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Bland

L. Bland


History

Lilian Emily Bland (b. 22 September 1878 in Maidstone, Kent – d. June 1971, Penzance, Cornwall) was a British aviator who, in 1910-11, became one of the first women in the world to design, build, and fly an aircraft.

Born to a family of Anglo-Irish gentry, in 1900 she and her father moved to Tobercorran House in Carnmoney, north of Belfast, In 1909, inspired by a postcard of the Blériot monoplane, Bland decided to take up flying, which involved building a machine herself. Bland successfully built a flyable model biplane, and from this, she progressed to a full-scale glider, which was built from spruce, bamboo and canvas, and completed early in 1910. The resulting, satirically named Mayfly was tested by gliding it from Carnmoney Hill, being progressively strengthened and tested with heavier loads, until Bland felt it was strong enough to take an engine. She ordered a light 20 horsepower two-stroke engine from A. V. Roe & Co., and after some delays brought it to Carnmoney in July.

In August of 1910, Lilian Bland piloted her first successful flight of the Mayfly, Ireland's first powered biplane.

Having proved her ability, Lilian Bland was to take no further part in aviation. She ran a Ford agency in Belfast, but family disapproval of such "unladylike" activities resulted in her accepting an offer of marriage from a cousin in Canada. Helping him to establish a farm on virgin land near Vancouver, her adventurous and inventive spirit found full scope.

She returned to England in 1935, to spend some years at Penshurst, Kent, before retiring to Cornwall in 1955, where she died in June 1971.

Company References
  1. Flight 23 January, 1964




Project Data top

Project No

Type No

Name

Alternative Name(s)

Year

Spec

Status

Qty

Description

References

   Mayfly  1910  Proto 1 1S glider 1,2,3,4
   Mayfly  1910  Proto (1) 1S, 1E biplane 1,2,3,4
   Mayfly 2  1911  Proj 0 1S, 1E biplane 1

Project References
  1. British Aircraft Before The Great War, Michael H. Goodall and Albert E. Tagg (Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 2001)
  2. British Aircraft 1809-1914, Peter Lewis (Putnam, 1962)
  3. Flight 17 Dec 1910
  4. Flight 23 Jan 1964



Production Data

   Total Bland Production     1   

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V1.4.4 Created by Roger Moss. Last updated August 2020