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Dawn of Aerial Navigation 257 aviation service. In this effort marked success was recorded, thanks to the wise employment of light, strong alloys for the working parts, until at last an eight-cylinder engine of 100 horse-power, and yet capable of being carried by an average man without undue exertion, was presented. Other toilers demon- strated their ingenuity in the struggle to secure light weight with high power by the production of the rotary engine. This proved an ideal unit for the monoplane or single-winged machine, which at the time was attracting considerable attention, because therewith high speeds were obtainable. The year 1908 was one of many sensational achieve- ments in the era of aerial navigation. Experimenters growing bolder and more ambitious, attempted and accomplished cross-country journeys. Henry Farman set the pace on October 30th by flying from Bouy to Rheims, nearly seventeen miles by air, and created further astonishment by putting up a “ start to stop ” speed of approximately fifty miles an hour. The following day Louis Bleriot essayed the round trip between Toury and Artenay, a distance of about nine miles. He not only achieved his object and put up a record of 52} miles an hour, but he inadver- tently revealed the independence of the aeroplane. His magneto broke down, compelling a descent. After a delay of ninety minutes he set off once more and continued in the air until he had to come down a second time. Again he ascended, and came flying to the starting-point as unconcernedly as if returning home from a bicycle ride. It will be seen that the “ Highway of the Air ” was being opened for the most part through the per- R