Newington Monoplane at Sunk Island.

I have tried to peice together the history of this aeroplane from contempory newspaper sources as well as some taking account published more-modern mentions of the aeroplane. If it can be found then more information is required to complete the full history of this historic aeroplane. The aeroplane appears to have begun life in Hull as the "Ling Monoplane" with its name drawn Matthew Edward Ling (a motor engineer of Springhead Road) who appears to have been the designer and main force behind the project. Hull marine engineer Thomas Leonard Bell (of St.George's Road) was also heavily involved and appears to have wholy built the engine from scratch. The whole aeroplane was built in Hull at works in Walton Street and Anlaby Road in 1909 and when a short article was written in the Hull Daily Mail on 18th September 1909 it hadn't yet flown but was stated as complete on 21st October 1909. I can find no mention of a test flight in the Hull area being reported in 1909 in the newspapers and this would surely have been recorded given how early this was in the history of powered flight. Following a challenge and a prize of five hundred pounds to be awarded to the first pilot to fly across the Firth of Forth and a further prize of flying a mile being given by the Daily Mail, in Autumn 1909 the aeroplane was transported to Edinburgh by Ling to undertake the challenge. The engine was damaged in transit and that took time to repair. Between 28th October 1909 and 25th November 1909 the aircraft was based at Portobello Marine Gardens, Edinburgh where it was prepared for flight on the skating rink. On 8th November 1909 the propeller broke during a test. On 17th November 1909 an aeroplane was seen to make several attempts at flight in Bay View Park and on one occasion it crossed Wellesley Road though there is no indication that was actually a flight. Photographs in Scottish newspapers confirm that this was the same aeroplane as would later be put on display in Hull in 1910. On 19th November 1909 the Hull Daily Mail reported that, with Ling as pilot, the aeroplane finally flew at Edinburgh and attained a flight of just over two miles. Unfortunately the Scottish newspapers do not agree with this and state it never flew in Scotland. Whilst at Edinburgh another propeller broke and part of it went through the roof of a skating rink (which was where the aeroplane was built and tested so it was on the ground at the time). Possibly this mishap or another prevented the flight across the Firth of Forth being attempted and it was returned to Hull for repair by the end of November 1909. Exactly what happened between November 1909 and May 1910 is not fully known. The aeroplane had cost many hundreds of pounds to get it to this stage and it appears that money was becoming a problem. Matthew Ling's involvement appears to have ceased by May 1909 with Bell almost certainly becoming the lead for the project and seeking new backers for the project. The Newington Steam Trawling Company, where Mr Bell was a Superintendent Engineer, appear to have got involved. The aeroplane then appears to have changed it's name to the "Newington Monoplane". Around six financial backers were involved around this time. It was fitted with a Handley Page made propeller though was not been test flown after repairs before it was displayed at the Aeroplane Exhibition at Central Hall, Pryme Street, Hull from 10th to 14th May 1910. A newspaper report from the time states that it would be displayed in Hull until 14th May 1910 and then flight trials would take place soon after but at a date to be arranged. Following the display in Hull the aeroplane was transported to Sunk Island where flying trials were prepared on land owned by George Vickerman. Another early East Riding aeroplane, the "Fay-Wilkinson bi-plane" was planned to have been test flown on land at Sunk Island in 1909 and it may well have been at the same site the Newington Monoplane was taken to.

Here the mystery begins. Ted Dodsworth's book "Wings Over Yorkshire" dedicated two pages to the Newington and he made no mention of any of the above history. He claimed it was displayed in the Hull Royal Institute c1909 and believed the location to have been Hedon where flying trials were to be carried out. Local newspapers would disprove this unless he is refering to trials prior to it being taken to Edinburgh in 1909 though those newspapers suggest no test flying was done at Hull in 1909. Local newspapers describe the aeroplane as being canoe-like and a photograph in this book shows it to be remarkably like a canoe with wings, a tail and an engine. Dodsworth claimed that the aeroplane was damaged by a bull, suffered a broken engine crankshaft owing to an oversized propeller and was finally written off when one of the project's backers attempted to fly it but crashed it through a hedge. I can find no nothing in source records to verify any of these claims. I do not wish to create webpages unless I can find some form of evidence to back up any previous claim of an incident or accident. I would therefore welcome any additional information about this aeroplane.

Brian Catchpole's superb book "Balloons to Buccanneers" has a similar photograph of the "Newington Monoplane" to that shown in Dodsworth's book and also an amazing photograph of what he calls the "Newington MkII" credited to what must be the Bell family. The "MkII" is a vastly different aircraft to that displayed in Central Hall during May 1910. Catchpole also makes no reference to Ling's involvement or his Edinburgh flight. So was it the "MkII" that was attacked by a bull? Any information would be appreciated. The "MkII" does appear to be remarkably similar in design to the Bleriot and Blackburn monoplanes so may be a later aeroplane Bell built.

What I can add is that the Hull Daily Mail of 18th June 1910 stated as being "the other day", realistically between 13th and 17th June 1910, the "Newington" was run out of it's shed at Sunk Island to have it's engine tested but the ground over which it was taken was very uneven owing to horses that had been grazing all winter on it. The wheels of the aeroplane received what was called "serious damage". On the night of 28th / 29th June 1910 a thunderstorm blew in over the Hull area. A tent that was serving as the home for those working on the flying trials at Sunk Island was blown away and their food was rendered useless. The body of the aeroplane was made of wood with metal fixings and unfortunately a short time later the aeroplane was struck by lightning, it cut the body of the machine in two and detached the wheels and wings. Owing to a lack of shelter from the tent those at the site were sheltering under or close to the aeroplane at the time and were lucky to receive only minor injuries. A photograph exists that is dated 15th June 1910 so is probably the exact date of this incident. It was later planned to take the aeroplane back to Hull on 1st July 1910. By this date between five and six hundred pounds had been spent on the project. Matthew Ling wrote to a newspaper in response to their article about the damage and very much distanced himself from the aeroplane at this stage. Ling and Bell were in court in Hull on 22nd June 1910 being sued by Jesse Lee Osborne, a brass finisher, for unpaid wages for working with the men on the Scotland trials though the case was later dismissed. After June 1910 I cannot find any reference to the aeroplane so I assume the project was discontinued because the huge financial costs already spent. By Autumn 1910 Ling was still being referred to as the Hull Aviator in the local newspapers though was working on model aeroplanes.