Aviation Post Card Collection...

This postcard shows peruvian aviator Jorge Chavez in a monoplan Bleriot at Meudon, after he established another maximum height record of 1680m at Blackpool, England. Three weeks later, Italy's Aero Club began to offer 20.000 dollars to the first person to fly a fixed-wing aircraft from Brigue to Milan, flying over the Alps. Chávez was one of a small number of pilots that accepted the challenge. On September 19, Chávez attempted the flight, but he returned to Brigue because of adverse flying conditions. On September 23, he took off for the second time. He reportedly said the words, "Whatever happens, I shall be found on the other side of the Alps." The runway that had been set up in Milan for this occasion was near an old railroad station. Many tourists had gathered to see Chávez landing, as Chávez had become a celebrity in Europe.
Chávez confronted problems with the air before crash-landing in Milan. His crash was one of aviation's first famous air crashes. He did, however, survive for four days before dying of injuries suffered in the accident, technically making him the first person to fly over the Alps and survive. Jorge Chávez also became an icon in Peru, where his fame grew after death. The Jorge Chávez International Airport in Lima is named after him. His last words were: "Higher. Always higher."

Postcard shows early french aviator Tissandier flying a Wright Flyer, probably near Pau were Wilbur Wright launched his flight school. Paul Tissandier was born in Paris in 1881 and was the son of Gaston Tissandier, who was also famous in ballooning & airships history. Paul was first a balloon pilot, secondly an airship pilot and finally a plane pilot. He was the second pilot-pupil of Wilbur Wright. He was granted License n° 10 bis on September 16, 1909. Together with Count de Lambert, he was involved in the construction of hydro-gliders.

The famous early aviator Roland Garros, flying a Bleriot monoplane. He was already a noted aviator before World War I; in 1913 he gained fame for making the first nonstop flight across the Mediterranean Sea from Frejus in south of France to Bizerte in Tunisia. The next year he joined the French army at the outbreak of the conflict. After several aerial missions he decided that shooting and flying at the same time was too difficult, so he fitted a machine gun to the front of his plane so the tasks became one and the same. In order to protect the propeller from the bullets, he fitted metal wedges to the prop. Starting from April 1, 1915, he soon shot down three German planes and quickly gained an excellent reputation. On April 18, 1915, he was shot down and glided to a landing on the German side of the lines. Garros managed to escape from prisoner-of-war camp in Germany in February 1918 and joined the French army again. On October 5, 1918, he was shot down again and killed near Vouziers, Ardennes, a month shy of the end of the war.

Early aviator Louis Paulhan perform a low flight on what appears to be a Voisin airplane, similar to those used by Henri Farman. He was in fact envolved in the american courts, when the Wright brothers restrained Paulhan from flights in his Farman biplane which they contend infringes on their patents. He was one of the first french aviators, with brevet number 10 (Bleriot had number 1). He participated in the biggest air meetings of the first decade of aviation, gaining special attention in the Meeting of Douai, that took place from the 10th to 18th of July 1909. In that meeting he beat the world record of altitude (with 150 meters) and flight time (with a flight lasting 1h07m covering 47Km). Louis Paulhan flew the Farman aircraft in the first American aviation meeting held at Dominguez Hills, Los Angeles, January, 1910. He is best remembered as the winner of the Daily Mail London to Manchester Race in April, 1910.

The famous early aviator Henri Farman and his brother Maurice Farman built the Farman biplane, one of the most reliable and fast airplanes of its time. Henri Farman set the world's endurance and speed records with it in 1909, and before that, with his brother Maurice, Henri made the first circular flight of more than one kilometre in 1908, completing a 1.6-kilometre (one-mile) flight near Paris. Like the Flyer of the Wright brothers or Bleriot's monoplan, the Farman biplane was quite popular among young aviators that could build their own airplanes. In this postcard, the pioneer Renaux flyes the Maurice Farman biplane, probably in 1910/11.

This postcard shows early aviator Vidart on a Deperdussin airplane, they both founded a flight school in France in 1910. Vidart won a few prizes in the first years of aviation, namely the first stage Paris > Reims > Liege on the "Europen Circuit" air race, that took place in 1911. The "European Circuit" crossed the cities of Paris > Reims > Liege > Spa > Utrecht > Brussells > Roubaix > Calais > London > Amiens in 12 days and then returned to Paris at the 7th of July 1911. The Circuit started with 52 participants on the 18th of June 1911 and was won by french ace Andre Beaumont - he flew the 994 miles in 58h 38m, collecting 200.000 FF. The second place went to Roland Garros. More then 700.000 people saw this race all over Europe in the summer of 1911.

This postcard shows early aviator M. Olivier de Montalent flying a Bréguet biplane. The photo was taken near Douai and Montalent was a flying professor in Ecole Bréguet before he died in a plane crash in 24th August 1913. Montalent was one of nine competitors in the hydro-aeroplane race which started from Le Pecq near Paris for De Auville, a seaport in the north of France. He reached Rouen third and was flying at a height of 1,000 feet as he approached the town. The waiting crowds saw the machine suddenly pitch violently and drop. Montalent crashed through the deck of a river barge; Metivier, the passenger, fell into the river. Montalent was one of the largest land owners of Rouen.

Lindpaintner was an unknown early flying pioneer that flew the Sommer biplane a few times in France. In this postcard, his plane is equipped with a 50HP Gnome engine.

Morin in his monoplane after the flight between Pau and Toulouse, in France, on the 27th of February 1911.

Mouthier was another early unknown flying pioneer, in this postcard he is flying a Bleriot monoplan, very popular and much adopted and modified in the first years of aviation.

Ruchonnet was another early flying french pioneer. He usually flew on an Antoniette monoplan like this one shown in the postcard, making the first over Bordeaux, probably in 1909. Ruchonnet was a daring pilot who had flown his first airplane only two days before participating in the famous Reims Air Meetins held in August 1909.

Postcard shows Marcel Hanriot in his Hanriot Monoplan in 1909/10. This early aviator would later developed air fighters for the World War I, for the Belgian, French and Italian squadrons. The popular Hanriot HD1 would even be piloted in the war by flying ace Charles Nungesser.

Early pioneer Maurice Herbster flying the popular Henry Farman biplane, at Champ de Chalons in 1910.

Postcard shows french pilot Aubrun flying a Bleriot Monoplan. In March 1910, Emil Aubrun makes the first night flights in the history of aviation.

Henry Farman was one of the first pioneers to develop sea planes. The one shown in the postcard "pre-WWI" is piloted by early aviator Chevillard.

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