Aviation Archive Registration Acknowledgements
BAC 100: 2010. Join in the Celebrations of 100 Years of Aviation in the West of England. Aviation image sequence: Photograph of the Bristol Flying School at Larkhill by T L Fuller © J T Fuller. Mercury engine installation diagram, courtesy of BAC/Rolls-Royce. Selection of old postcards from the collection of Jackie Sims. Photograph of A380 over Clifton Suspension Bridge courtesy of Airbus SAS 2006. Computer generated image of A350 XWB courtesy of Airbus. Artist's impressions of main exhibition by Simon Gurr. Sir George White (Airbus).
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1910s

Originally 'Bristol' aircraft were produced not by Bristol Aeroplane Company, which was kept dormant, but by Sir George White's British & Colonial Aeroplane Company, which quickly established itself as the biggest aviation factory in the world.

The decade saw the end of the Edwardian period in the UK with the death of King Edward VII on 6 May 1910. The period also marked the final years of Europe's 'Belle Epoque', the golden age of political stability, scientific advancement and the flowering of modernist arts that bloomed with the turn of the century and died with the outbreak of World War One. That devastating conflict revealed the horrors of modern warfare and the destructive power of aerial bombardment.
19 February 1910
Sir George White's four aviation companies registered. British & Colonial Aeroplane Company name used for initial operations. Company office at Clare Street in Bristol. Sheds at Filton previously used by White's Bristol Tramways and Carriage Company turned into the first workshops.
March 1910
Société Zodiac biplane shown at B & C stand at Olympia following licensing agreement to build these at the company's Filton workshops.
28 May 1910
Zodiac gives disappointing performance in flight tests at Brooklands and licensing agreement dissolved.
June 1910
Sheds erected at Larkhill on Salisbury Plain for first Bristol Flying School.
30 July 1910
Maiden flight of the Bristol biplane (soon known as the Boxkite) at Larkhill. Adapted by George Challenger from a design by the Farman brothers' company in France.
21 September 1910
First students enrolled at Bristol Flying School at Brooklands.
24 September 1910
Boxkites take part in the Autumn Manoevres on Salisbury Plain. First UK example of aircraft being used for military observations. First UK example of air-to-ground wireless transmission.
12 November 1910
Leslie Macdonald becomes first pupil of Bristol Flying School at Brooklands to attain Royal Aero Club certification.
14 November 1910
Boxkite demonstration flights on Durdham Downs in Bristol.
15 November 1910
Announcement of sales of six Boxkites to Russia. The first UK export order for aircraft.
December 1910
Teams set out to India and Australia for sales tours.
Other UK and world events this year:
First US airshow. JTC Moore-Brabazon is Royal Aero Club's first certificated pilot. Baroness de Laroche in France is world's first qualified female pilot. Claude Grahame-White makes Europe's first night flight. Louis Paulhan wins Daily Mail London-Manchester challenge. Charles Rolls makes first double-crossing of Channel. Rolls killed at Bournemouth airshow. First flight over Swiss Alps. First flight over 100km an hour. Grahame-White wins Gordon Bennett International Air Race. First mid-air collision. First take-off from deck of a ship. First floatplane flight.
18 February 1911
Sir George White's son and founding director of the aviation companies, (George) Stanley, made Managing Director of B & C.
14 March 1911
War Office places first order for Boxkites.
December 1911
Airframe designer Frank Barnwell joins company, later going on to design some of the most important 'Bristol' aircraft.
Other UK and world events this year:
Air Battalion Royal Engineers formed. First flight of Curtiss floatplane. First London-Paris non-stop flight. First wartime use of the aeroplane.
1912
Romanian Henri Coanda becomes Chief Designer.
February 1912
First overseas schools set up on the Bristol Flying School model.
August 1912
Coanda designs submitted to military trials at Larkhill. War Office places order for Coanda monoplanes but series of accidents leads to temporary ban on single winged aircraft by Army, hampering development.
Other UK and world events this year:
Royal Flying Corps founded. First enclosed cabin aeroplane. First all-metal aeroplane. First flight over 100mph. First parachute drop from aeroplane. Wilbur Wright dies. Monocoque (single shell) construction introduced. First recorded recovery from spin.
23 February 1914
Maiden flight of Barnwell's Scout reconnaissance aircraft.
14 June 1914
Larkhill flying school closed for troop mobilisation on the airfield in readiness for war.
30 September 1914
Tuition ends at Brooklands.
Other UK and world events this year:
World War One begins. First Zeppelin bombing raid (on Antwerp). First British air attack on Germany.
9 September 1916
Maiden flight of Barnwell's Bristol Fighter, which will go on to equip 17 squadrons on the Western Front.
22 November 1916
Death of Sir George White. Succeeded as Chairman of B & C by his brother Samuel.
Other UK and world events this year:
First test of a flying bomb. Battle of the Somme.
July 1917
Maiden flight of Barnwell's MR1 metal monoplane.
8 November 1917
Factory visit from King George V and Queen Mary.
Other UK and world events this year:
First London blitz. Russian Revolution.
13 August 1918
Maiden flight of Braemar triplane bomber, too late for the war effort and too big for peacetime use.
25 October 1918
Test pilot Cyril Uwins joins company, going on to fly over 50 'Bristol' prototypes during his career starting with the Scout F.

12 December 1918
Barnwell's M1C monoplane makes first crossing of Andes.
Other UK and world events this year:
Red Baron killed. Armistice. Cosmos Engineering takes over Brazil Straker engine factory at Fishponds, which had produced some Falcon engines for the Fighter under licence to Rolls-Royce during the war.
28 November 1919
Maiden flight of Barnwell's Babe, the smallest 'Bristol' aircraft made.

Other UK and world events this year
First regular airmail and passenger services. First Atlantic crossings including the first non-stop flight (Alcock and Brown). First Britain-Australia flight.
Search the site
Plan drawing of Boxkite (Bristol Aero Collection).
Plan drawing of Boxkite (Bristol Aero Collection).

Plan drawing of Coanda monoplane (Bristol Aero Collection).
Plan drawing of Coanda monoplane (Bristol Aero Collection).

Plan drawing of Coanda biplane (Bristol Aero Collection).
Plan drawing of Coanda biplane (Bristol Aero Collection).

Plan drawing of Scout (Bristol Aero Collection).
Plan drawing of Scout (Bristol Aero Collection).

Plan drawing of Scout variation (Bristol Aero Collection).
Plan drawing of Scout variation (Bristol Aero Collection).

Plan drawing of Fighter (Bristol Aero Collection).
Plan drawing of Fighter (Bristol Aero Collection).

Plan drawing of M1C (Bristol Aero Collection).
Plan drawing of M1C (Bristol Aero Collection).
Babe
Bristol Babe (Bristol Aero Collection).
See a full-scale reproduction of the Bristol Babe at the Bristol Aero Collection at Kemble.
Boxkite
See a full-scale reproduction of the Bristol Boxkite as used in Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines on display at Bristol's City Museum and Art Gallery. Al Foot has posted footage of his scale model Boxkite in flight on You Tube.
Aviation Archive
Search the Aviation Archive for images of West of England aircraft in the 1910s.
Bristol Fighter 2010
Graduate trainees at Airbus, Rolls-Royce and GKN are among those taking part in the building of a F.2B Bristol Fighter as part of BAC 100. We'll be tracking their progress on the website on the News and Press page.

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