News and Media Releases

Shell Aviation recreates Louis Blériot flight as part of its Centenary Celebrations

10/07/2009

2009 is Shell Aviation's centenary year. On 25 July it will be exactly 100 years since Louis Blériot crossed the channel from Calais to Dover using Shell fuel. This is regarded as the birth of modern Aviation and ever since then Shell has been at the forefront of Aviation technology and innovation.

The Blériot flight is being spectacularly recreated as part of a large celebration of Aviation in Dover that weekend (see www.dover2009.com) and the flypast will showcase aircraft from the last 100 years including an impressive display by the Red Arrows. The recreated Blériot flight will be piloted by Mikael Carlson (http://www.aerodrome.se/) courtesy of Shell Aviation in the restored but original Blériot plane. 

Shell Aviation is proud of its contribution to the aviation industry over the last 100 years.  Significant achievements include:

• Providing fuel and lubricants to many of the early pioneers (the Blériot flight being just the first of Shell Aviation's significant 'Firsts') 
• Setting up airport networks to support early commercial services in the 1930's
• Improving fuels, lubricants and fuelling technology.  Contributions have ranged from producing high octane Avgas to the Shell Water Detector to work on filtration and new synthetic fuels and lubricants.

Shell Aviation believes it is a company with a range of products and services and a fuelling network that is second to none. As Sjoerd Post, Vice President of Shell Aviation explains:

"We are extremely proud of our 100 year association with the industry and we are inspired by both the pioneering attitude and quality of innovation of our predecessors.  We carry that attitude and innovation forward in our research and development as witnessed by last year's A380 maiden flight on a mixture of classic jet fuel and jet fuel derived from natural gas, and our bringing to market of Ascender, a turbine engine oil uniquely designed to cope with the challenges posed by the next generation of big turbine engines. Today, we equally have high end R&D going into alternative fuels and the application of new technology to fuelling operations. We aim to live up to the reputation shaped by our predecessors."

The Blériot plane is due to land in Dover at the Duke of York's Royal Military School between 6pm and 6.30pm. Sjoerd Post will make a short speech and presentation to the pilot shortly afterwards.  Photography will be provided post event but photographers are welcome to cover the flypast and landing.

Notes to Editors

100 years of achievement in Aviation - this timeline is available in graph format on request as well as other images to highlight these milestones

• 1919 -A Vickers Vimy bomber fuelled by Shell, made the first UK-Australia flight; which took 27 days.
• The 1930s - Shell developed Avgas 100/130, which gave the Royal Air Force’s Spitfires and Hurricanes greater speed and power in the Battle of Britain
• The 1940s - Shell specialists helped Sir Frank Whittle invent the jet engine that revolutionized the aviation industry
• The 1950s - Shell introduced the first ashless dispersant piston engine oils; we also pioneered the Shell Water Detector for testing jet fuel contamination
• The 1960s - Shell designed the first aviation fuelling hydrant systems - now a standard at most airports worldwide
• The 1970s - Concorde’s first commercial supersonic flight was fuelled by Shell Jet A-1 fuel
• The 1980s - In 1989 a Qantas Boeing 747 fuelled by Shell flew non-stop from the UK to Australia for the first time
• The 1990s - The ‘Shell Spirit of Brooklands’ replica plane recreated the first UK-Australia flight of 1919 which was also fuelled by Shell
• 2007 - Shell Aviation launched AeroShell Ascender, a high performance turbine oil that protects engines, improves efficiency and delivers high performance in operating conditions that are hotter, faster and more difficult than ever before. (The AeroShell Ascender is currently under testing with various OEMs and a commercial launch will follow later.)
• 2008 - The Airbus A380 became the first commercial aircraft to use Shell Gas to Liquids synthetic liquid jet fuel for a three-hour flight between Filton, UK and Toulouse, France.

About Shell Aviation

Every day at over 850 airports across some 55 countries, Shell Aviation provides fuel for more than 7,000 aircraft, refuelling a plane every 12 seconds. Shell Aviation’s customers range from the private pilot to the largest global airlines. In July 2009 Shell Aviation celebrated 100 years of delivering innovation to the aviation industry, based on Louis Blériot’s flight crossing the English Channel in 1909 using Shell fuel. Since this time Shell has played a crucial role in many landmark events in the aviation industry, from helping Sir Frank Whittle develop the jet engine to the development of alternative jet fuels today.