In order to lighten my machine I had scrapped every bit which I could do without. Therefore in the beginning my bird rose unwillingly to do my bidding, but soon I had regained full control over it. Hereafter I flew proudly, and dropped a message in front of the Governor’s house: “Aircraft again in perfect order!” I then began my long reconnoitring flights. I traversed the whole Protectorate, and flew hundreds of kilometres beyond it over the distant country, watching the ways of approach, and spying out the wild rocks of the coast, in order to see whether the enemy was near—or landing. These were the most beautiful expeditions of my life. The air was so clear and transparent, the sky of such a pure azure, and the sun shone divinely and lovingly on the beautiful earth, on the cliffs and mountains, and the deep sea which hemmed the coast. My soul was athirst for beauty, and revelled in the marvellous sights of Nature for hours on end. But I was not wholly without care. Already on my second flight I was able to ascertain that the glued grooves had split, and that by a miracle alone the propeller had not been torn asunder. It had, therefore, to be disconnected and freshly sized. This little performance had to be repeated after every flight. As soon as I returned, the propeller was taken off, I drove with my car to the wharves, there it got a fresh coat of mastic, was screwed under a press, and in the evening I fetched it, fixed it on the machine, and started afresh the next day. But, as the propeller insisted on splitting regularly, I pasted the whole leading edge with canvas-covering and sticking-plaster, which helped a little towards holding it together. At Kiao-Chow, over and above my regular duties, I was also in charge of the captive-balloon section, which I jokingly called my “swelled-headed competitors!” Before I left Berlin I had passed through a training course for dirigibles, learning to pilot airships, in addition to some practice with an observation balloon, and different practical exercises like mending balloon-covers, etc. The section, which was brand-new, consisted of two huge balloons of 2000 cubic metres each, a balloon-bag and all the necessary accessories for producing gas and for the service of the airships.