"The aeroplane is an invention of the devil and will never play any part in such a serious business as the defence of the nation, my boy!"

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Aerial flight is one of that class of problems with which man will never be able to cope. . . . The example of the bird does not prove that man can fly. Imagine the proud possessor of the aeroplane darting through the air at a speed of several hundred feet per second. It is the speed alone that sustains him. How is he ever going to stop?

— Simon Newcomb