1928: Bert Hinkler
The Lone Eagle Born in Bundaberg, Australia, Bert Hinkler was an inventive and courageous flyer. He started out building his own gliders, eventually gaining his pilot licence towards the end of World War 1 (1918). He went on to set some aviation records, and became a test pilot. His most well known flight was from England to Australia, being the first person to make the flight to Australia solo. Bert also was the first person to fly...
1927: Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh was the first person to fly solo non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean. This is the ocean between America and Europe. His flight, from New York to Paris, took 33 hours and 30 minutes. Lindbergh had to stay awake the whole way. Being “solo”, there was no one else onboard who could fly the plane while he had a sleep. If he had fallen asleep he would have crashed into the ocean. Here is some actual footage of...
1914: Tony Jannus
The First Airline Pilot The first ever airline started flying in 1914, between St.Petersburg and Tampa, Florida, in the United States of America. This was just over 10 years after the Wright Brothers made their first flight. This airline was called the St.Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line, because they used flying boats, and Tony Jannus was the pilot. Tony left the airline after about 3 months, becoming a test pilot for the Curtiss...
1911: William Hart
The First Australian Pilot Licence William Hart started his career as a dentist, and became the first “qualified” Australian pilot. He was awarded Australian aviator’s licence No. 1. His first record flight, in 1911, was from Penrith to Parammatta Park (near Sydney), a distance of about 29km. This flight took 19 minutes. The following year an American, Eugene “Wizard” Stone, challenged William to a race...
1911-1914: Circuit of Britain Air Race
An early air race organised by the Daily Mail newspaper in England. Here is some movie footage… Daily Mail – 1913 “The first prize is the sum of £5,000 to the first person who shall pilot a waterplane of entirely British invention and construction round England, Scotland, and Wales—and, so far as Ireland is -concerned, within one mile of Kingstown Harbour—in seventy-two continuous hours, starting and finishing...
1909: Louis Bleriot
In 1909 Louis Bleriot was the first person to fly an airplane across the English Channel, a stretch of water about 20 miles (30 kilometres) across. By doing this, Belriot won a prize of 1000 pounds, a very large amount in those days. This video is in French, but shows actual film from Bleriot’s crossing in 1909…...
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