It is a remarkable calibre of man who is attracted to aviation. Those enthusiasts who formed Britain's Aeronautical Society 100 years ago were optimistic visionaries. For they had to wait 37 years before man's first controlled powered flight. Very few of the members then, in 1903, are alive today. And this is also true of those other optimists who, inspired by the Wrights’ great achievement, have led the world during the past 63 years into the astronautic age.