Magnificent men and their flying machine

A century has passed since Manchester-born Alliott Verdon Roe took to the skies for the first ever all-British flight.

And aviation fans can celebrate the 100th anniversary at an exhibition featuring a replica model of Roe’s triplane at Manchester’s Museum of Science and Industry.

The event also marks the start of a new fundraising campaign to redevelop the museum’s Air and Space Hall.

Visitors can see the replica triplane, which has been painstakingly built by a team of volunteers, before it is test flown this spring.

The fragile three-winged triplane, designed by AV Roe, went down in British aviation history when it managed to fly about 100ft on July 13, 1909.

Ten days later he made three flights of up to 900ft at an altitude of between six and 10ft off the ground. The original aeroplane, including pilot, weighed about 500lb, with a 9hp petrol engine.

The aeroplane was built as light as possible with three sets of wooden wings and a triplane tail, covered in cotton-backed oiled paper and bicycle wheels for landing.

Even so, the engine barely provided enough power to get the contraption off the ground.

The museum’s team of volunteers, many of whom are former aeronautical engineers, have built the entire replica Triplane after careful research about the materials and techniques which Roe used.

The aeroplane will leave the museum this spring when the team will attempt to fly it on a series of test flights to secure air worthiness certification.