Australian post issued a set of postage stamps to commemorate three significant powered flights from Australia’s early aviation history.

According to the criteria set by the Royal Aero Club of Great Britain, the first sustained, controlled flight in a powered aircraft was made by Englishman Colin Defries on 9 December 1909 at Victoria Park racecourse in Sydney. The plane was a modified Wright Model A named The Stella.

On 18 March 1910, at Diggers Rest, Victoria, the American “escapologist” Harry Houdini made the first of several well-publicised flights in this country. His aircraft was an imported Voisin, with his name emblazoned on the tail.

John Duigan was the first Australian to successfully fly an Australian-designed and constructed powered aircraft. On 7 October 1910, Duigan’s self-designed biplane fl ew 180 metres at 64kph at an altitude of 3.4 metres at his family property at Mia Mia, Victoria.

Title: Centenary of Powered Flight
Date of Issue: 9 March 2010
Country: Australia
Denominations: 55c, $1.45, $2.10

Source: www.stamps.com.au

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