eet above
his starting-point and then glided safely to earth again. The machine,
says Mr. Weiss, who, shortly before his death in 1919, kindly furnished
this account, had no vertical rudder, and relied on ailerons only, so
that it was difficult to steer. 'The combination of ailerons', he adds,
'with the vertical rudder introduced by the brothers Wright was the
factor which determined the advent of the aeroplane.' The advent of the
aeroplane and its development for war purposes has given an air of
antiquity to the researches of Mr. Weiss. Yet many subtle and delicate
problems connected with soaring and gliding flight are still unsolved;
there was no time for them during the war. Mr. Weiss was firmly
convinced that in moving currents of air flight without an engine is
possible, though he did not under-estimate the difficulties to be
surmounted. His glider was inherently stable, and had funds been
available, might have been made into an efficient power-driven machine.
The Etrich glider, which was invented at about the same time in Austria
and closely resembles the Weiss machine, became the model and basis for
the famous German Taube type of monoplane.

Once flying had begun in England it was not very long before home-built
aeroplanes were obtainable. Most of the pioneers built their own
machines. The first aeroplane factory for the supply of machines to
customers was set up by Mr. T. Howard Wright in two of the arches of
the London, Chatham and Dover Railway at Battersea, alongside of certain
other arches occupied by the balloon factory of Messrs. Eustace and
Oswald Short, who were at that time the official balloon constructors to
the Aero Club. Like the Voisins in France Mr. Howard Wright put his
skill at the service of others. During the winter of 1908-9 he was
engaged in building experimental aeroplanes of strange design, chiefly
for foreign customers. His own biplane, which resembled the Henri Farman
machine, made its appearance in 1910. He also built a type of monoplane,
known as the Avis, for the Scottish Aviation Company, a firm in which
the Hon. Alan Boyle and Mr. J. Herbert Spottiswoode were interested. On
this monoplane Mr. Boyle made the first cross-country trip in England;
the trip lasted for five minutes, and was made over the ground just
outside the Brooklands track. It was on this monoplane also that Mr.
Sopwith, who understood motor racing, rapidly learned to fly, and a
little later, before he became a desi