Flying Ace

Annotation

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. Of the part played by machines of war in this war of machinery the wider public has but a vague knowledge. Least of all does it study the specialised functions of army aircraft. Very many people show mild interest in the daily reports of so many German aeroplanes destroyed, so many driven down, so many of ours missing, and enraged interest in the reports of bomb raids on British towns; but of aerial observation, the main raison d'etre of flying at the front, they own to nebulous ideas.<br><br>As an extreme case of this haziness over matters aeronautic I will quote the lay question, asked often and in all seriousness: Can an aeroplane stand still in the air? Another surprising point of view is illustrated by the home-on-leave experience of a pilot belonging to my present squadron.