27 APRIL 1929, Page 20

Mr. Frank Swoffer's Learning to Fly (Pitman's, 7s. 6d.) is

easily the best book on the subject up to date. Indeed, we can say with confidence that it is the only book that deals methodically and simply with all the problems that confront a beginner who wishes to become an air pilot. The explanations, illustrations and diagrams could not be bettered : the whole is a model of method and lucidity. " If you carry out the instructions your- instructor has given you, you will find that flying is far safer than motoring," says Mr. Swoffer, and we hope-that this truth will obtain popular acceptance, for, while in motoring there is always the incalculable " other fellow " to consider, in flying nothing can go- wrong that is not one's own fault, except a collapse of the machine, which is as unlikely to happen in a modern aeroplane as it is in a modern motor car. And a tyre-burst at fifty miles an hour on the ground is more likely to be serious than an engine failure at 5,000 feet. We not only recommend -Learning to Fly to everyone who intends to do so, but would suggest that 'parents who intend to make their children air minded, either for patriotic reasons or because of the excellent charac- ter-training afforded, should purchase this book. It comes at an opportune moment, when Captain Guest and his associates are seeking to give us the landing grounds and equipment necessary for the expansion of flying clubs. During this century the air is destined to be as important to our national existence as the sea was in the last.

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