Celebrating 100 years of Swiss aviation
  • 14 years ago
One hundred years ago, a Swiss teenager made history by becoming the country's first pilot. On May 10, 1910, 17-year old Ernest Failloubaz flew a plane built by fellow Swiss, René Grandjean. The inventor had been inspired by Louis Blériot's crossing of the English channel, and modelled his plane on pictures he had seen of that machine. In a series of air shows around the country, Switzerland is now paying tribute to the pioneers of aviation. (Julie Hunt, swissinfo.ch)