Port-Aviation

Port-Aviation
The Grande quinzaine de Paris at Port-Aviation in October 1909.
IATA: none ICAO: none
Summary
Location	Viry-Châtillon, Frane
Opened	May 23, 1909 (1909-05-23)
Closed	January 1, 1918 (1918-01-01)
Coordinates	48°40′41″N 002°21′54″E
Map
Port-Aviation Port-Aviation

Port-Aviation was an airfield in the commune of Viry-Châtillon in Essonne, France. It operated as an airplane racecourse and aviation exhibition venue from its opening in 1909 until the start of World War I in 1914, then as a training center for military pilots during the war. Situated on land prone to flooding, it closed at the beginning of 1918. Although designed as an aviation event venue rather than as a true airport or aerodrome, Viry-Châtillon claims for it the title of "world's first organized aerodrome."

Although Port-Aviation was located entirely within Viry-Châtillon rather than on the territory of either Juvisy-sur-Orge or Savigny-sur-Orge, the press and post card publishers usually referred to it as Juvisy Airfield (or variations such as Juvisy Aerodrome or simply Juvisy) or sometimes as Savigny Airfield because the Juvisy and Savigny-sur-Orge railroad stations served it.

History

In the early 20th century, when aviation was regarded as a sport for daredevils, aviation pioneers made their early public flights in the Grand Paris (Greater Paris) region from racetracks such as those at Issy-les-Moulineaux and Bagatelle. Spectators observed them both from grandstands and while swarming around the field in a circus atmosphere.

Seeking a better venue to host aviation events in the Grand Paris region, the Society for the Encouragement of Aviation (Société d’Encouragement à l’Aviation) was formed on 30 July 1908 to establish the world's first true airfield designed specifically for the use of aviators as well as the world's first aviation school and first aviation competition. The Society formed an aviation company to operate the airfield and leased cultivated land from two families in the vicinity of the towns of Viry and Châtillon. Situated on a flat plain in a low valley and bisected by the Orge, the land was close to two railroad stations, Juvisy station in Juvisy-sur-Orge and Savigny-sur-Orge station in Savigny-sur-Orge.

The Society for the Encouragement of Aviation called upon the French government architect Guillaume Tronchet (1867-1959) to design and build what became Port-Aviation and organize the facilities necessary for it to function properly as an aerodrome, while Gabriel Voisin, an architect from Juvisy-sur-Orge, drew up and approved the runways. Tronchet designed Port-Aviation not as a true airport or aerodrome, but rather as a racecourse for airplanes at a time when airplanes generally flew at an altitude of around 10 metres (33 ft) in competitions and only recently had become reliably capable of making turns. The facility had a 4-kilometre (2.5-mile) elliptical track and stands for 7,000 spectators.

Port-Aviation opened on 23 May 1909 to hold its first air meet and subsequently drew large and enthusiastic crowds to the air races and aerobatic exhibitions it hosted. In a crash at Port-Aviation on 7 September 1909, Eugène Lefebvre became the first pilot in history to die while at the controls of a powered aircraft; whether the crash resulted from human error or a mechanical failure was never determined.

Of the many aviation meets held at Port-Aviation, the most notable was the Grande Quinzaine de Paris ("Great Fortnight of Paris") in October 1909. Among a number of exploits during the Grande Quinzaine was a flight by Charles de Lambert who, flying the Wright Model A No. 20, took off from Port-Aviation and flew around the Eiffel Tower in Paris before returning to land at his starting point, following the Seine to find his way back to Port-Aviation. It was the first time, a pilot had flown over a city, with no possibility of landing safely in an emergency.

In 1911, Port-Aviation hosted the start of the Paris-to-Rome aircraft race. Its winner, the aviator André Beaumont, received the blessing of Pope Pius X after arriving in Rome.

France entered World War I on 3 August 1914, and military aviation schools were established at Port-Aviation to train a large number of pilots. However, it was in a poor location, subject to frequent flooding by the Orge and lying in a narrow plain bordered by hills. The United States entered the war in April 1917, and later that year the Americans established a new airfield on a plateau located north of Port-Aviation near Orly. Port-Aviation closed on 1 January 1918 and was abandoned.

Legacy

In 1918, after failing in an attempt to find sand to quarry on the site of the abandoned airfield, the Piketty Company divided up the land and sold it in units of around 350 square metres (3,800 sq ft). The new owners continued to suffer from frequent floods until 1932, when the Orge was canalized and a pumping station was installed to control flooding. By the 21st century, a very large, heterogenous residential area covered the land where Port-Aviation once stood.

Port-Aviation's only surviving building is a wood-and-plasterboard structure Tronchet designed. It served prestigious guests at Port-Aviation during its early years and later was the airfield's officers' mess during World War I.

Commemoration

To commemorate Port-Aviation, the commune of Viry-Châtillon adopted a coat of arms in 1974 that notably features an airplane propeller. In 1995 it adopted a municipal logo with the Blériot XI, Louis Blériot's airplane, as its main motif.

A pedestrian circuit marks the area of the former site of Port-Aviation with signs indicating the locations of its main entrance, two other entrances, its installations, its grassy runways, a large pond that could accommodate seaplanes, and its signal mast, as well as the hangars used while the site hosted military flight schools during World War I.

References

Bibliography

• Port-Aviation: Premier aérodrome organisé au monde [Port Aviation: First Organized Aerodrome in the World] (PDF) (in French). Viry-Chatillon, France: Ville de Viry-Chatillon. March 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2025.