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from a French newspaper, 1910 Collection of Jean-Pierre Lauwers |
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Hello Ralph, I got now the time to do some research! Herewith photos from original contemporary French papers! The reason why it took him so long was that by landing after his cross Channel flight he got propellor damage, he had to wait for a new one and repair! But their is more, as you will notice my "Aviation Dictionary" is in error! Not done by a FARMAN plane but with a bi-plane Blériot plane! Further (how he did it into such short time?) I have at hand a bookwork from 1994 all about Blériot history....he made ten times the flight traject of Paris-London in total! Seen his death on 1910.12.31, he must have been flying a lot in short time! This flight here started on 16th August and ended on 26th August 1910! His mechanic was Albert Fileux. But these photos could be of use to your website perhaps? especially those giving John B. Moisant to see in parrticular? So you have them if, you need them! Jean-Pierre Lauwers. |
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from a French newspaper, 1910 Collection of Jean-Pierre Lauwers |
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from a French newspaper, 1910 Collection of Jean-Pierre Lauwers |
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from a French newspaper Collection of Jean-Pierre Lauwers |
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Flying with a Passenger from Paris to British Coast. Today, he will attempt to win prize by continuing his flight to London Deal, England, Aug. 17. Daily Journal and Tribune, Knoxville, Tennessee: August 17, 1910, Transcribed by Bob Davis - 9-2-03 The two-man flight from France to England ws more astonishing, for it was only a month ago that Moissant learned to fly and he made so few flights and was so little known among air men that even his nationality was not disclosed. He was reported to be a Spaniard and it was only when he landed in England today that it was revealed that he is a young Chicago architect. To make the feat still more surprising, Moissant was totally ignorant of the geography of his course. He had never been in England and was obliged to rely on the compass while the crossing of the channel was accomplished in the teeth of a strong westerly wind. |
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from a French newspaper, 1910 Collection of Jean-Pierre Lauwers |
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The channel flight was an incident in the aerial voyage from Paris to London. Moissant left Issy
yesterday with Hubert Latham and reached Amiens in two hours. Latham's aeroplane was wrecked and this morning Moissant, leaving
Amiens at an early hour, headed for Calais. His mechanician, Albert Fileux, who had accompanied him across the country, took his
place in the machine, when the motor was set in motion for the dash across the channel. Spectators Amazed - Thousands who had
gathered to watch the daring aviator were amazed and urged him not to make the attempt in the face of a half gale that was blowing.
Moissant cared nothing for the warnings of the people and even the fact that there was no torpedo boat to follow in his wake, but only a
slow moving tug, did not deter him. He made the trip in thirty-seven minutes. When he descended, his eyes were bloodshot and greatly
inflamed as a result of the heavy rain storm into which they drove on approaching the English coast.He high wind beat the rain into the
faces of the men like hail and almost blinded them. An average height of between 300 and 400 feet was maintained over the water. The aviator expected to land at Dover but was forced by the wind a few miles north, and made the coast near Deal. The cold was intense and both Moissant and his mechanician were benumbed. Moissant seemed to take his monumental feat as though it were a daily occurrence. Moissant's Story When he revived sufficiently he laughed and said to an interviewer: 'This is my first visit to England.' Describing his experiences, he said: 'This is only my sixth flight in an aeroplane. I did not know the way from Paris to Calais when I started and I do not know the way to London. I shall have to rely on the compass. I would like to land in Hyde Park if I can find it." Bob Davis |
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Daily Journal and Tribune, Knoxville, Tennessee: November 28, 1910, Transcribed by Bob Davis - 11-18-03 The program for the three days' meet includes speed, altitude, distance, duration and cross-country flying. There will also be a race every day between an aeroplane and an automobile. Garros, in his Demoiselle, will at times appear against a local motorist, and Charles K. Hamilton will every afternoon of the meet race his 110 horsepower Fiat Vanderbilt cup racer, the distance for two of the days to be five miles and the third day to be ten miles." Bob Davis |
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Under the name Moisant's International Aviators, Ltd., the itinerant troupe started out from New York, opening in Richmond. It then went on to Chattanooga and Memphis, Tupelo (Mississippi), New Orleans, Dallas and Fort Worth, and Oklahoma City; back to Texas, with shows at Waco, Temple, Houston, San Antonio, and El Paso; across the border to Monterrey, Mexico City, and Vera Cruz in Mexico; and finally to Havana, Cuba. With his usual flair for the dramatic, Moisant chose the last day of the year---in other words, the last possible moment---to try for the Michelin nonstop distance prize. He would have to beat a French mark of 362.7 miles in 7 hours 48 minutes 31 seconds, set by Maurice Tabuteau only the day before with a Maurice Farman biplane. But Moisant was counting on the luck that had ridden with his so far---as well as on the one Bleriot in the stable considered in good enough condition to make the attempt. Flying a short hop from the nearby racetrack, where the circus had pitched its tent, to territory more favorable for the long grind, he was coming down with the wind when a gust upended the tail of his machine. Moisant was pitched forward and out from a height of fifteen feet, breaking his neck. (By coincidence, at approximately the same hour, Arch Hoxsey---twin star with Ralph Johnstone in the altitude events at the Belmont meet---was killed at Los Angeles when he lost control of his Wright and turned over during a "spiral Glide" from a great height.) Actually, the winner of the 1910 Michelin trophy was in doubt until late that December 31; for the Alsatian flyer Pierre Marie Bournique, setting record after record for speed with his R.E.P. at Buc, threatened to beat Tabuteau. Bournique covered 330 miles in 6 hours 30 minutes before having to give up. True to tradition, the show went on after the death of Moisant. John B.'s older brother Alfred took charge; and in the pleasant weather of Mexico and Cuba proficiency rapidly increased, exhibitions were more successful, and gate receipts prospered. When the tour was over and the troupers disbanded early in 1911, Alfred Moisant returned to New York and opened an aviation school at Hempstead Plains, near Garden City, Long Island, where a vast acreage was admirably adaptable to practice flying. Alfred had the assistance of Harold Kantner, and early exhibition flyer, as well as of George H. Arnold, Mortimer F. Bates, J Hector Worden, and Chief Pilot S. S. Jerwan---"all licensed aviators," as the prospectus put it. A sister, Matilde Moisant, lent glamor to the school by becoming an expert aviatrix, winning a respected place for herself among here male colleagues. |
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