om point to point,
generally between neighbouring aerodromes, that he next devotes
himself.

Aviators have been commiserated with, often, on what is thought to be
the monotony of a cross-country flight. The pilot, raised to a lonely
height above the earth, is pictured sitting more or less inertly in
his seat, with nothing to do but retain his control on the levers, and
look out occasionally so as to keep upon his course. But the beginner,
when he first attempts cross-country flying, will have an impression
not of inactivity, but of the necessity to be constantly on the alert.
He will be engrossed completely by the manipulation of his machine,
with no time to sit in idle speculation, or to analyse his feelings as
the country passes away below.

When preliminaries on the ground have been gone through, and the pilot
is in the air, there will first be a need to gain a height of several
thousand feet. Altitude is essential in cross-country flying. The
higher a pilot flies, within reason and having regard to the state of
the atmosphere, the better chance will he have of making a safe
landing, should his motor fail suddenly and force him to descend. So
the first concern is climbing--and in doing so the pilot must remember
the teachings of his instructor, and not force his craft on too steep
or rapid an ascent. He may prefer, in his early flights, to remain
above the aerodrome while he is gaining altitude, watching his height
recorder from moment to moment so as to note his progress upward. He
will be occupied also with his engine, listening to its rhythm of
sound, and keeping an eye on the indicator that tells him how many
revolutions per minute the motor is actually making, and which will
warn him at once should it begin to fail.

Granted his motor is running well, a pilot should soon gain altitude.
Then, assuming the air is clear--as it should be on his early
flights--he will note some landmark, away on the line of his flight,
and set off across country towards it. Fixed conveniently in front of
him will be a map, of a kind devised specially for the use of
aviators. A pilot's view, as he flies high above the ground, is
bird-like. Landmarks fail to attract his attention, at this altitude,
which would be clearly seen if he were on the ground. Hills, for
example, unless they are high, are so dwarfed as he looks down on them
that they scarcely catch his eye. What is done, by the designer of air
maps, is to accentuate such de