Isle of Man 2003 - 100th Anniversary of Powered Flight - Uncirculated Cupro Nickel

To celebrate this Centenary of Powered Flight, the Isle of Man Government has approved the release of two superb crowns which portray the evolution of flight from 1903, through the intervening years to the present day.

Just one century ago, a flimsy flying machine - designed, built and flown by the remarkable Wright Brothers clawed its way into the air above the sands of North Carolina for the first twelve seconds and 120ft of powered flight. From Fragile contraptions of wood, canvas and string, the aeroplane would swiftly develop into ever larger, faster, sleeker machines. The Isle of Man has marked this pivotal moment in aviation history with two magnificent coins. 

The first coin features four aircraft which played a major part in aviation history from 1903 to 1919.  The aircraft shown are:

• The Wright Flyer which was the first successful heavier-than-air machine to achieve flight on 17th December 1903.
• The Bleriot XI which completed the first cross-Channel flight on 25th July 1909 with Louis Blériot as the monoplane’s pilot.
• A Curtiss pusher plane which was the aircraft used to complete the first take-off from aboard ship on 18th January 1910.
• A Vickers-Vimy Bomber which was the first aircraft to complete a non-stop transatlantic flight on 15th-16th June 1919 and was piloted by Captain John Alcock and Lt. Arthur Witten Brown.