14 Facts About Francis McClean

Sir Francis was one of the founding members of the Royal Aero Club and one of the founders of naval aviation and amateur flying.

Francis McClean was born on 1 February 1876, the son of astronomer Frank Francis McClean, and was educated at Charterhouse before the Royal Indian Engineering College at Cooper's Hill.

Francis McClean worked as a civil engineer in the Indian Public Works Department from 1898 to 1902 when he left to focus on aviation matters.

Francis McClean was a volunteer assistant on the 30 August 1905 solar eclipse expedition to Palma, Majorca.

Francis McClean organized 2 astronomical expeditions: one to Flint Island for the 3 January 1908 solar eclipse and the other to Port Davey for the 9 May 1910 solar eclipse; however, bad weather thwarted observations in both expeditions.

Francis McClean accompanied the expedition organized by Sir Norman Lockyer to Vava'u for the 28 April 1911 solar eclipse.

Francis McClean's first flying experience was in 1907 in a balloon race in Berlin, and in December 1908 he flew with Wilbur Wright in Le Mans.

Francis McClean was a pioneer in aerial photography: with the help of Hugh Spottiswoode he took some acclaimed photographs of the wreck of the SS Oceana just off the coast at Eastbourne.

Francis McClean transferred to the Royal Air Force when it was formed in 1918 but resigned his commission in 1919.

Francis McClean married Aileen Wale in 1918 and they had two daughters.

In 1932, Sir Francis McClean was appointed High Sheriff of Oxfordshire.

Francis McClean died on 11 August 1955 in London after a long illness.

Francis McClean's name is listed on a memorial on the Isle of Sheppey commemorating thirteen pioneer aviators.

The family of Sir Francis McClean have loaned his papers to the Fleet Air Arm Museum.