“Many successful experiments were made with balloons; but they were harder to run than old-time sailboats. A balloon could not fly against the wind. In a storm or a heavy gale it would be wrecked and the passengers killed. A machine was needed that could speed against the wind and not upset in a heavy blow.
“A few inventors tried to solve the flying problem with motor-driven balloons such as the German Zeppelin. But most attention was given to heavier-than-air machines known as aeroplanes. Aeroplanes are called heavier-than-air to distinguish them from balloons, which, being inflated with gas, are lighter than air. There were many discouraging years of hard thought and labor before success came. Finally, in 1905, two American brothers, Wilbur and Orville Wright, invented the first successful flying machine; and in a series of marvelous flights showed that Man had, at last, rivaled the birds.
“Numerous inventions have made man almost the equal of the birds in the air. Flying has been made nearly as safe as riding on horseback or in an automobile. The aeroplane is now a necessity in times of war and peace. Its startling deeds will be the subject of the story I’m about to tell.
“Of course, you want to know something about the man who runs an aeroplane,” said Uncle Sam.
“Indeed, we do,” replied both boys at the same time.
[Illustration: THE AEROPLANE IS A NECESSITY IN TIMES OF WAR AND PEACE]
[Illustration: SOME TYPES OF AMERICAN AND FOREIGN AEROPLANES]
“Now,” continued Uncle Sam, “to become a military aviator a man must, first of all, have a strong, healthy body, a quick, active mind, and iron nerves. There are many good aviators that wouldn’t be good _military_ aviators, because the strain of war would prove too much for them. If a man is just right in body and mind, they send him to an aviation training camp where he is taught to fly.
[Illustration: LEARNING TO FLY BY WATCHING THE EXPERT AVIATOR]
“At the training camp he is instructed in the care of an aeroplane and its powerful motor. He goes up in the air a number of times with an expert aviator. By constantly watching the expert, he learns to fly. Then he learns many dazzling stunts—to loop-the-loop, make figure eights, fly upside down, and other dangerous maneuvers.