Lilian Bland the First Woman to Make & Fly an Airplane
- Aishwarya & Arushi
- Oct 18, 2020
- 3 min read
The first men to make and to fly an airplane were the Wright Brothers. But who was the first woman? Well, if you look before Ameila Earheart, you’ll find Lilian Bland. Lilian Bland was the first woman to not only create and build an airplane but she was also the first to fly it. Here is her story.
Childhood and early beginnings
Inspiration and her work leading up to making the plane
Making and flying her plane
Life after her success
Childhood and early beginnings
Bland was born on September 28th, 1878, in England. Throughout her childhood, Bland became interested in photography and studying birds. For her time in the Edwardian period, Bland was seen as unconventional. She was seen engaging in activities not considered appropriate for her age and gender, such as wearing breeches, smoking cigarettes, taking part in archery and hunting, and tampering with engines. By 1908 Bland was a sports journalist and photographer for London newspapers. In her free time, she watched and photographed birds, which greatly piqued her interest in flying.
Inspiration and her work leading up to making the plane
Because of the new invention of planes, interest in aviation boomed in the early 20th century, resulting in many exhibitions, meetings, and various articles. The increased activity greatly inspired Lilian to dive into the world of flying. In 1909 Bland attended the first aviation meeting in Blackpool. She used this opportunity to take detailed measurements and notes of the aircrafts on display. She observed aviators and studied a lot about flight and airplanes. Bland’s inspiration stemmed from her observations and knowledge gained from various meetings and articles. In fact, Bland was so inspired that after her first meeting in Blackpool, she started constructing an airplane.
Making and flying her plane
As you may be wondering, what did Bland actually build? Well, the first plane she built was a biplane glider. She started in her late uncle’s workshop and started to design and to build her plane. This first biplane glider had a wingspan of six feet. With this, she tested it as a kite and the test was a success. She was then encouraged to build a full sized glider. Inspired by the shape of bird wings, Bland referred to seagull wings when constructing her glider. She made the wings waterproof by using gelatin and formalin on top. Bland was able to attach an engine to allow it to function similarly to a plane. This glider was called the Mayfly (an ironic reference to her worries about its capabilities and if it May or May not Fly). Unfortunately, when she added the engine, it broke the wires and her glider, causing her to make further adjustments. Bland then tested it out. An aristocratic landowner offered her land to test her plane, and in one year she was able to successfully fly her plane. She went upto 30 feet and stayed in the air for a quarter of a mile! This was an amazing achievement for a woman in that time. She kept experimenting and improving the design of the Mayfly. Bland even wrote an article for the well-known magazine, Flight. After this achievement, she set on making more gliders so that she would be able to sell them.
Life after her success
Her father began to grow concerned about her risky attempts. She was spending more money than she was bringing in. It was dangerous for Bland to continue flying and he thought it was “unladylike”. Bland then got married and settled as a farmer and car dealer. She had a daughter, but her daughter unfortunately passed away at the age of 16. Bland lived a long life and unfortunately died on May 11th, 1971, at the age of 92. Bland said that she was content with her work saying, “In any case I had proved wrong the many people who said that no woman could build an aeroplane, and that gave me great satisfaction”.
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