CONTENTS

CHAPTERPAGE
I.The First Balloons[1]
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FREE BALLOON—THE CAPTIVE BALLOON—THE DIRIGIBLE—THE BLIMP—THE KITE BALLOON.
II.The Aeroplane[13]
EXPERIMENTS WITH PLANES—LILLIENTHAL’S GLIDER—LANGLEY’S AERODROME—SUCCESS OF THE WRIGHTS—FIRST AEROPLANE FLIGHTS.
III.Why An Aeroplane Flies[25]
THE HELICOPTER—THE ORNITHOPTER—WING SURFACE—FLYING SPEED—LANDING SPEED—EFFECT OF MOTORS—THE SEAPLANE.
IV.Learning to Fly[34]
EARLY METHODS—DEVELOPMENT OF SCHOOLS—STUDYING STRUCTURE OF PLANES, MOTORS, THEORY OF FLIGHT, AERODYNAMICS, MAP READING—FRENCH SYSTEM—GOSPORT SYSTEM.
V.Aeroplane Development, 1903 to 1918[47]
ADER’S EXPERIMENTS—MAXIM’S MULTIPLANE—DUMONT’S AEROPLANE—WRIGHTS’ 1908 PLANE—VOISIN PUSHER—BLERIOT’S MONOPLANE—AVRO TRIPLANE—FARMAN’S AILERONS—OTHER TYPES.
VI.Development of the Aeroplane for War Purposes[67]
GERMAN AERIAL PREPAREDNESS—PRIZES GIVEN FOR AERONAUTICS BY VARIOUS GOVERNMENTS—FIRST USE OF PLANES IN WAR—FIRST AIRCRAFT ARMAMENT.
VII.Development of the Liberty and Other Motors[76]
DEBATE IN REGARD TO ORIGIN OF LIBERTY MOTOR—LIBERTY-ENGINE CONFERENCE, DESIGN, AND TEST—MAKERS OF PARTS—HISPANO-SUIZA MOTOR—ROLLS-ROYCE—OTHER MOTORS.
VIII.Growth of Aircraft Manufacturing in United States[94]
THE 1912 EXPOSITION—THE FIRST PAN-AMERICAN EXPOSITION—THE MANUFACTURERS AIRCRAFT EXPOSITION—DESCRIPTIONS OF EXHIBITORS—GROWTH OF AIRCRAFT FACTORIES—NAVAL AIRCRAFT FACTORY.
IX.The Development of the Aero Mail[134]
FIRST MAIL CARRIED BY AIRCRAFT—NEW YORK—PHILADELPHIA—WASHINGTON SERVICE—NEW YORK—CLEVELAND—CHICAGO SERVICE—FOREIGN AERO MAIL ROUTES.
X.Kinds of Flying[151]
NIGHT FLYING—FORMATION FLYING—STUNTING—IMMELMAN TURN—NOSE DIVING—TAIL SPINNING—BARREL—FALLING LEAF, ETC.
XI.Aerial Navigation[161]
ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS—WINDS AND THEIR WAYS—CLOUD FORMATIONS, NAMES, AND ALTITUDES.
XII.Commercial Flying[169]
BUSINESS POSSIBILITIES OF THE AEROPLANE—SOME CELEBRATED AIR RECORDS—GERMANY’S INITIAL ADVANTAGE—A HUGE INVESTMENT—CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS—DISCOMFORTS OVERCOME—INEXPENSIVE FLYABOUTS—THE SPORTS TYPE—ARCTIC-FLIGHT—NO EAST OR WEST.
XIII.The Commercial Zeppelin[203]
THE AMBITION OF THE AGES REALIZED—A GIANT GERMAN DIRIGIBLE—ZEPPELIN ACCOMPLISHMENTS—HIGH COST OF ZEPPELINS—SAFETY OF TRAVEL—SOME BRITISH PREDICTIONS—THE FUTURE OF HELIUM—THE LIFE-BLOOD OF COMMERCE.
XIV.The Regulation of Air Traffic[235]
IMPORTANCE OF SAME—LAWS FORMED BY BRITISH AERIAL TRANSPORT COMMITTEE LIKELY TO BE BASES OF INTERNATIONAL AERIAL LAWS—COPY OF SAME.
XV.The Trans-Atlantic Flight[251]
THE NC’S—THE LOSS OF THE C-5—READ’S STORY—BELLINGER’S STORY—THE GREAT NAVAL FLIGHT—HAWKER’S STORY—ALCOCK’S STORY—TO AND FROM AMERICA—THE R-34.
Appendix I[327]
UNITED STATES AIRCRAFT AND ENGINE PRODUCTION FOR THE UNITED STATES AIR SERVICE.
Appendix II[354]
RECORDS OF ALLIED AND ENEMY ACES WITH NUMBER OF PLANES BROUGHT DOWN.
Appendix III[362]
NOMENCLATURE FOR AERONAUTICS.