Blackpool Aviation Week 1909

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Blackpool Aviation Week 1909
DateOctober 18–25, 1909 (1909-10-18 – 1909-10-25)
Venue Blackpool Airport
Organised by Lancashire Aero Club, Blackpool Corporation

The Blackpool Aviation Week (also known as the Blackpool Aviation Meeting) was an early British air show that took place in Blackpool in October 1909. It was recognised by the Aero Club of Great Britain making it Britain's first official air show. [lower-alpha 1] [1]

Air show event at which aviators display their flying skills and the capabilities of their aircraft

An air show, is a public event where aircraft are exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground.

Blackpool Place in England

Blackpool is a town and seaside resort on the Lancashire coast in North West England. The town is on the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Preston, 27 miles (43 km) north of Liverpool, 28 miles (45 km) northwest of Bolton and 40 miles (64 km) northwest of Manchester. It had an estimated population of 139,720 at the 2011 Census, making it the most populous town in Lancashire.

Contents

Creation of the show

The organising committee of the Lancashire Aero Club at Blackpool in 1909 Blackpool Aviation Week organising committee.png
The organising committee of the Lancashire Aero Club at Blackpool in 1909

In the six years following the Wright Brothers's first powered flight aviation had spread across the world. France had become the centre of European flight. In July 1909, Louis Blériot became the first person to cross the English Channel in a powered aircraft. In August 1909, inspired by the accomplishments of the French, Lord Northcliffe, the owner of the Daily Mail wrote to the Blackpool Corporation suggesting they hold their own air show. [1] The Mayor of Blackpool led a delegation to the Grande Semaine d'Aviation de la Champagne in Rheims and in early September the Corporation started planning for their own event. Over £6000 in prize funds was raised, primarily the Corporation, Lord Northcliffe and Sir Thomas Lipton. [2]

Louis Blériot French aviator, inventor and engineer

Louis Charles Joseph Blériot was a French aviator, inventor, and engineer. He developed the first practical headlamp for cars and established a profitable business manufacturing them, using much of the money he made to finance his attempts to build a successful aircraft. Blériot was the first to use a combination of hand/arm-operated joystick and foot-operated rudder control, that is in use to the present day, for the basic format of aerodynamic aircraft control systems. Blériot was also the first to make a working, powered, piloted monoplane. In 1909 he became world-famous for making the first airplane flight across the English Channel, winning the prize of £1,000 offered by the Daily Mail newspaper. He was the founder of a successful aircraft manufacturing company.

English Channel Arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France

The English Channel, also called simply the Channel, is the body of water that separates Southern England from northern France and links the southern part of the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. It is the busiest shipping area in the world.

<i>Daily Mail</i> British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper published in London

The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market newspaper published in London in a tabloid format. Founded in 1896, it is the United Kingdom's third-biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun and Metro Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982, while Scottish and Irish editions of the daily paper were launched in 1947 and 2006 respectively. Content from the paper appears on the MailOnline website, although the website is managed separately and has its own editor.

In order to run the event, the Lancashire Aero Club was formed in August 1909. The club then leased land from a local golf course about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Blackpool. [2] The golf course was converted over the course of six weeks, with the Ministry of Labour paid for 200 unemployed men to build the course, complete with grandstands a clubhouse and hangars. [1]

The Lancashire Aero Club is the oldest established flying club in the United Kingdom, it was founded in 1909 to organise the Blackpool Aviation Week, Britain's first officially recognised air show.

Ministry of Labour (United Kingdom)

The Ministry of Labour was a British government department established by the New Ministries and Secretaries Act 1916. It later morphed into the Department of Employment. Most of its functions are now performed by the Department for Work and Pensions.

The event

The club aimed to attract the leading airmen of the age. French pilots including Henri Farman, Louis Paulhan, Hubert Latham, Henri Rougier and Alfred Leblanc entered, as did British pioneer Alliott Verdon Roe. [2] [3]

Henri Farman French pilot, aviator and aircraft designer and manufacturer

Henri Farman was an Anglo-French aviator and aircraft designer and manufacturer with his brother Maurice Farman. Before dedicating himself to aviation he gained fame as a sportsman, specifically in cycling and motor racing. His family was British and he took French nationality in 1937.

Louis Paulhan Pioneering French aviator

Isidore Auguste Marie Louis Paulhan, known as Louis Paulhan, was a pioneering French aviator. He is known for winning the first Daily Mail aviation prize for the first flight between London and Manchester in 1910.

Hubert Latham French aviation pioneer

Arthur Charles Hubert Latham was a French aviation pioneer. He was the first person to attempt to cross the English Channel in an aeroplane. Due to engine failure during his first of two attempts to cross the Channel, he became the first person to land an aeroplane on a body of water.

18 October

Around 60,000 spectators attended the first day of the event. [2] The day was sunny with light breezes, which made for good conditions for flying. Roe made the first attempt at a flight, in a triplane of his own design, but he failed to take off. Farman was the first to fly at the event, completing half of the main circuit using "Gypaète" - a plane owned by Paulhan. At his second attempt Farman became the first pilot to complete a full circuit of the course; Paulhan then took over his aircraft plane and flew another lap. [3]

Triplane aircraft wing configuration with three vertically stacked main wing surfaces

A triplane is a fixed-wing aircraft equipped with three vertical stacked wing planes. Tailplanes and canard foreplanes are not normally included in this count, although they may be occasionally.

Later in the day, Farman flew seven laps at a maximum recorded speed of 60 kilometres per hour (37 mph). Rougier recorded the day's longest flight at nine laps - a distance of 28.8 kilometres (17.9 mi) - in his Voisin aircraft. Leblanc flew one lap in his Blériot Aéronautique aircraft. [2]

Voisin aircraft manufacturer

Aéroplanes Voisin was a French aircraft manufacturing company established in 1905 by Gabriel Voisin and his brother Charles, and was continued by Gabriel after Charles died in an automobile accident in 1912; the full official company name then became Société Anonyme des Aéroplanes G. Voisin. During World War I, it was a major producer of military aircraft, notably the Voisin III. After the war Gabriel Voisin abandoned the aviation industry, and set up a company to design and produce luxury automobiles, called Avions Voisin.

Blériot Aéronautique aircraft manufacturer

Blériot Aéronautique was a French aircraft manufacturer founded by Louis Blériot. It also made a few motorcycles between 1921 and 1922 and cyclecars during the 1920s.

19 October

The second day of the week suffered from higher winds which increased during the day. The first flight was by Latham, who crashed his Antoinette after half a lap. Roe managed two short flights in the early afternoon, followed by Paulhan who completed eight laps of the course in difficult conditions. [2]

20 October

Mortimer Singer attempted a flight in his Voisin around noon on the third day, but failed to take off, as did Blackpool Councillor A. Parkinson in his Blériot aircraft. Farman then took off, and completed 24 laps of the course before cramp caused him to land. He had flown 47.7 miles (76.8 km) in 1 hour 32 minutes, recording the longest flight of the week. [3]

21, 22 and 23 October

No flying took place on Thursday, 21 October due to high winds. Friday morning saw further wind, but Latham managed two complete laps in his repaired Antoinette in the afternoon. Heavy rain on Saturday 23 October meant that Latham's was the last flight of the originally scheduled Week. [3]

25 October

Because several days had been lost during the official Week, the organising committee decided to extend the event on the following Monday and Tuesday. Monday 25 October saw further wind and rain, and the extended event was officially canceled. However, the afternoon saw enough improvement in the weather that several pilots attempted flight, though only Roe was able to take off, and he only managed a short flight of about 50 yards (46 m).

Prizes

The Manchester Guardian newspaper offered a cup and £100 [4] for the slowest complete circuit of the course [5] won by Latham for a lap at 21.65 miles per hour (34.84 km/h). [6]

Michelin gave £1000 towards the prize for the longest distance travelled, the total amount being £2000. This was won by Farman. Farman also won the £400 Daily Sketch prize for highest speed over any three laps, [6] [2] and the Daily Mail £1000 prize for the fastest lap. [4]

Notes

  1. ↑ The first air show was held at Doncaster a few days before but was not recognised by the Aero Club of Great Britain, they were concerned that not enough aviators around to support both events

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1910:

1909 in aviation

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1909:

Antoinette (manufacturer) aircraft and engine manufacturer

Antoinette was a French manufacturer of light petrol engines. Antoinette also became a pioneer-era builder of aeroplanes before World War I, most notably the record-breaking monoplanes flown by Hubert Latham and René Labouchère. Based in Puteaux, the Antoinette concern was in operation between 1903 and 1912. The company operated a flying school at Chalons for which it built one of the earliest flight simulators.

Fly-in gathering of aviators

A fly-in is a pre-arranged gathering of aircraft, pilots and passengers for recreational and social purposes.

Blériot XI sport aircraft family

The Blériot XI is a French aircraft of the pioneer era of aviation. The first example was used by Louis Blériot to make the first flight across the English Channel in a heavier-than-air aircraft, on 25 July 1909. This is one of the most famous accomplishments of the pioneer era of aviation, and not only won Blériot a lasting place in history but also assured the future of his aircraft manufacturing business. The event caused a major reappraisal of the importance of aviation; the English newspaper The Daily Express led its story of the flight with the headline "Britain is no longer an Island".

Claude Grahame-White British aviator

Claude Grahame-White was an English pioneer of aviation, and the first to make a night flight, during the Daily Mail-sponsored 1910 London to Manchester air race.

Léon Delagrange French aviator, sculptor

Ferdinand Léon Delagrange was a pioneering French aviator and sculptor. Léon was ranked as one of the top aviators in the world. On 30 December 1909 he had broken all speed records at Juvisy-sur-Orge in France in an attempt to win the Michelin Cup. He did not succeed in beating Henry Farman’s record for distance, but did establish a new distance record for monoplanes and a new world speed record. He covered 124 miles in 2 hours and 32 minutes, maintaining an average speed of approximately 45 miles an hour.

Trafford Park Aerodrome (Manchester) was the first purpose-built airfield in the Manchester area. Its large all-grass landing field was just south of the Manchester Ship Canal between Trafford Park Road, Moseley Road and Ashburton Road and occupied a large part of the former deer park of Trafford Hall. Today's Tenax Road runs north-south through the centre of the site of the old airfield, which was 0.7 miles northeast of today's Trafford Centre.

Farman III early French aircraft designed and built by Henry Farman in 1909

The Farman III, also known as the Henry Farman 1909 biplane, was an early French aircraft designed and built by Henry Farman in 1909. Its design was widely imitated, so much so that aircraft of similar layout were generally referred to as being of the "Farman" type.

1910 Los Angeles International Air Meet at Dominguez Field

The Los Angeles International Air Meet was among the earliest airshows in the world and the first major airshow in the United States. It was held in Los Angeles County, California, at Dominguez Field in present-day Carson, California. Spectator turnout numbered approximately 254,000 over 11 days of ticket sales. The Los Angeles Times called it "one of the greatest public events in the history of the West."

Henri Rougier racing driver, winner of the first Monte Carlo Rally

Henri Louis Rougier, was a French sportsman, racing cyclist, pioneer aeroplane pilot and sporting motorist. He is best remembered for his victory in the inaugural Monte Carlo Rally when he drove his Turcat-Méry from Paris to Monte Carlo, but he was also a regular competitor in both 'City to City' and Grand Prix races.

1910 London to Manchester air race racing

The 1910 London to Manchester air race took place between two aviators, each of whom attempted to win a heavier-than-air powered flight challenge between London and Manchester first proposed by the Daily Mail newspaper in 1906. The £10,000 prize was won in April 1910 by Frenchman Louis Paulhan.

Alfred Leblanc French aviation pioneer

Alfred Leblanc was a pioneer French aviator.

Grande Semaine dAviation de la Champagne

The Grande Semaine d'Aviation de la Champagne was an 8-day aviation meeting held near Reims in France in 1909, so-named because it was sponsored by the major local champagne growers. It is celebrated as the first international public flying event, confirming the viability of heavier-than-air flight.

Gordon Bennett Trophy (aeroplanes) Aviation competition

The Gordon Bennett Aviation Trophy was an international airplane racing trophy awarded by James Gordon Bennett Jr., the American owner and publisher of the New York Herald newspaper. The trophy is one of three Gordon Bennett awards: Bennett was also the sponsor of an automobile race and a ballooning competition.

Aviation in the pioneer era

The pioneer era of aviation refers to the period of aviation history between the first successful powered flight, generally accepted to have been made by the Wright Brothers on 17 December 1903, and the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Harris, Emma (17 August 2017). "Those magnificent men in their flying machines". The Blackpool Gazette.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Blackpool Aviation Week Blackpool, UK, October 18th - 24th 1909". The First Air Races.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Blackpool Aviation Week Report". Flight magazine. 23 October 1909.
  4. 1 2 "Blackpool Aviation Week October 18th. to 23rd". Flight magazine. 16 October 1909. pp. 645–650.
  5. ↑ Stoddard, Katy (8 October 2014). "Blackpool airport closure: Blackpool's Air Show of 1909, from the archive". The Guardian.
  6. 1 2 "Blackpool Aviation Week Report". Flight magazine. 30 October 1909.
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