bottom surface of the
boat so as to be out of the way when alighting on water.

During 1913 the (at one time almost universal) practice originated by
the Wright Brothers, of warping the wings for lateral stability, began
to die out and the bulk of aeroplanes began to be fitted with flaps
(or 'ailerons') instead. This was a distinct change for the better, as
continually warping the wings by bending down the extremities of the
rear spars was bound in time to produce 'fatigue' in that member and
lead to breakage; and the practice became completely obsolete during the
next two or three years.

The Gordon-Bennett race of September, 1913, was again won by a
Deperdussin machine, somewhat similar to that of the previous year, but
with exceedingly small wings, only 107 square feet in area. The shape
of these wings was instructive as showing how what, from the general
utility point of view, may be disadvantageous can, for a special
purpose, be turned to account. With a span of 21 feet, the chord was
5 feet, giving the inefficient 'aspect ratio' of slightly over 4 to
1 only. The object of this was to reduce the lift, and therefore the
resistance, to as low a point as possible. The total weight was 1,500
lbs., giving a wing-loading of 14 lbs. per square foot--a hitherto
undreamt-of figure. The result was that the machine took an enormously
long run before starting; and after touching the ground on landing ran
for nearly a mile before stopping; but she beat all records by attaining
a speed of 126 miles per hour. Where this performance is mainly
interesting is in contrast to the machines of 1920, which with an even
higher speed capacity would yet be able to land at not more than 40 or
50 miles per hour, and would be thoroughly efficient flying machines.

The Rheims Aviation Meeting, at which the Gordon-Bennett race was flown,
also saw the first appearance of the Morane 'Parasol' monoplane. The
Morane monoplane had been for some time an interesting machine as being
the only type which had no fixed surface in rear to give automatic
stability, the movable elevator being balanced through being hinged
about one-third of the way back from the front edge. This made the
machine difficult to fly except in the hands of experts, but it was
very quick and handy on the controls and therefore useful for racing
purposes. In the 'Parasol' the modification was introduced of raising
the wing above the body, the pilot looking out beneath it, in order