When the complete history of aviation comes to be written, there will
be three epoch-making events which will doubtless be duly appreciated
by the historian, and which may well be described as landmarks in the
history of flight. These are the three great contests organized by the
proprietors of the Daily Mail, respectively known as the "London to
Manchester" flight, the "Round Britain flight in an aeroplane", and the
"Water-plane flight round Great Britain."
In any account of aviation which deals with the real achievements
of pioneers who have helped to make the science of flight what it
is to-day, it would be unfair not to mention the generosity of
Lord Northcliffe and his co-directors of the Daily Mail towards the
development of aviation in this country. Up to the time of writing, the
sum of L24,750 has been paid by the Daily Mail in the encouragement
of flying, and prizes to the amount of L15,000 are still on offer. In
addition to these prizes this journal has maintained pilots who may be
described as "Missionaries of Aviation". Perhaps the foremost of them
is M. Salmet, who has made hundreds of flights in various parts of the
country, and has aroused the greatest enthusiasm wherever he has flown.
The progress of aviation undoubtedly owes a great deal to the Press,
for the newspaper has succeeded in bringing home to most people the fact
that the possession of air-craft is a matter of national importance. It
was of little use for airmen to make thrilling flights up and down an
aerodrome, with the object of interesting the general public, if the
newspapers did not record such flights, and though in the very early
days of aviation some newspapers adopted an unfriendly attitude towards
the possibilities of practical aviation, nearly all the Press has since
come to recognize the aeroplane as a valuable means of national defence.
Right from the start the Daily Mail foresaw the importance of
promoting the new science of flight by the award of prizes, and its
public-spirited enterprise has done much to break up the prevailing
apathy towards aviation among the British nation.
If these three great events had been mere spectacles and nothing
else--such as, for instance, that great horse-race known as "The
Derby"--this chapter would never have been written. But they are
most worthy of record because all three have marked clearly-defined
stepping-stones in the progress of flight; they have proved conclusively
that aviation is practicable, and that its ultimate entry into the busy
life of the world is no more than a matter of perfecting details.
The first L10,000 prize was offered in November, 1906, for a flight by
aeroplane from London to Manchester in twenty-four hours, with not more
than two stoppages en route. In 1910 two competitors entered the lists
for the flight; one, an Englishman, Mr. Claude Grahame-White; the other,
a Frenchman, M. Paulhan.
Mr. Grahame-White made the first attempt, and he flew remarkably well
too, but he was forced to descend at Lichfield--about 113 miles on the
journey--owing to the high and gusty winds which prevailed in the Trent
valley. The plucky pilot intended to continue the flight early the next
morning, but during the night his biplane was blown over in a gale while
it stood in a field, and it was so badly damaged that the machine had to
be sent back to London to be repaired.
This took so long that his French rival, M. Paulhan, was able to
complete his plans and start from Hendon, on 27th April. So rapidly
had Paulhan's machine been transported from Dover, and "assembled" at
Hendon, that Mr. White, whose biplane was standing ready at Wormwood
Scrubbs, was taken by surprise when he heard that his rival had started
on the journey and "stolen a march on him", so to speak. Nothing
daunted, however, the plucky British aviator had his machine brought
out, and he went in pursuit of Paulhan late in the afternoon. When
darkness set in Mr. White had reached Roade, but the French pilot was
several miles ahead.
Now came one of the most thrilling feats in the history of aviation. Mr.
White knew that his only chance of catching Paulhan was to make a flight
in the darkness, and though this was extremely hazardous he arose from
a small field in the early morning, some hours before daybreak arrived,
and flew to the north. His friends had planned ingenious devices to
guide him on his way: thus it was proposed to send fast motor-cars,
bearing very powerful lights, along the route, and huge flares were
lighted on the railway; but the airman kept to his course chiefly by the
help of the lights from the railway stations.
Over hill and valley, forest and meadow, sleeping town and slumbering
village, the airman flew, and when dawn arrived he had nearly overhauled
his rival, who, in complete ignorance of Mr. White's daring pursuit, had
not yet started.
But now came another piece of very bad luck for the British aviator. At
daybreak a strong wind arose, and Mr. White's machine was tossed about
like a mere play-ball, so that he was compelled to land. Paulhan,
however, who was a pilot with far more experience, was able to overcome
the treacherous air gusts, and he flew on to Manchester, arriving there
in the early morning.
Undoubtedly the better pilot won, and he had a truly magnificent
reception in Manchester and London, and on his return to France. But
this historic contest laid the foundation of Mr. Grahame-White's great
reputation as an aviator, and, as we all know, his fame has since become
world-wide.