PREFACE

This book is primarily intended for non-technical readers; and for the student aviators who, called from non-technical occupations, must cram themselves at short notice with the gist of airplane flying; and who must omit everything except the outstanding fundamentals.

The desired essentials are here given without sacrificing accuracy to brevity. It has been necessary to omit many technical details of interest to the aeronautical engineer, to whose needs other larger textbooks are adapted as a complete survey of technical aeronautics. In brief, the book presents the main principles of aviation, such as the aviator must know in order properly to understand his airplane, keep it trued up, and operate it in cross-country flights as well as at the flying field.

Out of the 2000 aeronautical books now in existence, a few are adapted to use as textbooks for the present need, but none give the particular and abridged information in tabloid form such as must be adopted for the best time economy of these students.

It is by the kind permission of Professor E. A. Holbrook, Mr. O. S. Beyer, and Mr. C. M. Hebbert that chapters VI to XI have been included. Acknowledgment and full credit is due them as co-authors. Chap. VI, VII, and part of Chap. XI were prepared by Prof. E. A. Holbrook; Chap. IX, X, pages 152-157 of Chap. VIII, and pages 173-177 of Chap. XI were prepared by Mr. O. S. Beyer; Chap. VIII, pages 133-152, was prepared by Mr. C. M. Hebbert.

In the Chapter on “History of Aviation” only those experiments are treated which have a bearing on flight today; this chapter is to be used in conjunction with the Chapter on “Principles of Flight,” especially as regards controlling the airplane.

The question of Airplane Motors has not been touched, because to do it justice would unduly increase the size of this volume, and because adequate treatises on the subject are available.

Dec.12th, 1917.

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