A full scale replica of the Blériot XI that 100 years ago, in 1910, conducted the first flight in Spain, is exhibited at the new Terminal 1 of the Barcelona-El Prat Airport

As part of the celebrations of the Centenary of the first flight of an aircraft in Spain, that took place in Barcelona, the AENA Foundation (part of the Spanish Airports Authority) and the Fundació Parc Aeronàutic de Catalunya (dedicated to the restoration of antique aircrafts) inaugurated yesterday the static exhibition of a full-scale replica of the Blériot XI that conducted that flight.

The first flight of an aircraft in Spain, a Blériot XI, that took place amidst great expectation in the "Can Tunis" field in Barcelona, on the 11th of February of 1910 flown by the French pilot Julien Mamet, was commemorated yesterday at the Barcelona-El Prat Airport with the inauguration of a static exhibition of a full-scale replica of the Blériot XI that did that first flight.

More than 6 years, and around 5000 hours of work have been necessary to construct the detailed replica, that will be on exhibition until the 11th of April.

This first flight was the beginning of the development of aeronautics in Catalonia, that thrived in the following years and decades, eventually leading to having two aircraft engine factories in Barcelona: the Hispano Suiza and the Casa Elizalde.

Today, that Catalan tradition in aeronautics is continued through the joint efforts of the members of the Aerospace Cluster of Catalonia, commited to the growth and consolidation of the aerospace sector in Catalonia, and also through the commitment of the Catalan Government to construct much-needed new airport infrastructures, like the recently inaugurated Aeroport de Lleida-Alguaire as part of the Pla d'Aeroports, Aerodroms i Heliports de Catalunya 2009 - 2015, an ambitious airports development plan for the next years.

Yesterday's event had a significant coverage by the media, which you can see in the following links to some TV broadcasts:

1) Interviews in the program "Els Matins" de Josep Cuní (TV3): See the video here
2) News broadcast in TV3: See it in this video

To find out more about the Centenary, we recommend that you visit its official website: Centenari de l'Aviació a Catalunya 1910 - 2010