Early Days with Aircraft Design and Development

Extract

In my boyhood days I well remember seeing balloon ascents at the Crystal Palace, which sowed the seed for my ideas of man being supported and carried in the air. Many times, when flying my kite, it passed through my mind that if, instead of holding it against the wind to keep it in an elevated position, the kite would rise and keep elevated if it were moved through the air at a speed equal to that of the wind, but this boyish reasoning into matters of heavier-than-air flying machines remained dormant while I carried on with my general engineering training.

Between the years 1905 and 1910, I took serious notice of the experiments made with gliders, particularly those by Wilbur and Orville Wright. Thus, my interest in aviation was revived, and with the experiments with engine-powered gliders, and the very early flying machines, I definitely decided that Aviation was to be my future occupation.