Flying Machines Today was first published in 1911. PREFACE: The writer has found that instruction in the principles underlying the science and sport of aviation must be vitalized by some contemporaneous study of what is being accomplished in the air. No one of the revolutionizing inventions of man has progressed as rapidly as aerial navigation. The truths of today are the absurdities of tomorrow. The suggestion that some grasp of the principles and a very fair knowledge of the current practices in aeronautics may be had without special technical knowledge came almost automatically. If this book is comprehensible to the lay reader, and if it conveys to him even a small proportion of the writers conviction that flying machines are to profoundly influence our living in the next generation, it will have accomplished its authors purpose. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.