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Magnificent men and their flying machine
Thursday, 31 December 2009
One hundred years ago a man who made a plane out of spruce wood and linen made the first flight in Ireland.
Today crowds will gather to commemorate Harry Ferguson's maiden voyage on New Year's Eve 1909 in Hillsborough, Co Down.
The National Aero Club of Ireland, which began life as the Irish Aero Club when it was founded in the same year by the Royal Irish Automobile Club in Dawson Street in Dublin, has planned a flight at Weston Aerodrome outside Dublin to mark the day.
"We have planned to have a biplane flight, which is the nearest thing to what Ferguson flew, out of Weston Aerodrome to mark the occasion but it will depend on the weather," said Tom McCormack, president of the National Aero Club.
"I have great admiration for these pioneers of Irish aviation, who risked their lives in pursuit of their dreams and today we all benefit from their endeavors.
"Today's sport aviators still share the same sense of adventure and enjoy the thrill and excitement of flying, particularly in modern-day flying machines such as hang gliders, microlight aircraft, paragliders and paramotors".
The second person to fly in Ireland was Lillian Bland, from Belfast, who built her own plane "Mayfly" and flew in 1910. The Irish Aero Club's founding members included Ferguson and motoring enthusiasts like John Boyd Dunlop, the inventor of the pneumatic tyre.
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