(1875-1944, Belgian pilot's license No. 1)
Pierre Henri Marie Amédée Baron de Caters de Bosschaert was
born on December 25th, 1875 in Berchem outside Antwerp. He was the son
of an Antwerp businessman, from which he inherited his noble title in
1884. In his youth he practiced tennis, fencing, cycling and other
sports, and after a brief effort at a military career he started an
electrical engineering education.
In 1897 he unexpectedly inherited an enormous fortune, reportedly worth
the then fabulous sum of six million francs, after a distant aunt.
After winning a three-year court fight with his relatives over the
validity of her will he started spending the money on cars, motorboats
and aeroplanes. He participated in many automobile races in several
types of cars and eventually became a factory driver for Mercedes. His
biggest win was the 1905 "Tour des Ardennes". In 1904 he
briefly held the absolute speed record of 156 km/h, set at Ostend in
Belgium with a 90 hp Mercedes. His boat "Sea Sick", powered
by a Mercedes-Sunbeam engine, reached a record 50.4 km/h over a
kilometre in 1904.
His interest then turned to aviation and he became Belgium's first
pilot. In 1908 he ordered two planes from the Voisin brothers, one
triplane and one biplane, and built a private airfield at the family
palace in 's-Gravenwezel near Antwerp. He made his first flights,
in the triplane which he soon abandoned, during the second half of
October 1908. From the autumn of 1909 to late 1910 he participated in
several meetings and bought four more Voisins. He also performed in
several towns in Eastern Europe and in Turkey and Egypt.
In February 1910 he started building his own planes under the name
"Aviator", together with the brothers Eugène, Joseph and
Isidore Bollekens, who ran a woodworking business and first learned to
know him when repairing his planes after his several crashes during the
1909 Antwerp meeting. He also participated in the training of the first
Belgian Army pilots. In late 1910 he went to Asia together with fellow
Belgian pilot Jules Tyck, flying in several towns in India and
marketing his planes.
By 1911 his inherited money had run out. He retired from aviation and
was forced to sell his part of the Aviator company. During WW1 he
volunteered as a pilot and became commander of a flying school, with
the rank of lieutenant. When he left the armed forces in 1917 he
started a company for production of peat fuel briquettes. He died in
Paris on March 21st, 1944.
On December 3rd, 1909 he became the first to be granted a pilot license
from the Belgian Aero-Club.
Pierre de Caters participated in the following air race
meetings:
- Berlin 1909
- Frankfurt 1909
- Antwerp 1909
- Berlin May 1910
- München May 1910
- Mondorf 1910
- Stockel 1910
- Sint Job i'nt Goor 1910