drop off).

Let us suppose that you are one of the majority of heavier-than-air
persons who will shortly be wanting a good steady machine to rise to any
ordinary occasion.

Well, then, look round you carefully. Observe the demeanour of the
machines that are trotted out (if such a term may be used) for your
inspection. The flick of a tail, the purr of an engine or the slope of
a wing may give the observant a clue as to the disposition of an aerial
Pegasus.

But however reassuring a preliminary canter may be (to borrow another
horsey simile) insist on a thorough personal inspection of all parts of
the machine. Test the musical capacity of the wire entanglement, screw
and unscrew the turnbuckles till the seller cries for mercy, and run
your hands well over the body (the aeroplane's, of course) to make quite
sure that it will support the weight of yourself, of your family and of
your parasites--remembering in this connection that Aunt Louisa kicks
the beam at 15.7. Make sure also that the body will not part company
with the rest of the box of tricks at one of those awkward corners in
the sky. Also, if you have time, it might be well to glance at the
engine, the petrol tank and the feed-pipe, as experts consider these of
importance.

Having satisfied yourself that all these things are as they should be
in the best of all possible aeroplanes, that the joy-stick works as
smoothly as a beer-pull, and that the under-carriage has the necessary
wheels, axles and other things that under-carriages are licensed to
carry, little remains but to pay for the machine and make a nosedive for