History of aviation – November 17, 1906. Lord Northcliffe, who owns the British newspaper “The Daily Mail”, will establish via this media a new aeronautical competition on this Saturday, November 17, 1906. The latter, pitting aviators, both British and foreign, against each other, will reward the first person to complete the London – Manchester journey by air.
The regulations of the event specify that the course must be completed in less than 24 hours, in addition, only three stages maximum are authorized to complete this air raid. As part of this prize, no less than 10,000 pounds are at stake, the equivalent in francs of 250,000.
In April 1910, the trophy was finally won by the French aviator Louis Paulhan. The French pilot completed the 295 kilometers of the raid in a time of 4 hours and 6 minutes, being installed at the controls of an aircraft biplane signed Farman whose engine was provided by a Gnome block capable of developing 50 horsepower.
