Lab
Library
Journal
Shop
Sign in
to keep
1
165
The Aeroplane Speaks. Fifth Edition
·
H. Barber
47
Round
buzzes
the
Propeller,
and
the
Pilot,
giving
the
official
signal,
the
Aeroplane
is
released
and
rolls
swiftly
over
the
ground
in
the
teeth
of
the
gusty
wind.
In
less
than
fifty
yards
it
takes
to
the
air
and
begins
to
climb
rapidly
upwards,
but
how
different
are
the
conditions
to
the
calm
morning
of
yesterday!
If
the
air
were
visible
it
would
be
seen
to
be
acting
in
the
most
extraordinary
manner;
crazily
swirling,
lifting
and
dropping,
gusts
viciously
colliding--a
mad
phantasmagoria
of
forces!
Wickedly
it
seizes
and
shakes
the
Aeroplane;
then
tries
to
turn
it
over
sideways;
then
instantly
changes
its
mind
and
in
a
second
drops
it
into
a
hole
a
hundred
feet
deep;
and
if
it
were
not
for
his
safety
belt
the
Pilot
might
find
his
seat
sinking
away
from
beneath
him.
Gusts
strike
the
front
of
the
craft
like
so
many
slaps
in
the
face;
and
others,
with
the
motion
of
mountainous
waves,
sometimes
lift
it
hundreds
of
feet
in
a
few
seconds,
hoping
to
see
it
plunge
over
the
summit
in
a
death-dive--and
so
it
goes
on,
but
the
Pilot,
perfectly
at
one
with
his
mount
and
instantly
alert
to
its
slightest
motion,
is
skilfully
and
naturally
making
perhaps
fifty
movements
a
minute
of
hand
and
feet;
the
former
lightly
grasping
the
"joy-stick"
which
controls
the
Elevator
hinged
to
the
tail,
and
also
the
Ailerons
or
little
wings
hinged
to
the
wing-tips;
and
the
latter
moving
the
Rudder
control-bar.
A
strain
on
the
Pilot?
Not
a
bit
of
it,
for
this
is
his
Work
which
he
loves
and
excels
in;
and
given
a
cool
head,
alert
eye,
and
a
sensitive
touch
for
the
controls,
what
sport
can
compare
with
these
ever-changing
battles
of
the
air?
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
