The 4 January 1952 issue of “Flight” magazine includes an interesting article about the subject of early flying certificates. The first Aviators’ Certificates were issued by the Aero Club de France on 4 December 1909 (ahead of the UK, who began on 8 March 1910).
The intial batch of 15 certificates were issued in alphabetical order – which had the fortuitous effect of placing Louis Bleriot first, and well ahead of the Wright brothers. The 1952 article names these first 15.
But, please, does anyone know how best to access the full list up to (say) 1914? (Internet access would be best, if available. But I am prepared to write off for a paper copy.)
14 August 2009
I have now found a source. The trick is to search under “Les Vieilles Tiges” (or “Old Stems”). For example, there is a nice site at http://www.past-to-present.com
My thanks to all those who gave consideration to my question.
Sign In
August 13, 2009 at 12:24 pm