Page:O que eu vi, o que nós veremos (1918).pdf/78

 of a thousand horsepower. One airplane has already reached a height of 26,200 feet, and has already remained in the air for 24 hours and 12 minutes, and between sunrise and sunset, 2,100 kilometers have been flown in an airplane. We no longer fear winds or storms; the modern flying machine dares in any sky and passes through storms of any speed, and can even soar above stormy regions. Even now the airplane is in its infancy. In the space of ten years it has progressed faster than the automobile.

By means of the airplane, we are today able to travel at speeds exceeding 130 miles per hour. For commercial purposes and international communications, both railroads and automobiles have reached a point where their usefulness is at an end. Mountains, forests, rivers and seas hinder their progress. But the air provides a free and swift path for the airplane; for it there are no obstacles. The atmosphere is our ocean and we have ports everywhere!...

I, who am something of a dreamer, never imagined what I had the occasion to observe when I