Spurred on by the "Magnificent Men..." thread can anyone offer help on this query?
The replica/FSM Humber Monoplane at the Midland Air Museum (BAPC 9) was, I was told many years ago, built as a Bleriot XI in 1959 for use at The Royal Tournament. !959 was, of course, the fiftieth anniversary of Bleriot's flight across the Channel so, presumably, there was an item in the RT about that event.
I contacted the RT organisers some years ago but they could offer no help.
The only other information about it's origins is that it was purportedly built by service apprentices (presumably RAF). It later moved onto The Shuttleworth Collection (during which time it acted as "background" material for "Magnificent Men...") before being loaned to the MAM.
Can anyone confirm the above or add further.
Roger Smith.
PS Humber took out a licence to produce the Bleriot XI in 1909 and built a small quantity of these (plus other types) at their factory in Stoke, Coventry. The replica/FSM at MAM has an original Humber 3 cylinder engine - a redesign of the Anzani.
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By: RPSmith - 13th August 2005 at 13:04
Spurred on by the "Magnificent Men..." thread can anyone offer help on this query?
The replica/FSM Humber Monoplane at the Midland Air Museum (BAPC 9) was, I was told many years ago, built as a Bleriot XI in 1959 for use at The Royal Tournament. !959 was, of course, the fiftieth anniversary of Bleriot's flight across the Channel so, presumably, there was an item in the RT about that event.
I contacted the RT organisers some years ago but they could offer no help.
The only other information about it's origins is that it was purportedly built by service apprentices (presumably RAF). It later moved onto The Shuttleworth Collection (during which time it acted as "background" material for "Magnificent Men...") before being loaned to the MAM.
Can anyone confirm the above or add further.
Roger Smith.
PS Humber took out a licence to produce the Bleriot XI in 1909 and built a small quantity of these (plus other types) at their factory in Stoke, Coventry. The replica/FSM at MAM has an original Humber 3 cylinder engine - a redesign of the Anzani.