Even the most enthusiastic supporters of the aeroplane were astonished by this feat. In flying, which was spread out over several days, and involved aerial journeys over most difficult country, Beaumont and Vedrines made light of every adverse condition. In Scotland, they combated winds so violent that their machines danced and plunged in the air, and occasionally "side-slipped" for many feet under the treacherous impulses of unexpected gusts. But, when they were begged to wait a while, and give the weather an opportunity of improving, these two champions resolutely took their seats in their monoplanes, and flew on. The lesson, from the military point of view, was overwhelmingly important. Not only did these two men fly with the regularity and speed of express trains, but they both performed their wonderful feats on machines which were unchanged throughout. This represented the real progress. In previous contests of a similar nature, in which long distances had been traversed, there had been no restriction at all as to the number of machines used. The result had been, therefore, that makers of aeroplanes, naturally anxious to see their representatives win, had dotted spare machines all over the route; and, in one instance, a competitor used as many as three aeroplanes before completing one long-distance race. The point we are immediately concerned with is this. A certain number of days, chosen a long time ahead, were set apart for this 1000-miles race round Great Britain; and upon these days it was flown. Beaumont and Vedrines proceeded from stage to stage, flying to schedule, and making light of adverse weather. The climatic conditions, as has been said, were not ideal. When the time came to leave Edinburgh, for instance, so powerful a wind was blowing that it was not reckoned, even by practical men, that the pilots would be able to get away. But, to the amazement even of officials, the two monoplanists soared up, and deliberately fought the wind. While flying on to the other stopping-places in Scotland, also, both men passed through heavy storms of rain; and again, contrary to expectation, they did not descend, but battled on. The result was that, when this wonderful air race was at an end, both men were justified in describing their monoplanes as all-weather machines. What this performance, and others, have demonstrated is this: at the present moment, although admittedly experimental, the aeroplane is sufficiently well able to combat adverse weather as to make it a highly-useful weapon of war. II. Value of high speed, when combating a wind—Constructional difficulties of a hundred-mile-an-hour machine.