sands instead of hundreds, and men trained to fly them. Nor is
this all. The aeroplane, though it has such significance as a weapon
of war, is destined primarily and eventually to be an instrument of
peace; a machine for the transport by air of passengers, mails, and
goods, at speeds greater than will be feasible by land or water; and a
craft also for the use of travellers and tourists, enabling them to
make such journeys, with ease and pleasure, as will again prove
impossible by land or sea. So aviation has two immense tasks ahead of
it, instead of one. Not only must it create, by years of patient and
determined effort, a flying service which will command the air, but
craft must be designed and built also for the mail, goods, and
passenger-carrying services, and to meet the needs of the aerial
tourist.

This new task that has been given to men, that of designing, building,
and piloting aircraft, is still on the eve of its expansion. The
opportunities it offers to young men--to men whose minds are quick to
grasp a new idea and who have the powers of initiative and
decision--are almost boundless. Flying will, as it develops,
revolutionise the world's system of transport; while the developments
even of the immediate future promise to be so great, and so important,
that it is not easy to visualise them. But this at least is clear: now
is the time for newcomers to enter the world of flight. Aviation needs
men, is calling aloud for men; and they are needed for many kinds of
work. First, of course, should be placed the flying services, naval
and military, to join which during the war men have come forward so
admirably. But it will need, in the expansion that must follow this
campaign, a steady and a ceaseless growth in numbers, not only of the
men who handle machines in flight, but of those who serve the
squadrons by their work on land, and who build up the organisation
which is vital to success.

For skilled aviators, other than those who join the services, there is
scope for remunerative work. A constant demand exists for men who will
test and fly in their trials the new machines that are built by
manufacturers; for men who will fly, in public exhibitions, the craft
that are used at the various aerodromes; and for men who will qualify
as instructors, and join the flying schools which are already in
existence, or in process of formation. In countries oversea, too,
there is the definite promise that aircraft will be needed,