The First Aeroplane Ever To Land On The Isle Of Wight

In August 1910, while flying near The Needles at the Bournemouth Flying Meeting, during which the Hon. C. S. Rolls was murdered, Robert Loraine was trapped in a strong thunderstorm and had to land.

His aircraft, a Henry Farman biplane, had no compass and little visibility, so he landed on top of the downs about east of The Needles. Soldiers dragged his machine to a pit at the foot of the north side of the downs, right off the first green of the old Needles golf course, where it might be relatively safe.

Loraine decided to land and refuel because his petrol was running low, which meant that his French mechanic, Vedrines, who later became a celebrated pilot himself, had to cross to the mainland to get the special oil and petrol used by the 50hp 7 cylinder rotary gnome engine.

• Wiki –Henry Farman 80HP biplane
• Early Aviators

• Major Robert Loraine