On 9 October 1890, French engineer Clément Ader’s Eole (Avion I) aircraft took off from the grounds of Château d’Armainvilliers near Paris for a distance of approximately 50 metres and a height of around 20 centimetres. The performance is generally accepted by historians despite not being officially recorded. Ader claimed that it took place in front of witnesses and recounted the experience in a book that he published several years later.
One hundred and ten years ago on 28 March 1910, Frenchman Henri Fabre achieved successful lift off of an aircraft not from the ground, but from the water, and also landed it back on the water – a first in the history of aviation.
An engineer born in 1882 in Marseille, France, Fabre came from a family of ship owners. After studying science and engineering, he spent four years designing, building and testing his seaplane (hydravion) with the help and expertise of two mechanics and a naval architect.
One hundred and ten years ago today, on 8 March 1910, Frenchwoman Elise Deroche, aka Baroness Raymonde de Laroche, became the first woman pilot in the world to earn an airplane pilot licence.
The Aero Club de France, FAI Founding Member, issued Laroche’s licence. Aero clubs started to grant licences in 1910, with very few women receiving them.
