APPLIED SCIENCE 



III. FLYING 



ONE of the greatest scientific triumphs of the present age 

 was the solution of the problem of flight. Since the 

 legendary days when Icarus flew too near the sun and 

 was killed, flying has stirred the imagination of man, and every 

 age has added a little to the history of flight. To the twentieth 

 century belongs the day that man first flew in a heavier-than- 

 air motor-propelled machine. The Great War which broke out 

 in August 1914 gave aviation the impetus it needed to develop 

 it from the pursuit of a few enthusiasts to the powerful thing it 

 now is. There were thousands of young men in the autumn of 

 1914 who had never previously given a thought to flying, who 

 in the course of a few months became the Balls, Bishops, and 

 McCuddens who thrilled the world with their amazing deeds. 

 The war ended flying had become an accepted everyday fact. 

 Soon we saw Alcock, Ross Smith, and Van Ryneveld accomplish, 

 flights across the Atlantic, to Australia, and to South Africa. 



The first aeroplane to fly successfully was built by the Wright 

 brothers, Orville Wright flying for 12 seconds on December 17, 

 1903. Three further flights were made in the same day, the 

 longest lasting 59 seconds and covering a distance of 852 feet. 

 This machine was fitted with an engine of only 16 h.p. and flew 

 at about 35 miles an hour. Later the Wrights carried out flights 

 of many miles, but were unable to attain recognition until 1908, 

 when Wilbur Wright gave many exhibition flights in Europe. 



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