The point to be made in this connection is this: those who have studied the progress of aeroplaning, and realise the wonderful strides which have recently been made, see quite clearly that, even under unfavourable conditions, a war machine should be able to give a very good account of itself. This fact will not be admitted, however, by those who still maintain the attitude that the aeroplane is a fair-weather machine, and will never be anything else. Their prejudice will not permit them to read, as they should, the lessons of recent events. They magnify failures, and ignore successes. For such a negative policy there was, at first, some excuse, although scepticism, at the dawn of a new industry, is the reverse of helpful. When aeroplanes were in their crudest stage, they provided plenty of material for the cynic. In those days, pilots spent most of their time in their hangars, tuning up obstinate engines; and it was a case, as one humorous pioneer put it, of flying "a mile a month." The prevailing spirit of scepticism was well revealed in the attitude taken up by many people in connection with the prize of £10,000 offered by _The Daily Mail_ for the flight from London to Manchester. To imagine that such a feat would be accomplished was regarded as ridiculous. And yet, practically at the first attempt, the flight was made. Then came the second £10,000 prize by the generous and far-seeing proprietors of _The Daily Mail_—this time for a 1000-miles aerial tour around Great Britain, in which rules were introduced to make it incumbent upon pilots to complete the whole course upon one machine. Here was a leap, indeed. From 180 miles to 1000! Could it be done? Could such a reliable aeroplane be found? These were the questions asked; and, in this connection, one significant fact may be mentioned. It was this: even some of the experts—men thoroughly well acquainted with the industry—were doubtful as to whether this prize would be won. They knew, of course, what giant strides were being made. But, still, so severe was the ordeal, they had their doubts. What a triumph this great contest was for the aeroplane will be fresh in any reader’s memory. Flying neck and neck round the 1010-miles course, Beaumont and Vedrines astonished the world by the certainty of their aerial progress. Calculations as to when the race would finish had been made beforehand. Reckoning the very highest speeds it would be possible to attain, and assuming an entire absence of mechanical troubles, it was estimated that the winner would complete the circuit at a certain hour on a specified morning; and the winner, Beaumont, was only four hours longer, in completing the course, than the most favourable estimate had allowed him.