Sir John Alcock

Sir John Alcock. . Sir John William Alcock, who grew up in Heaton Moor and attended St Thomas' Primary School, took up the challenge of attempting to be the first to fly directly across the Atlantic and successfully piloted the first transatlantic flight between Newfoundland and Ireland in June 1919., The epic flight which John Alcock made with Arthur Brown covered 1,980 miles over mainly water, and took 16 hours and 12 minutes. The flight had been much affected by bad weather, making accurate navigation difficult and the intrepid duo also had to cope with turbulence, instrument failure and ice on the wings., The flight was made in a modified Vickers Vimy bomber, and secured a £10,000. prize offered by London's Daily Mail newspaper for the first transatlantic flight., A few days after the flight, King George V knighted Alcock and Brown and invested them with their insignia as Knight Commanders of the Order of the British Empire for their remarkable act of courage and bravery as pioneering aviators.