E-text prepared by Richard Tonsing, Nick Wall, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org)
Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustrations. See 62472-h.htm or 62472-h.zip: (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/62472/62472-h/62472-h.htm) or (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/62472/62472-h.zip)
Images of the original pages are available through Internet Archive. See https://archive.org/details/aviationbook00davi
Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
Copyright, 1918, by McLoughlin Brothers. Inc. New York
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: ORIGINAL WRIGHT BIPLANE. INVENTED AND FLOWN BY WRIGHT BROTHERS IN 1905 AT KITTY HAWK, N. C.]
[Illustration: UNCLE SAM STARTS HIS AVIATION STORY]
Tom and Jack are brothers and chums. They are Boy Scouts. Jack is first class, but Tom is only a tenderfoot. Like all bright, manly boys they are interested in airships and are anxious for the time to come when they can fly too.
Tom and Jack’s uncle is a famous aviator, and he knows all about flying. His name being Samuel the boys always call him Uncle Sam, and they sometimes jokingly pretend to think that he is the great Uncle Sam who represents the United States.
Tom and Jack knew that the best way to find out about airships was to ask their Uncle Sam. So, as soon as they saw him, they made him consent to tell his wonderful story of aviation.
Tom and Jack were all ears as their uncle started his aviation story.
“First,” he began, “I shall tell you the thrilling tale of Man’s long striving to learn how to rival the birds. In myths and fairy tales there were men and goblins who had wings or who owned winged chariots and animals. But real, everyday people never learned how to go up in the air until 1783.”
“The very year England and the United States made peace after the Revolutionary War!” exclaimed Tom.
[Illustration: THE ASCENSION OF MONTGOLFIER’S BALLOON]
“Don’t interrupt Uncle Sam; it is not polite,” advised Jack.
“Well,” continued Uncle Sam, “it was on June 5, 1783 that Stephen and Joseph Montgolfier, two French brothers, sent up the first balloon. You can just imagine the amazement it caused when it arose from the ground.