The Dawn of Aviation : Air World : 9781526786340 : 1526786346 : 04 Jun 2021 : Shoreham airport, founded in 1910, is the oldest airport in the UK and the oldest purpose-built commercial airport in the world. Yet aviation began in Sussex far earlier, with balloonists making landfall at Kingsfold near Horsham in 1785.These early activities attracted much attention, with some 30,000 people gathering at Black Rock in Brighton, as well as on the surrounding hills, to watch the first balloon ascent from the town in July 1821 ? using coal gas from the recently opened gas works. That particular balloonist, Charles Green, later became immortalized by Charles Dickens in his Sketches By Boz.The military were quick to appreciate the potential benefits of aerial observation and in 1880 balloons were deployed for the first time at the annual Volunteer Review at Brighton. Often wind conditions were not favorable for balloons, which prompted the army to consider employing kites and in June 1903 an inte