As is well known Geoffrey de Havilland, the son of a clergyman, was born in High Wycombe in 1882. As a young man he designed and built steam cars and motorcycles. With a £1,000 gift from his grandfather, de Havilland began work on his first plane in 1908.
In a rented workshop off Bothwell street Fulham and with the assistance of F.T. Hearle he built a wire braced biplane with front elevator and bicycle wheel undercarriage. His young wife made the cotton covering on a hand sewing machine and the engine mounted at right angles to the fuselage drove two aluminium propellers through bevel gearing. In 1909 it was taken to Seven Barrow on the North Hampshire Downs and erected in a shed recently vacated by J.T.C Moore Brabazon . The first flight was delayed due to unsuitable weather, when the day came, de Havilland took off downhill and became airborne briefly before the port wing failed and the aircraft wrecked fortunately without serious injury to the pilot.
In his second aircraft spars were made of straight grained spruce and ash, the engine was mounted normally to drive a single pusher propeller. A successful quarter mile flight was made at Seven Barrow on the 10th Sept 1910 and was followed by figure eights, a first passenger flight for Hearle and in October for his wife and 8 month old son Geoffrey.
On the 14th Jan 1911 the aircraft was purchased by the War Office and was used by de Havilland to qualify for Royal Aero Club Certificate No.53 on the 7th Feb 1911 .The aircraft became known as the F.E.1