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Source: ONE News -
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Two determined brothers are credited with starting New Zealand's aviation industry.
Leo and Vivian Walsh successfully pioneered the country's first recognised flight 100 years ago.
And for the Auckland-based brothers their pioneering didn't stop
there.
Sir Richard Bolt, formerly of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, said
Vivian "opened the throttle, took off and got to a height of some
50 or 60 feet (15 to 18 metres), flew for nearly quarter of a mile
(400 metres) and controlled it at that height".
As well as achieving NZ's first ever controlled flight, a big part of the Walsh brothers' legacy was training New Zealand fliers who eventually went on to establish the local aviation industry.
"It was the people that they trained who later on played a part in the growing civil aviation scene...and in the birth of the Royal New Zealand Air Force in 1937," Bolt said.
Known for their high standard of pilot training, the brothers started the country's first flying school in 1915 in Kohimarama, Auckland.
"It is inspirational," said Gordon Ragg from the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators. "I think it's very important to try and remember these particular pioneers in New Zealand's history."
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