The Type I was of identical construction to its predecessor but it naturally was made longer to accommodate the extra seat, of greater span and with a modified fin and undercarriage.

The wings, braced from the undercarriage and from an inverted-V kingpost had the slightly rounded form of the modified Type D. The fin was shorter and less swept, not reaching the forward edge of the tailplane.

[1] The extra weight required more power, so an 80 hp (60 kW) Gnome rotary was fitted, with an aluminium cowling surrounding all but the lower 135° of the engine.

[10] The Blackburn firm had its only air racing success with the Yorkshire-built Type I in a 100 mi (160 km) circuit via York, Doncaster, Sheffield, Barnsley and home to Leeds against the Lancastrian Avro 504 prototype for the Wars of the Roses trophy[11] sponsored by the Yorkshire Evening News on 2 October 1913.

Harold Blackburn offered joyrides on the first Type I[13] and, accompanied by a young lady promoted as "Little Miss Independent" (actress Mai Bacon[14]), on 2 April he delivered the early edition of that paper to Chesterfield, some 16 mi (26 km) south.

In June 1914 the aircraft was flying at Blackpool and on 22 July Harold Blackburn inaugurated the first scheduled service in Britain with flights every ½ hour between Leeds and Bradford.

This machine and an early Avro 504 bought to form a circus were commandeered by the Government on the outbreak of war and only narrowly escaped destruction by fire in Harrogate, supposedly at the hands of German saboteurs.

[1] The Improved Type I was also commandeered by the Government at the start of the war, but having no military potential was sold to the Northern Aircraft Co. at Windermere, successors to the Lakes Flying Company as the Land/Sea monoplane.