Sunday 12 July saw history repeat itself on Walthamstow Marshes as Eric Verdon- Roe, the Grandson of flight pioneer Sir Alliott Verdon-Roe unveiled an exact fully flyable replica of his grandfather’s Roe I Triplane, the first all British aeroplane, built one hundred years ago.

The event took place in the exact same spot that A.V. Roe revolutionised British aviation, Roe’s former workshop which he constructed underneath two railway arches on East London’s Walthamstow Marshes, is now part of the 26 mile long Lee Valley Regional Park.

The Triplane, built with a British 9hp JAP engine, created history on 13 July 1909 when the short ‘hops’, officially became ‘flights, and by 23 July, it had flown 900ft and A.V. Roe was recognised by the Aero Club as the first Englishman to design, build and fly an all-British aeroplane.

The event, sponsored by BAe Systems and organised by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, in celebration of this magnificent achievement a replica of the Roe I Triplane has been built by a team of ex-BAe Systems employees with the help of BAe Systems and subsequently the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI). Every attempt has been made to make the Triplane as original as possible, including obtaining a period JAP engine. Midas were delighted to be involved supplying on site power, mains and distribution on the day.

A Centenary Certificate for Heritage Projects has been awarded by The Historical Group of the Royal Aeronautical Society to the Roe Heritage Group for the replica of the Triplane. Constructed in Manchester under the leadership of Mike Taylor and Peter Teagle. Eric Verdon-Roe,  the grandson of A.V. Roe who funded the project said: “I am delighted that the team have won this recognition; their determination to build an exact replica as possible of Alliott’s Triplane has been fully vindicated. The quality of their workmanship is superb; everything is designed to work and is as close to period as possible including the JAP engine”.