aration in the rush of the
air: these, and others more obscure, are among the sensations of
cross-country flying.

CHAPTER XI

AVIATION AS A PROFESSION

Young men, and parents on their behalf, are seeking always some
profession which will yield an adequate return for the enthusiasm
which youth lavishes upon it. Too often, though, at any rate in the
past, this search for a man's work in life has been narrowed into ruts;
conducted on certain set lines which, though they have found
employment for the beginner, have given him no scope for that
enthusiasm with which he will attack the first tasks presented him.
Aviation, till the coming of the war, was looked at askance by parents
who had sons on their hands. Apart from the risks of flying, which
appeared to them ceaseless and terrible, the actual industry of
building aeroplanes, regarded as an industry, seemed so haphazard and
objectless an affair--so much like playing at work--that they
discouraged any wish that a youth might show to enter it. Many people,
these people of intelligence, regarded the building and flying of
aeroplanes as being no more than a passing phase, and a regrettable
one, which it was hoped men would soon abandon, and turn their
attention to tasks more serious and profitable. But that was before
aircraft had proved their value as instruments of war. Now it is known
that aeroplanes have the power, granted they are supplied in
sufficient numbers, of altering the tenor of a great campaign, both by
land and sea; and that in any future war of nations, should one come,
a battle between the hostile flying fleets, fought to determine the
command of the air, will determine also, to a very large extent, the
fortunes of armies on the land and navies on the sea. It is clear
indeed that, for any great nation that strives to maintain its place,
a powerful air fleet has become a necessity; while for Britain, an
island no longer from the military point of view, seeing that we must
face seriously the question of invasions by air, there is a vital need
to strive for command of the air, as we now hold command of the sea.

The building up of our air fleet will be an arduous task, needing men,
money, and time; but without it we cannot be secure. Therefore the
work must be faced, the men and the money forthcoming. Aviation, as an
industry, must prepare for years of strenuous work. A great air
service must be created. Machines must be designed and built in
thou