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2010 Australia – Centenary Of Powered Flight – Harry Houdini

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Australia – Centenary Of Powered Flight – Harry Houdini – Prestamped Postcard.

Released to celebrate 100 years of powered flight in Australia this postcard has the $2.10 stamp featuring Harry Houdini’s remarkable first powered flight in Australia in 1910.

Aviation enthusiasts everywhere should be very keen on acquiring this set in full.

SKU

Design

APMX 363 2010 Australia Maximum Cards: Australia Post Series – Prepaid Postcards.

Centenary of Powered Flight first day of issue

This issue commemorates three significant powered flights from Australia’s early aviation history.

“According to the criteria set by the Royal Aero Club of Great Britain, the first sustained, controlled flight in a powered aircraft was made by Englishman Colin Defries on 9 December 1909 at Victoria Park racecourse in Sydney. The plane was a modified Wright Model A named The Stella.”

“On 18 March 1910, at Diggers Rest, Victoria, the American “escapologist” Harry Houdini made the first of several well-publicised flights in this country. His aircraft was an imported Voisin, with his name emblazoned on the tail.”

“John Duigan was the first Australian to successfully fly an Australian-designed and constructed powered aircraft. On 7 October 1910, Duigan’s self-designed biplane fl ew 180 metres at 64kph at an altitude of 3.4 metres at his family property at Mia Mia, Victoria.”

History

In 1909, Houdini became fascinated with aviation. That same year, he purchased a French Voisin biplane for $5000 and hired a full-time mechanic, Antonio Brassac. Houdini painted his name in bold block letters on the Voisin’s sidepanels and tail. After crashing once, Houdini made his first successful flight on November 26 in Hamburg, Germany. In 1910, Houdini toured Australia. He brought with him his Voisin biplane and achieved the first powered flight over Australia, on March 18 at Diggers Rest, Victoria (near Melton), just north of Melbourne. Colin Defries preceded him, but he crashed the plane on landing. Houdini proudly claimed to reporters that, while the world may forget about him as a magician and escape artist, it would never forget Houdini the pioneer aviator. After his Australia tour, Houdini put the Voisin into storage in England. Although he announced he would use it to fly from city to city during his next Music Hall tour, Houdini never flew again. A celebration commemorating the centenary of Houdini’s first flight was held at Diggers Rest in 2010. The weekend long event included the dedication of a new monument, a Houdini-Centenary air-show, magic performances, and the display of a one-third scale model of Houdini’s Voisin.

*All history taken from Wikipedia for educational purposes only.

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