Louis Paulhan

Isidore Auguste Marie Louis Paulhan, known as Louis Paulhan (French: [pɔlɑ̃]; 19 July 1883 – 10 February 1963), was a pioneering French aviator. He is known for winning the first Daily Mail aviation prize for a flight between London and Manchester in 1910.

Paulhan was born at Pézenas, Hérault, and his heavier-than-air flying career began with making model aircraft. Stationed at St Cyr as a balloon pilot during his military service, in 1905 he won a competition for model aircraft design. Following his national service, he was employed by the balloon manufacturer Édouard Surcouf as an engineer, working on the construction of the dirigible La Ville de Paris and making many flights as its mechanic during 1907. The same year he won a competition for model aircraft design in which the first prize was to be a full-size construction of the winning design. His design was so complex that instead he was given a Voisin airframe. With the help of family and friends, he obtained an engine and taught himself to fly in 1909. He was issued with French pilot licence No.10. (The first batch of 10 licences was issued in alphabetical order of surname.)

He quickly established himself as gifted pilot. He took part in many airshows, including one in Douai in July 1909, where he set new records for altitude (150 m) and duration (1h 07m), covering 47 km, and the Grande Semaine d'Aviation in Rheims where he crashed. In Lyon, flying a Farman III, he broke three records: height (920 m), speed (20 km in 19 minutes) and weight, carrying a 73-kilogram (161 lb) passenger.

On 29 October 1909 Paulhan made the first official powered flight at Brooklands, Surrey, England, in his biplane made by Farman Aviation Works. This was also the first public flying display at Brooklands and some 20,000 spectators watched him fly to a height of 720 feet. Local press reported that the land surrounded by the Brooklands Motor Racing Track was converted into an aerodrome for this event by a gang of men working day and night.

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