ance flown rendered it no longer necessary for a would-be spectator
of a flight to pay half a crown and enter an enclosure. Henceforth,
flying as a spectacle was very little to be considered; its commercial
aspects were talked of, and to a very slight degree exploited, but, more
and more, the fact that the aeroplane was primarily an engine of war,
and the growing German menace against the peace of the world combined
to point the way of speediest development, and the arrangements for the
British Military Trials to be held in August, 1912, showed that even
the British War office was waking up to the potentialities of this new
engine of war.

XVIII. A SUMMARY, TO 1914

Consideration of the events in the years immediately preceding the War
must be limited to as brief a summary as possible, this not only because
the full history of flying achievements is beyond the compass of any
single book, but also because, viewing the matter in perspective, the
years 1903-1911 show up as far more important as regards both design and
performance. From 1912 to August of 1914, the development of aeronautics
was hindered by the fact that it had not progressed far enough to form
a real commercial asset in any country. The meetings which drew vast
concourses of people to such places as Rheims and Bournemouth may have
been financial successes at first, but, as flying grew more common and
distances and heights extended, a great many people found it other than
worth while to pay for admission to an aerodrome. The business of taking
up passengers for pleasure flights was not financially successful, and,
although schemes for commercial routes were talked of, the aeroplane was
not sufficiently advanced to warrant the investment of hard cash in
any of these projects. There was a deadlock; further development
was necessary in order to secure financial aid, and at the same time
financial aid was necessary in order to secure further development.
Consequently, neither was forthcoming.

This is viewing the matter in a broad and general sense; there were
firms, especially in France, but also in England and America, which
looked confidently for the great days of flying to arrive, and regarded
their sunk capital as investment which would eventually bring its due
return. But when one looks back on those years, the firms in question
stand out as exceptions to the general run of people, who regarded
aeronautics as something extremely scientific, exceedi