Didsbury
DIDSBURY: Temporary Landing Ground
Note: We have Mike Holder, a great friend of this 'Guide' to thank for these illustrations.
NOTES: On the 28th April 1910 the French pilot Louis Paulhan landed his 50hp Gnome-engined Farman biplane here, near Burnage station in Didsbury, winning the £10,000 prize offered by the Daily Mail for the first London to Manchester flight. That prize is now estimated to be worth around £1.4 million in 2022.
It is stated the contestants had to depart from and land within 5 miles of the Daily Mail offices in both cities.
Paulhan had taken–off from a prepared site at HENDON, soon to become one of the most prestigious early British flying grounds whereas his nearest rival, Claude Grahame-White had departed on his second attempt from WORMWOOD SCRUBS. But, here’s an interesting detail, if the 5 mile rule applied, HENDON is at least 7 miles from the Daily Mail offices in Fleet Street, more like 8 miles in fact. Surely the Royal Aero Club adjudicators would have picked up on this?
But, perhaps he back-tracked to fly over the initial staging point at Highgate in north London.
TWO DAYS
What I think is also very interesting is that it took two days to perform this amazing flight by Paulhan, but the actual flying time over the 185 miles was 4hrs 12mins at an average speed, over the ground of course, of 44mph. Paulhan had made it to LICHFIELD on the first day whereas his competitor, Claude Grahame-White, (on his second attempt), had only reached ROADE in NORTHAMPTONSHIRE as darkness fell. Despite taking off before dawn to undertake the first ever recorded cross-country flight at night, (quite rightly generally regarded as being suicidal in 1910 - but perhaps there was a full moon?), G-W survived but had to land at POLESWORTH in WARWICKSHIRE to take on fuel. Where he learnt that Paulhan had arrived in Manchester - and sent his kindest congratulations by telegram.
For a very full account of this Air Race, lavishly illustrated by Mike Holder, please see my article: 'The London to Manchester Air Race 1910'.
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