|
The First Postal Flight
|
|
Frenchman Henri Pequet left Allhbd with a mailbag containing 6,500 letters and
postcards. The English mechanic Aichin can be seen in the foreground.
Courtesy of Musée Air France |
The first postal flight was made on February 18, 1911, during an agricultural and
industrial exhibition held in Allahabad, India. Henri Pequet, a 23-year-old pilot,
had gone to India to take part in an acrobatic show, and, during the course of the event,
he transported 6,500 letters from Allahabad to Naini, two cities located 10 kilometres apart.
Each letter was marked with the special seal: First Aerial Post, U.P. Exhibition
Allahabad 1911.
|
|
Henri Pequet ready to leave Allhbd aboard a Sommer airplane with a 50 hp
Gnôme engine, February 18, 1911.
Courtesy of Musée Air France |
|
|