THE MASTERY OF THE AIR

by WILLIAM J. CLAXTON

PREFACE

This book makes no pretence of going minutely into the technical
and scientific sides of human flight:  rather does it deal mainly
with the real achievements of pioneers who have helped to make
aviation what it is to-day.

My chief object has been to arouse among my readers an
intelligent interest in the art of flight, and, profiting by
friendly criticism of several of my former works, I imagine that
this is best obtained by setting forth the romance of triumph in
the realms of an element which has defied man for untold
centuries, rather than to give a mass of scientific principles
which appeal to no one but the expert.

So rapid is the present development of aviation that it is
difficult to keep abreast with the times.  What is new to-day
becomes old to-morrow.  The Great War has given a tremendous
impetus to the strife between the warring nations for the mastery
of the air, and one can but give a rough and general impression
of the achievements of naval and military airmen on the various
fronts.

Finally, I have tried to bring home the fact that the fascinating
progress of aviation should not be confined entirely to the
airman and constructor of air-craft; in short, this progress is
not a retord of events in which the mass of the nation have
little personal concern, but of a movement in which each one of
us may take an active and intelligent part.

I have to thank various aviation firms, airmen, and others who
have kindly come to my assistance, either with the help of
valuable information or by the loan of photographs.  In
particular, my thanks are due to the Royal Flying Corps and Royal
Naval Air Service for permission to reproduce illustrations
from their two publications on the work and training of their
respective corps; to the Aeronautical Society of Great Britain;
to Messrs.  C. G. Spencer & Sons, Highbury; The Sopwith Aviation
Company, Ltd.; Messrs. A. V. Roe & Co., Ltd.; The Gnome Engine
Company; The Green Engine Company; Mr. A. G. Gross (Geographia,
Ltd.); and M. Bleriot; for an exposition of the
internal-combustion engine I have drawn on Mr. Horne's The Age of
Machinery.

PART I.  BALLOONS AND AIR-SHIPS

I.      MAN'S DUEL WITH NATURE
II.     THE FRENCH PAPER-MAKER WHO INVENTED THE BALLOON
III.    THE FIRST MAN TO ASCEND IN A BALLOON
IV.     THE FIRST BALLOON ASCENT IN ENGLAND
V.      THE FATHER OF BRITISH AERONAUTS
VI.     THE PARACHUTE
VII.    SOME BRITISH INVENTORS OF AIR-SHIPS
VIII.   THE FIRST ATTEMPTS TO STEER A BALLOON
IX.     THE STRANGE CAREER OF COUNT ZEPPELIN
X.      A ZEPPELIN AIR-SHIP AND ITS CONSTRUCTION
XI.     THE SEMI-RIGID AIR-SHIP
XII.    A NON-RIGID BALLOON
XIII.   THE ZEPPELIN AND GOTHA RAIDS

PART II.  AEROPLANES AND AIRMEN

XIV.    EARLY ATTEMPTS IN AVIATION
XV.     A PIONEER IN AVIATION
XVI.    THE "HUMAN BIRDS"
XVII.   THE AEROPLANE AND THE BIRD
XVIII.  A GREAT BRITISH INVENTOR OF AEROPLANES
XIX.    THE WRIGHT BROTHERS AND THEIR SECRET EXPERIMENTS
XX.     THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
XXI.    THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE (Con't.)
XXII.   THE AEROPLANE ENGINE
XXIII.  A FAMOUS BRITISH INVENTOR OF AVIATION ENGINES
XXIV.   THE WRIGHT BIPLANE (CAMBER OF PLANES)
XXV.    THE WRIGHT BIPLANE (Cont.)
XXVI.   HOW THE WRIGHTS LAUNCHED THEIR BIPLANE
XXVII.  THE FIRST MAN TO FLY IN EUROPE
XXVIII. M. BLARIOT AND THE MONOPLANE
XXIX.   HENRI FARMAN AND THE VOISIN BIPLANE
XXX.    A FAMOUS BRITISH INVENTOR
XXXI.   THE ROMANCE OF A COWBOY AERONAUT
XXXII.  THREE HISTORIC FLIGHTS
XXXIII. THREE HISTORIC FLIGHTS (Cont.
XXXIV.  THE HYDROPLANE AND AIR-BOAT
XXXV.   A FAMOUS BRITISH INVENTOR OF THE WATER-PLANE
XXXVI.  SEA-PLANES FOR WARFARE
XXXVII. THE FIRST MAN TO FLY IN BRITAIN
XXXVIII.THE R.F.C. AND R.N.A.S.
XXXIX.  AEROPLANES IN THE GREAT WAR
XL.     THE ATMOSPHERE AND THE BAROMETER
XLI.    HOW AN AIRMAN KNOWS WHAT HEIGHT HE REACHES
XLII.   HOW AN AIRMAN FINDS HIS WAY
XLIII.  THE FIRST AIRMAN TO FLY UPSIDE DOWN
XLIV.   THE FIRST ENGLISHMAN TO FLY UPSIDE DOWN
XLV.    ACCIDENTS AND THEIR CAUSE
XLVI.   ACCIDENTS AND THEIR CAUSE (Cont.)
XLVII.  ACCIDENTS AND THEIR CAUSE (COnt.)
XLVIII. SOME TECHNICAL TERMS USED By AVIATORS
XLIX.   THE FUTURE IN THE AIR

THE MASTERY OF THE AIR

PART I-BALLOONS AND AIR-SHIPS

CHAPTER I
Man's Duel with Nature

Of all man's great achievements none is, perhaps, more full of
human interest than are those concerned with flight.  We regard
ourselves as remarkable beings, and our wonderful discoveries in
science and invention induce us to believe we are far and away
the cleverest of all the living creatures in the great scheme of
Creation.  And yet in the matter of flight the birds beat us;
what has taken us years of education, and vast efforts of
intelligence, foresight, and daring to accomplish, is known by
the tiny fledglings almost as soon as they come into the world.

It is easy to see why the story of aviation is of such romantic
interest.  Man has been exercising his ingenuity, and
deliberately pursuing a certain train of thought, in an attempt
to harness the forces of Nature and compel them to act in what
seems to be the exact converse of Nature's own arrangements.

One of the mysteries of Nature is known as the FORCE OF GRAVITY. 
It is not our purpose in this book to go deeply into a study of
gravitation; we may content ourselves with the statement, first
proved by Sir Isaac Newton, that there is an invisible force
which the Earth exerts on all bodies, by which it attracts or
draws them towards itself.  This property does not belong to the
Earth alone, but to all matter--all matter attracts all other
matter.  In discussing the problems of aviation we are concerned
mainly with the mutual attraction of The Earth and the bodies on
or near its surface; this is usually called TERRESTRIAL gravity.

It has been found that every body attracts very other body with a
force directly proportionate to its mass.  Thus we see that, if
every particle in a mass exerts its attractive influence, the
more particles a body contains the greater will be the
attraction.  If a mass of iron be dropped to the ground from the
roof of a building at the same time as a cork of similar size,
the iron and the cork would, but for the retarding effect of the
air, fall to the ground together, but the iron would strike the
ground with much greater force than the cork.  Briefly stated, a
body which contains twice as much matter as another is attracted
or drawn towards the centre of the Earth with twice the force of
that other; if the mass be five times as great, then it will be
attracted with five times the force, and so on.

It is thus evident that the Earth must exert an overwhelming
attractive force on all bodies on or near its surface.  Now, when
man rises from the ground in an aeroplane he is counter-acting
this force by other forces.

A short time ago the writer saw a picture which illustrated in a
very striking manner man's struggle with Nature.  Nature was
represented as a giant of immense stature and strength, standing
on a globe with outstretched arms, and in his hands were shackles
of great size.  Rising gracefully from the earth, immediately in
front of the giant, was an airman seated in a modern
flying-machine, and on his face was a happy-go-lucky look as
though he were delighting in the duel between him and the giant. 
The artist had drawn the picture so skilfully that one could
imagine the huge, knotted fingers grasping the shackles were
itching to bring the airman within their clutch.  The picture was
entitled "MAN TRIUMPHANT"

No doubt many of those who saw that picture were reminded of the
great sacrifices made by man in the past.  In the wake of
the aviator there are many memorial stones of mournful
significance.

It says much for the pluck and perseverance of aviators that they
have been willing to run the great risks which ever accompany
their efforts.  Four years of the Great War have shown how
splendidly airmen have risen to the great demands made upon them. 
In dispatch after dispatch from the front, tribute has been paid
to the gallant and devoted work of the Royal Flying Corps and the
Royal Naval Air Service.  In a long and bitter struggle British
airmen have gradually asserted their supremacy in the air.  In
all parts of the globe, in Egypt, in Mesopotamia, in Palestine,
in Africa, the airman has been an indispensable adjunct of the
fighting forces.  Truly it may be said that mastery of the air is
the indispensable factor of final victory.

CHAPTER II
The French Paper-maker who Invented the Balloon

In the year 1782 two young Frenchmen might have been seen one
winter night sitting over their cottage fire, performing the
curious experiment of filling paper bags with smoke, and letting
them rise up towards the ceiling.  These young men were brothers,
named Stephen and Joseph Montgolfier, and their experiments
resulted in the invention of the balloon.

The brothers, like all inventors, seem to have had enquiring
minds.  They were for ever asking the why and the wherefore of
things.  "Why does smoke rise?" they asked.  "Is there not some