Olios of Flight : Tom Richards : 9781937358846 : 1937358844 : 22 May 2018 : The first three decades of powered flight were to see mankind's wobbly attempts to leave the ground, make war in a new realm, deliver mail, form a new sport, and start regular airline service to commute the general public in a faster, and somewhat safer style than any time in history. The 30 years, roughly from 1910 to 1940, really fall into distinct eras of aviation. The first decade, up to World War I was marked mostly by individuals building and trying new concepts for stability and processes to produce their product for others to buy. Such early aircraft factories gave us names like Wright, Curtiss, and Voisin. WWI saw a quantum leap in innovation; a production of aircraft. At the beginning of the war in 1914, there were only 1,720 licensed pilots worldwide, and certainly less than 700 flyable aircraft in all of Europe. By the end of the war, in 1918, over 200,000 aircraft had been produced in over 100 fa