Ben Hardy’s Flying Machine

Do you like to fly? If so, this is a great story that lets you in on the way things were in the early days of aviation, including the excitement and wonder of what it was like in the beginning. It all happens as a young inventor has hopes and dreams of breaking records with the new-fangled means of transportation. Along the way, he encounters not only dangerous weather conditions but also unscrupulous rival inventors. In spite of such hurdles to clear, the hero overcomes them with ambition and perseverance. A 1941 poem by young pilot John Gillespie Magee spoke of the sanctity of space. It told of “slipping the surly bonds of earth and dancing the skies on laughter-silvered wings.” Come along and capture the feeling.