Lois Blériot, became the first pilot to fly across the English Channel in 1909. He used an aircraft of his own design, the type XI which became the most popular aircraft during the decade that followed this event. A large number of them were built, with or without licence agreements, not least in Sweden. This copy was built in 1911 by the engineer and boat-builder Hjalmar Nyrop in Landskrona. This is Sweden’s oldest surviving aircraft and has been under the ownership of the Technical Museum since 1934.
This aircraft
Aeroplane Number 1 is a copy of the Bleriot XI and was built in 1911 by Hjalmar Nyrop at the request of Otto Neumüller. It was test-flown and approved by Olle Dahlbeck in October 1911 and was subsequently donated to the navy. It completed its first military flight in February 1912.
Testing was concluded after about 100 flights, the longest being 37 minutes. The highest altitude noted was about 200 metres. After testing it was decided that the aircraft was already obsolete and not suitable for military service.