BY FEBRUARY 1919 the last guns had fallen quiet and the Great War had ended. Aircraft had proven their lethal value in war, and thoughts turned to using the technology in ways that could transform civilian life in Europe's crippled countries. In Belgium, Commandant-Aviateur Georges Nelis, Chief of Technical Services of the Belgian Armed Forces Air Arm, began exploring the various ways in which aviation might benefit his nation. He was encouraged by none less than Belgium's King Albert I. In March, he formed the Syndicat National pour l'Etude des Transports Aeriens (SNETA), roughly translated as the National Association for the Study of Air Transportation. A month later, on an Army aircraft, Nelis took two passengers on a survey circle-trip from Brussels to London, then Paris, and back.
展开▼
