Sunday, June 9, 2013
The Bleriot Toy Airplane
I was browsing Liveauctioneers when I came across an interesting toy. It was called a Bleriot airplane. It was interesting for it's very frail-looking design. However, as history would record it, this airplane was the first plane to cross from Europe to Great Britain across the English Channel. It was piloted by Mr. Louois Bleriot, and that happened on July 25, 1909. The flight lasted 36 minutes and 36 seconds. An interesting fact at that time is that a prize were offered for the first person to cross the English Channel. If you "flash forward" to June 12. 1979 a human-powered airplane crossed the English Channel. The "Gossamer Albatross" was piloted by Bryan Allen, an amateur cyclist. The airplane had been designed by a renowned American aeronautics engineer anbd designer by the nam eof Paul B. McCready. That exceptional feat lasted 2 hours and 49 minutes, and also won a prize for the category of the first person to cross the English Channel in a self-propelled airplane.
As it turned out, Mr. Bleriot was quite an interesting man. He became financially successful creating the first practical headlights for automobiles in 1897 at the age of 25. He had worked for a company, and left after having created the headlight. He soon opened a showroom , and had Renault and Pannard-Levassor become major purchasers of his headlights.
Having become financially independent, Bleriot had become interested in flying. At the beginning of aviation, there weren't very many rules and regulations, so anyone who had the money and time could in fact purchase an airplane and fly. Of course, the same could have been said of the automobile.
Louis Bleriot's history and life are quite interesting, and it's best to leave some of the reading for you to find on Wikipedia at the link below:
This is an airplane that Bleriot had flown in before his flight across the English Channel.
The yellow airplane above is another model from Fisher (Germany).
Although the date it was made isn't stated, I would guess that is was made between or
was around between 1909-1912.
A marvellous feat such as Bleriot's would have had all of the manufacturers hurrying to come up with the first toy for the market. If I remember correctly, PBS aired a special on Charles Lindbergh. After he returned to the USA, the program said that approximately 1 in 5 Americans stood in line to see him as he was paraded across the major cities of the USA. His famous flight across the Atlantic occurred some 26 years later (After Bleriot's flight) on May 20-21, 1927.
A different colour scheme for this Orobr.
Notice also that the "guide wires" that hold the wings up are not on this plain, compared with the one above it. It's always a good idea to try and find as many similar or the same airplane when looking to buy or bid on a particular item.
This is another Fischer airplane, but the smaller version. The left wing is missing a part, hence the reason that it's folded to the side. What's interesting about this plane is it's exaggeration of the height which is disproportionate to the other dimensions.This one is totally different from all of the modelspresented today, which "faithfully" model after the real airplane.
If this is your first time to my blog, you will notice that I like to add a "glow" to the peripheral (outer) edges of the photos. I also like to place the toys against a white background as well. I find that this allows the toy to stand out more, and present itself better.
Thanks for dropping by,
and have restful and pleasant Sunday,
or whatever day you might be visiting.
Stacey
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