1910 in Swizterland : the adventure begins

Pioneer > noun

Person who ventures into unknown, who goes before, preparing the way for others.

"In 1906 already, rumor that Santos-Dumont had built a flying machine was heard. Then, newspapers mentioned Farman, Voisin and Wright who possibly succeeded to leave the ground with their self-invented machine. Those news are barely discussed in Switzerland. Never had one seen any aircraft and the Swiss sky is inviolated. The word "Aviation" is still not written in dictionary and encyclopedia. Only few dreamer with curious mind notice those things and are attracted by them. In the old Aventicum region, there are two young men of this kind : René Grandjean and Ernest Failloubaz." (Henry Sarraz. Avenches 1960) One had to wait 1910 for the dream of our pioneer to come true. During that year, they will achieve their first flights, their first exploits and obtain their first Swiss pilot licences.

Here they are, the heroes who opened the way :
(Click on the pictures to discover the biography of each pioneer)
Ernest Failloubaz	René Grandjean	Les Frères Dufaux	Emile Taddéoli	François Durafour

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