Method is Best?

It would be a bold man who would attempt to pick out any one of these
methods of control and say it was better than the others. As in other
sections of aeroplane mechanism each method has its advocates who dwell
learnedly upon its advantages, but the fact remains that all the various
plans work well and give satisfaction.

What the novice is interested in knowing is how the control is effected,
and whether he has become proficient enough in his manipulation of it to
be absolutely dependable in time of emergency. No amateur should attempt
a flight alone, until he has thoroughly mastered the steering and plane
control. If the services and advice of an experienced aviator are not to
be had the novice should mount his machine on some suitable supports so
it will be well clear of the ground, and, getting into the operator's
seat, proceed to make himself well acquainted with the operation of the
steering wheel and levers.

Some Things to Be Learned.

He will soon learn that certain movements of the steering gear produce
certain effects on the rudders. If, for instance, his machine is
equipped with a steering wheel, he will find that turning the wheel to
the right turns the aeroplane in the same direction, because the tiller
is brought around to the left. In the same way he will learn that a
given movement of the lever throws the forward edge of the main plane
upward, and that the machine, getting the impetus of the wind under the
concave surfaces of the planes, will ascend. In the same way it will
quickly become apparent to him that an opposite movement of the lever
will produce an opposite effect--the forward edges of the planes will be
lowered, the air will be "spilled" out to the rear, and the machine will
descend.

The time expended in these preliminary lessons will be well spent. It
would be an act of folly to attempt to actually sail the craft without
them.

CHAPTER XII. HOW TO USE THE MACHINE.

It is a mistaken idea that flying machines must be operated at extreme
altitudes. True, under the impetus of handsome prizes, and the incentive
to advance scientific knowledge, professional aviators have ascended to
considerable heights, flights at from 500 to 1,500 feet being now
common with such experts as Farman, Bleriot, Latham, Paulhan, Wright and
Curtiss. The altitude record at this time is about 4,165 feet, held by
Paulhan.

One of the instructions given by experienced aviators to pupils, a