De Havilland Photographs

The FE.1 was purchased by the War Office for £400. The Balloon Factory had a system of naming aircraft types after aviation pioneers; FE for Farman Experimental, BE for Bleriot and SE for Santos Dumont.

The FE.2 was supposedly a modification of the FE.1 but was actually a new aeroplane. It was first flown in August 1911 by Geoffrey de Havilland before being modified in 1912 as seen here. It was also fitted with floats and flown from Fleet Pond.

The BE.1 was supposedly a reconstruction of a Voisin which had been given to the War Office by the Duke of Westminster but only the engine was reused. When that was replaced with a renault engine it acquired the nickname "the silent aeroplane".

This BE.2a was built by the Bristol company and modified by the installation of an extra fuel tank in the front cockpit. On 22 November 1913 Captain C.A.H. Longcroft flew the aircraft non stop 650 miles (1046 Km) from Montrose to Farnborough for which he was awarded the Britannia Trophy.

The Airco factory from the west. Geoffrey de Havilland’s office was in the building on the left which still stands on Edgware Road opposite Colindale Avenue.

The DH.2 was the first Airco type to enter operational service during World War One. These aircraft served with 29 Squadron on the Western Front, protecting slow moving reconnaissance aircraft.