To Paris - By Air!

Captain's log, 15 July 1919: 'Hendon to Paris, Le Bourget. Flying time 165 minutes, flying at 200 feet. Rain and low clouds all the way. The first civil machine to the Continent' That is Capt 'Jerry' Shaw's laconic entry, recording this historic charter flight. His plane was 'a converted de Havilland light day bomber. The gun ring and the bomb racks had been taken out to make room for passengers.' Regular passenger flights to Paris began six weeks later - the first daily scheduled international air service in history. Five of the pilots who flew on the Paris run tell the story of the first hectic months. There were plenty of people able and willing to pay £20 for the adventure of travelling to Paris - by air - with: Capt Jerry Shaw, Mr A.C. Campbell Orde, Capt A.S. Wilcockson, Capt Walter Rogers and W/Cdr R.H. McIntosh