Bristol Boxkite - Operating History

Operating History

After the successful flight on Salisbury Plain No.7 and a second aircraft, No.8, were sent to Lanark to take part in the aviation meeting held there in August. These aircraft were then assigned to the Bristol flight schools, No.7 at Brooklands and No.8 at Larkhill. In September a third aircraft was completed and delivered to Larkhill, and both the Larkill machines participated in the Army manouevres held on Salisbury Plain that month. No. 8 was flown by Bertram Dickson, and was captured by Blue team cavalry when it landed in order to report by telephone, and No.9 by Robert Loraine. This aircraft was equipped with a radio transmitter, and was the first aircraft in the United Kingdom to send a message by radio.

Between 11 and 16 November a series of demonstration flights were made in Bristol. Temporary hangars were built on Durdham Down and although flying was limited by the weather conditions, a crowd of almost 10,000 saw Maurice Tetard make a fifteen-minute flight on the Saturday. The most spectacular flights were made the following Tuesday, when around ten flights were made between 7 and 9 o'clock, including a fifteen minute flight by Tetard during which he flew over Clifton Suspension Bridge and made a circuit over the suburbs of Redland and Westbury. Weather conditions then deteriorated and only a single flight was made in the afternoon, when Tetard made a single circuit, cutting his flight short owing to the turbulent winds caused by the proximity of the Avon Gorge. On the final day the crowds gathered early but wind conditions prevented any flying: at around half-past three it was announced that there would be no more flying, despite which Tetard then made a short straight-line flight reaching no more than 20 ft in altitude, earning a "cheery ovation" from the crowd, by then numbering around 12,000.

At the end of November two Boxkites were shipped to Australia for a promotional tour, and a further two were sent to India, including No.12, which was the first Boxkite built with extended upper wing. In Australia No.10 was flown first by John Hammond, who made the first aeroplane flight in West Australia at Perth on 26 December 1910. On 20 February 1911 Hammond flew the first cross country flight made between towns in Australia from Altona Bay to Geelong in Victoria, and on 23 February, also at Altona Bay, he made the first passenger flight in Australia, taking his mechanic Frank Coles for a 7½ minute flight. Later that same day he took his wife for a 12½ minute flight, making her the first woman to fly in Australia. Official observers from the Australian Army observed these demonstrations and were also taken for flights but although reports were favorable no aircraft were ordered. After the flights in Melbourne Hammond returned to his home in New Zealand and the demonstrations in Sydney were made by his assistant, Leslie Macdonald, who took a photographer from the Daily Telegraph for a 25 minute flight over Sydney on 6 May, making the first aerial photographs to be taken in Australia. By 19 May, 72 flights totalling 765 miles had been made by No.10: No.11, still in its crate, was sold to W.E. Hart of Penrith, N.S.W, who used the aircraft to become the first Australian to gain a pilot's license in Australia.

In India the first flights were made by Henri Jullerot in Calcutta on 6 January 1911 before a crowd of 100,000. He was invited to take part in the Deccan cavalry manouvres that were about to take place, and made a number of flights carrying Capt. Sefton Brancker as his observer. He also took part in the Northern cavalry manouvres at Karghpur. Flying cnditions here were demanding, with many rough landings caused by the terrain, and eventually No.9 was canabilised to provide spares to keep No.11 flying.

Nos 27 and 28 were sold to Belgian Joseph Christiaens, who used them to make the first aeroplane flight in Singapore on 16 March 1911. He then took the aircraft to South Africa where a series of exhibition flights were made in Pretoria, and Christiaens sold No.28 to John Weston, who also became the Bristol company's representative in South Africa.