ut to the flying ground.

It was pitch dark when we arrived at the aerodrome, but the morning
promised to be favourable. Foggy it was; but there was no wind, and
the fog seemed likely to clear. We roused the caretaker, and, after
lengthy explanations and considerable monetary persuasion, induced him
to open the shed and allow us to prepare the machine for its first
flight. Then we waited for the mechanics and the first rays of dawn.
We felt a desire to get the big engine started up, but had been warned
of the risk of doing this without the help of mechanics. Time passed
and still the mechanics did not come. At last, there being now
sufficient light, we tied the aeroplane with ropes to a fence, so as
to prevent its leaping forward, and then started up the motor by
ourselves. I swung the nine-foot propeller--the only way of starting
the engine; and at the first quarter-turn the motor began to fire.
Then, as is quite usual, there was an incident that had been
unforeseen in our excitement. We had forgotten to take up the slack of
the rope; and the consequence was that, as the engine started, the
machine gave a bound forward that was sufficient to knock me down. But
I was unhurt, and picked myself up quickly. Then I hurried round to
the driving seat and took my place at the control levers, motioning to
my friend, who was looking after the ropes, to cast these loose and
jump into the seat beside me. This was easier said than done. Directly
he released the ropes the machine began to move across the ground,
gathering speed very quickly; but he managed somehow, before the
machine was running too fast, to scramble into the seat beside me.

Off we started across the aerodrome, the monoplane gaining a speed of
40 or 50 miles an hour. I did not attempt to rise from the ground,
feeling it very necessary at first to grow familiar with the controls.
So we sped along the ground for a distance of about a mile. Then, on
nearing the far end, I slowed down the motor and our speed dropped to
about 20 miles an hour. I wanted to turn the machine round on the
ground and run back again towards our starting point. But such a
manoeuvre, particularly for the novice, is far from easy. As the speed
of the machine is reduced, the pressure of air on the rudder is
lessened and so it loses its efficiency--in the same way that a ship
is difficult to steer when she begins to lose way. We were faced also
by another and a graver difficulty. Confused by the