Pioneering Places of British Aviation- The Early Adventures of Powered Flight in the UK

From the beginning of the 19th century, Britain was at the forefront of powered flight. Across the country many places became centres of innovation and experimentation, as increasing numbers took to the skies. It was in 1799, at Brompton Hall, that Sir George Cayley Bart put forward ideas which formed the basis of powered flight. Cayley is widely regarded as the father of aviation. There were balloon flights at Hendon from 1862 and Louis Bleriot established a flying school there in 1910. It was gliders that Percy Pilcher flew gliders at the grounds of Stamford Hall during the 1890s. At Brooklands attempts were made to build and fly a powered aircraft in 1906 and on 8 June 1908, AV Roe made what is considered to be the first powered flight in Britain in a machine of his own design and construction, enabling Brooklands to claim to be the birthplace of British aviation. These are just a few of the many places investigated by Bruce Hales-Dutton in this intriguing look at the early days of British aviation.