Aerodynamics is the foundation on which we build aircraft, as did the Wright Brothers. In their day, it was something of a mystery. It has become a profession in itself—a Science and an Art.
Its parent science—the mechanics of fluids—is one of the most difficult branches of the general science of mechanics, which is itself possibly not one of the easier departments of science. The simplest of our flying machines is aerodynamically excessively complex. We have always been prepared to design and build aircraft to meet extraordinarily severe conditions. There is only one yardstick by which we can expect to be judged—results. We need all our skill—and skill is art, though not the whole of it.