Spencer airships
Taking to the skies with ad for baby food
Alex Q. Arbuckle
c. 1900-1910
Though unmanned hot air balloons were used as far back as ancient China, the first manned flights took place in France in 1783. The following decades gave rise to the development of airships, balloons which could be actively maneuvered with motors rather than passively drifting with the wind. Inspired by Alberto Santos-Dumont, who piloted a hydrogen-buoyed airship around the Eiffel Tower, British aeronaut Stanley Spencer set about building a better blimp.To fund his first airship, Spencer inked a sponsorship deal with baby formula manufacturer Mellin and Company. In return for Mellin bankrolling the construction of the ship, Spencer would make 25 flights with an advert for Mellin’s Food emblazoned across the envelope.The airship, which measured 75 feet long and held 20,000 cubic feet of hydrogen, made its first flights in 1902. Spencer’s wife Rose piloted the single-seat craft on one of the test flights, possibly making her the first female powered flight pilot.In September 1902, Spencer took his creation on a sensational flight over London, dazzling spectators on the ground as he cut sharp turns and circles to demonstrate the ship’s maneuverability. He also tossed rubber balls from the aircraft to display what a militarized airship carrying bombs could achieve.Spencer would go on to take his airship on numerous flights, including one across the Irish Sea, and construct a second, slighter larger airship.
