The eight years since have held the crowded hours of aviation. Before this book is printed, it may be rendered obsolete by new developments. The exploits of Paulhan, of R. E. Peltèrie since 1907, Bell's work with his tetrahedral kites--all have been either stimulating or directly fruitful. Delagrange began to break speed records in 1908. A year later he attained a speed of fifty miles. The first woman to enjoy an aeroplane voyage was Mme. Delagrange, in Turin, in 1908. [Illustration: THE MAXIM AEROPLANE] [Illustration: LANGLEY'S AEROPLANE (1896) Steam driven] The first flight in England by an English-built machine was made in January, 1909. That year, Count de Lambert flew over Paris, and in 1910 Grahame-White circled his machine over the city of Boston. The year 1910 surpassed all its predecessors in increasing the range and control of aeroplanes; over 1500 ascents were made by Wright machines alone; but 1911 promises to show even greater results. Three men made cross-country flights from Belmont Park to the Statue of Liberty and back, in New York;[B] at least five men attained altitudes exceeding 9,000 feet. Hamilton made the run from New York to Philadelphia and return, in June. The unfortunate Chavez all but abolished the fames of Hannibal and Napoleon by crossing the icy barrier of the Alps, from Switzerland to Italy--in forty minutes! [Illustration: ROBART MONOPLANE.] Tabuteau, almost on New Year's eve, broke all distance records by a flight of 363 miles in less than eight hours; while Barrier at Memphis probably reached a speed of eighty-eight miles per hour (timing unofficial). With the new year came reports of inconceivable speeds by a machine skidding along the ice of Lake Erie; the successful receipt by Willard and McCurdy of wireless messages from the earth to their aeroplanes; and the proposal by the United States Signal Corps for the use of flying machines for carrying Alaskan mails. [Illustration: VINA MONOPLANE.] McCurdy all but succeeded in his attempt to fly from Key West to Havana, surpassing previous records by remaining aloft above salt water while traveling eighty miles. Lieutenant Bague, in March, started from Antibes, near Nice, for Corsica. After a 124-mile flight, breaking all records for sea journeys by air, he reached the islet of Gorgona, near Leghorn, Italy, landing on bad ground and badly damaging his machine. The time of flight was 5-1/2 hours. Bellinger completed the 500-mile "accommodation train" flight from Vincennes to Pau; Vedrine, on April 12, by making the same journey in 415 minutes of actual flying time, won the Béarn prize of $4000; Say attained a speed of 74 miles per hour in circular flights at Issy-les-Moulineaux. Aeroplane flights have been made in Japan, India, Peru, and China.