Transcriber’s Note Some spellings have been left as is e.g. Wavrille/Waville Hyphenations have been standardised. Changes made are noted at the end of the book. AIRCRAFT [Illustration: _Courtesy of Aerial Age Weekly._ The NC-4 flying-boat, showing the arrangement of the motors. It is equipped with four Liberty 450 h.-p. engines. It flew from Rockaway, New York, to Plymouth, England, commanded by Lieutenant-Commander A. C. Read, U. S. N.] AIRCRAFT ITS DEVELOPMENT IN WAR AND PEACE AND ITS COMMERCIAL FUTURE BY EVAN JOHN DAVID ASSOCIATE EDITOR OF “FLYING” FULLY ILLUSTRATED NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS 1919 COPYRIGHT, 1919, BY CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS Copyright, 1919, by the CURTIS PUBLISHING CO. Published September, 1919 [Illustration] TO ALL WHO HELPED ME TO OBTAIN AN EDUCATION PREFACE The object of this book is to explain the fundamental principles of aeronautics and to point out the historic development of both the heavier-than-air and the lighter-than-air craft. The treatment is simple. Technical phrases have been avoided wherever possible. Emphasis has been laid on the changes in the design or construction of aeroplanes and dirigibles, which show the evolution of flight and aircraft from early experiments with balloons and gliders to the transatlantic flights of the NC-4, the Vickers “Vimy” Bomber, and the R-34. Only those things have been singled out which indicated a step forward in the science of aeronautics. Emphasis is placed upon the commercial accomplishments of the aeroplane and the dirigible, and many of the present uses and future possibilities of aircraft as a commercial vehicle have been pointed out. I am indebted to many sources for the information contained herein. Mr. Henry Woodhouse, the well-known aeronautical authority and editor of _Flying Magazine_ and author of the text-books on military and naval aeronautics, has been the source of much of my information, and the volumes of _Flying Magazine_ have supplied me with much historic data. _Aerial Age Weekly_ and Mr. G. Douglas Wardrop, the managing editor, have also been very helpful. The British periodicals _Flight_, _The Aeroplane_, and _Aeronautics_ have furnished me with many facts regarding British aircraft. The articles of Mr. C. G. Grey, the editor of _The Aeroplane_, dealing with the growth of heavier-than-air machines, and of Mr. W. L. Wade on lighter-than-air craft, have been the source of many of the facts regarding the evolution of aircraft. Many other aeronautical authorities have afforded statistics, facts, etc. EVAN JOHN DAVID. NEW YORK, August 12. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE 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