The cross English Channel prize was given by the Daily Mail. It had been offered in October 1906, together with a prize of £10,000 for the first flight from London to Manchester, a distance of 183 miles. Claude Graham-White made an attempt to win the London-Manchester. Cheered by a crowd of several thousand people he took off just after dawn on 23 April 1910.
He reached Lechfield , 117 miles north of London, in two hops. Then strong winds forced him to abandon the attempt, as the flight had to be completed within 24 hours. Later his biplane was blown over on the ground and damaged. The machine was returnd to London for repairs. These were completed by the afternoon of April 27, but the weather was unfit for flying. Graham-White decided to have a sleep and set out in the evening.
At six o’clock he was awakened with the news that a French test pilot, Louis Paulhan, had taken off from Hendon for Manchester. At once, Graham-White set out in pursuit. On that first evening, Paulhan reached Lichfield. Graham-White landed at Roade, Northamptonshire, 57 miles behind. In a desperate attempt to catch up, he took off by the light of motorcar headlamps at half past two in the morning. It was the first night flight in history.
Once out of Roade, Graham-White was lost in darkness until he saw the light from the fire of a train on the railway below. He followed it to Rugby. Soon afterwards, with dawn lightening the sky, he rn into strong winds and at length he was forced down at Polesworth.
Meanwhile, Paulhan had taken off from Lichfield. His route followed the railway line. All along it were excited people, many of whom had stayed up all night in the hopes of seeing the aeroplanes. At Manchester he was greeted by a crowd of thousands, who cheered as he landed.
Paulhan completed the journey from London to Manchester in about twelve hours. His actual time in the air was 3 hr 45 min.
On the fortieth anniversary of his flight, April 27, 1950, Paulhan was flown from London Airport to Manchester Airport in a Gloster Meteor jet. The flight lasted 38 minutes.
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