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Show CELEBRATED NOVELIST'8 PREDICTION ABOUT FLYING In tho December American Magazine, Maga-zine, H . G. Wells, tho famous English En-glish novelist writes an article entitled en-titled "My First Flight," which is a description of his first cxperlenco in a flying machine. Ho mado a trip In a waterplano with Mr. Grahamo White. Following is an extract: "And so It was that I went up Into In-to tho air at Eastbourno with tho Impression that (lying was still an uncomfortable, experimental, and slightly heroic thing to do, and camo down to tho cheerful gathering crowd upon tho sands again with tho knowledge knowl-edge that it is n thing achieved for everyone. It will get much cheaper no doubt, and much swifter, and bo Improved In a dozen ways, wo must get self starting engines, for example, exam-ple, for both our aeroplanes and motor mo-tor cars, but It Is available today for anyono who can reach It. An Invalid In-valid lady of soventy could havo en-Joyed en-Joyed all that I did If only one could havo got her Into tho passenger's scat. Getting there was a littlo difficult, dif-ficult, It Is true; tho waterplano was out In tho surf, and I was carried to it on a boatman's back, and then had to clamber carofully through tho wires, but that is a matter of detail. "This flying Is Indeed so certain to become a general experience that I am euro that this description will in a few years seem almost as quaint as If I had set myself to record tho fears and sensations of my First Illdo In a Wheeled Vehicle. And I suspect that learning to control a Farman waterplane now Is probab ly not much moro difficult than, let us say twice tho difficulty in learning learn-ing tho control nnd management of a motor bicycle. I cannot understand tho sort otf young man who won't learn how to do It if ho gets half a chance. "Tho development of theso water-planes water-planes Is nn Important stop towards tho huge and swnrmlng popularization populariza-tion of flying which is now certainly certain-ly imminent. Wo nncient survivors of thoso who believed In and wroto about flying beforo there was any flying, used to niako a great fuss about tho dangers and difficulties of landing and getting up. Wo wroto with vaBt gravity about starting rails nnd landing stages, and it is still truo thnt landing an noroplano except upon n well known and qulto lovel expanse 1b n risky and uncomfortable uncom-fortable business. But getting up and landing upon fairly smooth water Is easier than getting Into bed. This alono Is likely to dctermlno tho aero piano routes along tho lino of tho world's coast lines and lako groups and waterways. "Tho airmen will go to and fro over ov-er wnter ns tho midges do. Wherever Wherev-er there is a sruiaro mllo of water tho wnterplanes will como and go llko hornets at tho mouth of their nest. Hut there aro much stronger reasons than this convenience for keeping over wator. Over water tho air, It seems lies In great lovel expanses; ex-panses; oven when there aro gales It moves in great uniform masses, llko tho swift still rush of a deep river. Tho nlrman, in Mr. Grahamo Whito's phrase can go to sloop on It." |