THE CONQUEST OF THE AIR 



In 1 783, the MontgoMier brothers, of France, con- 

 structed a balloon in which two men made a successful 

 ascension. This was man's first flight in air. 



In 1901, the Wright brothers, of Dayton, Ohio, suc- 

 ceeded in gliding through the air in a light, motorless 

 framework equipped with a double pair of wings. 



In 1908, the Wright brothers built a heavier-than-air 

 machine equipped with a motor and two propellers, 

 which flew for more than an hour. This was the first 

 practical airplane flight. 



In 1 909, Louis Bleriot, of France, successfully crossed 

 the English channel in a monoplane. 



In 1919, the British dirigible balloon R-34 success- 

 fully crossed the Atlantic ocean twice. 



In 1919, the United States seaplane NC-4 successfully 

 crossed from America to Europe, stopping at the Azores. 



In May, 1927, Col. Charles Lindbergh of the United 

 States Officers* Reserve Corps flew a monoplane from 

 New York to Paris, 3,610 miles, in 33J/2 hours. 



In August, 1929, the dirigible Graf Zeppelin made an 

 around-the-world trip from Friedrichshafen, Germany, 

 19,500 miles in 21 days, 7 hours, 34 minutes. 



In November, 1929, Commander Byrd of the United 

 States Navy flew an airplane from his camp on the 

 Antarctic continent to the South Pole and back, 1 600 

 miles in 1 hours, 26 minutes. 



In April, 1931, Francisco Agello, of Italy, flew a rac- 

 ing monoplane at the rate of 423 miles per hour. 



In July, 1933, Wiley Post, an American, made a 

 1 5,596-mile flight around the world in 7 days, 1 8 hours, 

 and 49 minutes. 



In September, 1933, M. G. Lemoine, of France, fly- 

 ing a specially equipped airplane, reached a height of 

 44,819 feet, or about Q]/ 2 miles. 



In September, 1933, three Russian aviators, Prokofief, 

 Birmbaum, and Gudenoff, in a sealed aluminum gondola 

 slung under a gigantic balloon, rose to a height of 1 1.8 

 miles. 



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