Blackburn Type D Monoplane from 1912 - close-up - Old Warden 2018
Long before the military got interested, aeroplanes were, like the earliest motor cars, playthings for the rich and foolish. This one, which had a maximum speed of 60mph, was briefly used to transport newspapers, but trains were faster and more reliable. This is the oldest British-built plane still flyable in the UK. If you look closely, you can see the rotary engine behind and spinning in the opposite direction to the propeller.
Blackburn Type D Monoplane from 1912 - close-up - Old Warden 2018
Long before the military got interested, aeroplanes were, like the earliest motor cars, playthings for the rich and foolish. This one, which had a maximum speed of 60mph, was briefly used to transport newspapers, but trains were faster and more reliable. This is the oldest British-built plane still flyable in the UK. If you look closely, you can see the rotary engine behind and spinning in the opposite direction to the propeller.