“Very true!” agreed the men. “Ah! the art of airplane construction has advanced amazingly since the great world war began, mes Americaines. It is now a very exact science, where the laws bearing upon lateral and longitudinal balance, as well as many other things, have to be rigorously observed.”
“I believe that before 1914 the German equipment in the way of airplanes and dirigible balloons was greatly superior to either that of the French or English,” commented George.
“Yes, the Boches had been doing everything in their power to encourage the development of both types of machines, while the other nations, unmindful of the peril which menaced them, were satisfied to let the course of events in that particular direction merely drift along.”
“The Germans are said to have had, in addition to a fleet of huge Zeppelins, almost a thousand airplanes of the finest construction, while their aeronautical factories were rushing work on others,” put in George. “France possessed only about three hundred machines and England still less, probably as few as two hundred and fifty.”
“The Germans at that time held the world’s record for height and sustained flying,” declared Don Hale.
“Correct,” admitted the artisan. “They thought, too, that with the supremacy of their navy of the air, the supremacy of Great Britain’s fleet on the sea could be more than overcome and England invaded. But”—the Frenchman clenched his fists—“our enemies—your enemies—the enemies of the entire world realize at last their error. They failed! They failed! The supremacy of the air now rests with the Allies.”
“And yet, for a while, the Germans had the best scouting and fighting planes,” commented George.
“Yes; the Fokkers. But La France replied to that challenge by constructing the famous Nieuport, the swiftest, the most easily maneuvered airplane that flies. Come! Let me show you a sample.”
Don and George, smiling a little at the tremendous earnestness exhibited by the Frenchman, followed him to another part of the great shop, where the most skilled workers were putting the finishing touches to several Nieuports of the latest model. They were delicate but staunch little machines—their lines as graceful as those of any yacht; and each was finished with a degree of care and attention to detail which scarcely seemed warranted when the perilous nature of the career they were so soon to embark upon was considered.
“What perfect beauties!” cried Don. “Crickets, George! Don’t I wish all my training period were over, so that I could sail sky-high in one of these little rockets!”