THE CONQUEST OF THE AIR 95 



to become famous, Louis Bleriot, was practicing with a machine 

 of his own construction. All these French machines were pro- 

 vided with light wire wheels by means of which they could run 

 along the ground until sufficient speed was attained to carry 

 them into the air. In 1908 Wilbur Wright took his machine to 

 France to demonstrate its abilities, and astonished the French 

 aeronauts by his easy control of the machine. He was able to 

 climb rapidly, turn with precision, and dive easily. More than 

 that, he remained in the air for a much longer time than the 

 French pilots had been able to, flying steadily for more than two 

 hours and a half. 



The year 1909 was notable in aeroplane achievements, for 

 there occurred near Rheims the first International Meet. Several 

 new types of aeroplanes made their appearance, and there were 

 a number of exceedingly interesting contests. Hubert Latham, 

 an Englishman, won the prize for the greatest height achieved 

 500 feet. He drove an Antoinette biplane. Farnam won the 

 endurance test, remaining in the air for three hours and four 

 minutes. He was flying a machine of his own design, a biplane 

 with a new type of engine, the Gnome. In this engine the 

 cylinder's revolved, thus cooling themselves as they whirled 

 rapidly through the air. One of the great difficulties which the 

 air man had encountered up to this time was the overheating 

 of his engine. Glenn Curtis, an American, won the speed con- 

 test with a biplane of his own construction, achieving 47 miles 

 an hour. 



When one realizes that the first successful flight in an aero- 

 plane was made in 1903, and when comparison is made of the 

 achievements of this first International Meet and present-day 

 accomplishment, the remarkable celerity with which the aero- 

 plane has been developed is truly wonderful. J. A. MacReady, 

 an American army officer, in 1921 attained a height of 40,800 

 feet. At such a height the air is so rare and the temperature so 

 low that the aeroplane and aviator must both be equipped with 

 special devices. A condenser is added to the engine equipment 



