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Instoneair has operated many interesting flights over the years, utilising a huge variety of aircraft to many exotic destinations.
Instone Airline Mk 1 ............................
Instone Air Line was set up in 1919 by Cardiff-based S. Instone and Co, a company operating both coal mines and ships.
Bills
of lading were generally sent by post, which could often take 10 days
to arrive in France, while the ships were unable to discharge their cargo.
The company sought government approval to carry its own letters and
documents, which enabled the company ships to unload immediately they
arrived. The first flight operated in October 1919 using a DH4. The airline
rapidly increased its fleet to some 10 freighter and passenger aircraft
based at Croydon Airport, operating scheduled services to Brussels, Paris
and Cologne.
S.Instone and Co first became involved in aviation in August
1910 when they sponsored a Willows gas-filled airship, 'City of Cardiff',
from South Wales to London and France. This was the first successful
crossing of the Channel by any airship. The company operated a mixed
fleet of aircraft, including the legendary 'City of London' G-EASI. Many
famous aviators were involved with Instone Air Line, including Sir Arthur
Whitten Brown, who joined the company having just completed the transatlantic
crossing in a Vickers Vimy with Sir John Alcock. Pilots included O.P.Jones
and Franklin Barnard, the winner of the first King's Cup Air Race. The
company was highly innovative and was the first airline to provide uniforms
for its air crew, in similar livery to the crews on the Instone ships.
The company carried out many interesting pioneering flights including:
Newspapers to the French Riviera during the railway
strike of 1920 - Jockeys to and from races
- Rainmaking experiments
- Printing and developing photographs in the air for the Press
- Announcing news and sports results by using coloured signals
- Ambulance flights
- First grouse by air from Scotland to London
- The first Press air photographs of London
- The first joy rides over London
- The first company to relay a symphony concert to their passengers in flight
The company also carried the first racehorse ever to be
transported by air in 1921.
Eventually the airline was amalgamated with Daimler Airways, Handley Page Transport and British Marine Air Navigation to form Imperial Airways, which eventually became BOAC.
The company operated a variety of aircraft including DH4A,
DH16, DH18, DH34, Vickers Vulcan, Vickers Vimy and Westland Limousine.
The company was the first airline to give names to their aircraft which included 'City of Cardiff'', 'City of Antwerp', 'City of New York', 'City of Chicago' and the famous 'City of London' Vickers Vimy G-EASI.
