Being a pilot has a reputation for being well-paid. That possibly started with French aviator Henry Farman, who, having flown a kilometre around a pre-determined course some 7-8m above the fields of Issy-les-Moulineaux outside Paris, walked away with the Grand Prix d’Aviation of 50,000 francs – roughly more than half a million NZ dollars today.

The flight in the “Voisin-Farman I” biplane on January 13, 1908 was all over in 1 minute, 28 seconds, and was done at an average speed of 40km/h. The Wright brothers were already spanning much larger distances – including 39km in 1905. But they were branded liars in Europe and were doubted at home. Farman continued setting official aviation records in France and made the first cross-country flight in Europe – the 27km, 20-minute trip from Chalons to Rheims. His biplane made the return trip in a truck.

Farman went on to start his own aircraft-making company and died in Paris in 1958, aged 84.