"The
achievements of Scotland's answer to the Wright brothers have been marked in their home
city. Harold and Frank Barnwell, from Stirling, made Scotland's first powered flight
almost a century ago.
The brothers reached an altitude of 13ft when they travelled 80m over a field in
the shadow of the Wallace Monument in 1909." BBC NEWS OL, 27th April 2004.
Indeed, but who now remembers the brothers’ other aviation achievements?
- The world’s first Airbus. A 1912 Leyland "Imperial" Motor Coach, with
wings attached.
- The Tigermoth. An ingenious splicing of the DNA of a Bengal Tiger and the common moth.
Resulted in a 250llb flying carnivore with unfortunate propensity to bash its head against
street lamps.
- The Stirling Bomber. Made of cast–iron, this fearsome weapon of mass destruction
didn’t actually fly: you just rolled it over your enemies.
- The Jumbo Jet. Capable of transporting 400 pachyderms in Liner style comfort. Failed
commercially when it was discovered that elephants aren’t really that interested in
flying anywhere.
- The world’s first budget airline - powered by budgies.
