Just six-and-a-half years after the Wright Brothers first achieved flight, this Great Aviation Week in Lyon “took place in front of one hundred thousand spectators” (Affiches d'Aviation, p. 33). The numerous biplanes and novel monoplane architectures in this image testify to the excitement, creativity and ambition of the new era. The year 1910 was notable for a proliferation of aviation firsts and failures – including the first seaplane flight, and the first experiments with airborne weaponry. |