Submitted by admin on Friday, September 25, 2009
Charles Rolls made his last flight at the Bournemouth International Aviation Meeting which was to take place between 10 and 16th July at the aerodrome. He flew a French-built Wright plane with a modified tailplane, which broke off, causing the plane to dive vertically from a height of about 80 feet. Rolls was thrown out and not trapped in the wreckage. He was found still alive but with obvious serious injuries to his head and upper body. Two doctors arrived almost immediately by he died within minutes.
Flight magazine wrote.
..poor Charles Rolls breathed his last as he lay there on the green grass by the debris of his machine, surrounded by a cordon of saddened friends.
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Following his meeting with the Wrights brothers, Rolls became eager to learn to fly and to buy one their now-famous planes, which was difficult because of patents that were being discussed with Britain. When the Wright brothers did, eventually, come to Britain in May 1909 to discuss the building of their machines with the government and businessmen, Rolls accompanied them and their sister, Katherine, throughout their three day stay and even drove Orville Wright to the Aero Club at Leysdown on the Isle of Sheppey in a Rolls Royce Silver Ghost. During the journey he expressed his desire to Orville of learning to fly and orville Wright suggested that Rolls do as the brothers had done and learn to fly by first training on a glider. Rolls immediately ordered a glider from Shorts brothers, who had constructed the first aircraft factory in Britain at land adjacent to the Aero Club at Leysdown..
The Aero Club headquarters Leysdown 4th May 1909
Left to Right (Back Row)
JDF Andrews owner of leysdown, Oswald Short, Horace Short, Eustace Short, Francis McClean, Griffith Brewer, Frank Butler, WJS Lockyer, Warwick Wright
Left to Right (Front Row)
JTC Moore-Brabazon, Wilbur Wright, Orville Wright Hon. Charles Rolls
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Rolls went to the USA in 1906 to exhibit the Rolls-Royce cars at the New York Motor Show. While he was there attended an exhibition organised by the Aero Club of America. and was introduced to the Wright brothers by Patrick Alexander who was a member of the Aero Club. Orville and Wilbur were two Americans who are generally credited with inventing and building the world’s first successful aeroplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903. When Rolls met them the brothers were still unwilling to give public demonstrations of their machines, so he was unable to witness what they did first hand; however, he was considerably impressed by what others, who had witnessed the brothers fly, could tell him.
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This was one of the best cars in the world at the time, and it is still one of the most expensive, after Bonhams sold it for $7.3m in London in 2007.
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