

Vol-plane, the, 48

WEATHER, its effect on tuition, 38

Wind fluctuation, dangers of, 62 —— flying, 80

Wrights, Wilbur and Orville, 82



BIBLIOGRAPHY

Some books selected as being likely to appeal to a man, without technical knowledge, who contemplates learning to fly.

"THE AIRMAN," by CAPTAIN C. MELLOR, R.E. Published by Mr. John Lane, the Bodley Head, London. (3s. 6d.)

Describes the author's experiences, in France, while obtaining a brevet on a Maurice Farman biplane.

"THE ESSAYS OF AN AVIATOR." Obtainable from "Aeronautics," 170, Fleet Street, London, E.C. (2s. 6d.)

A series of admirable papers, written by a pilot and from a pilot's point of view.

"THE AERONAUTICAL CLASSICS." A series of booklets issued at 1s. each by the Aeronautical Society, 11, Adam Street, Adelphi, London, W.C.

Describe authoritatively, and very interestingly, the work of great pioneers.

"FLIGHT WITHOUT FORMULAE," by COMMANDANT DUCHENE, of the French Genie (translated from the French by John H. Ledeboer). Published by Longmans, Green & Co., 39, Paternoster Row, E.C. (7s. 6d.)

Instructive discussions, clearly expressed, on the mechanics of the aeroplane.

"PRINCIPLES OF FLIGHT," by A. E. BERRIMAN. Obtainable from "Flight" Offices, St. Martin's Lane, London, W.C. (2s.)

"AERO ENGINES," by G. A. BURLS. Published by Charles Griffen & Co., 12, Exeter Street, Strand, London, W.C. (8s. 6d.).

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AUTHORS' NOTE.—The above list does not, of course, pretend to be in any way complete. It is designed merely to act as a suggestion for the novice.—C. G.-W., H. H.

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THE LONDON AND NORWICH PRESS LIMITED, LONDON AND NORWICH, ENGLAND

THE END