DELAWARE AVIATION HALL OF FAME
P.O Box 4303
Greenville DE 19807-0303
News Release March 11, 2010
Art Contest Celebrates State's First Airplane
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the first airplane designed, built and flown in Delaware. Sponsored by the Aero Club of Wilmington, the craft, which they named
"The Delaplane," flew at the city's Wawaset Park on October 21, 1910.
The historic event will be celebrated with an art competition sponsored by the Delaware Aviation Hall of Fame (DAHF). Cash prizes will be awarded for original concepts of the Delaplane in two categories: two-dimensional painting and drawing, and three-dimensional models and sculpture in any medium. Maximum size: 36 inches, said Michael D. Brock, DAHF trustee.
Brock, chairman of the competition, said there will be two awards (minimum of $300 each) for youths under age 18, two awards ($300 minimum each) for adults, and a $1,000 grand prize for best-of-show. He said participation is limited to residents of the First State and DAHF trustees and family members are not eligible.
Deadline for submission of entries is Sep. 2. Entries should be delivered to Hardcastle’s Gallery, 622 Newark Shopping Center, Newark. Judging will be performed by panels of DAHF trustees.
Winning entries will be displayed Sept. 25 at the annual honors banquet of the DAHF in Clayton Hall at the University of Delaware in Newark.
The Delaplane
The aircraft was built by Wilmingtonian Robbie Seidelinger of spruce with the exception of metal fittings and wires. Wings and control surfaces were covered with cotton fabric and painted with dope for strength and tension.
Taxi tests of the Delaplane revealed major problems. To improve balance, the engine was removed from under the pilot's seat and reinstalled behind the wings. The twin propellers were removed and a single prop was installed.
On the last of several high-speed taxi runs, pilot Eddie Bloomfield, a Delawarean, pulled back on the elevator control and flew some 300 yards at low level.
The photo depicting the two-prop iteration is believed to be the only photo extant. Plans for the craft are assumed to be lost.
In mid-1911, the Delaplane succumbed to fire when its "hangar" was struck by lightning, and the flying club disbanded.
Seventeen years later, Giuseppe Bellanca reversed Delaware aviation history: he set up shop in New Castle and became one of the world's leading aircraft manufacturers.
For further details on the art competition, please visit website WWW.DAHF.org.
Media contacts:
Michael D. Brock 738-5003
Hugh B. Horning 655- 6191
Attachments:
Photo caption: Delaplane at Wawaset Park in 1910.
Photo credit: Courtesy of Historical Society of Delaware.
