The Farman No. 1bis in November or December 1908, with the third upper wing, and ailerons. The earlier dihedral of the outer sections of the wing has disappeared., possibly to reduce lateral stability. Vertical panels have been inserted at the wing tips, possibly to limit inward slipping in turns. The aircraft looks so cumbersome in this state that it would not seem likely to fly; but it did.
Henry Farman in 1910
Henry
Farman after 13 January 1908
Dates
and page numbers refer (except where otherwise noted) to the Paris newspaper Le Matin
................................................
................................................
17 January 1908, p.4.
Farman,
with Gabriel Voisin, has been doing studies of weight, thinking that the
relationship between the power [‘force’] of the engine and the total weight of
the aircraft is zero. [Explanation]: Without any ‘surcharge’ [extra weight]
Farman
covered 1,500 metres, with a [180 degree] turn, in I minute 33 seconds. With an added weight of 15 kilos, he flew 400 metres, with a turn. With 20 kilos, 100 metres; with 25 kilos, ‘difficult flights’ [‘vols pénibles’] of 25-30 metres. And with 30 kilos added, the aircraft could barely leave the ground. [This perhaps means that, when the weight of the aircraft is so high that it will not take off, the relationship between engine power and weight is zero.]
covered 1,500 metres, with a [180 degree] turn, in I minute 33 seconds. With an added weight of 15 kilos, he flew 400 metres, with a turn. With 20 kilos, 100 metres; with 25 kilos, ‘difficult flights’ [‘vols pénibles’] of 25-30 metres. And with 30 kilos added, the aircraft could barely leave the ground. [This perhaps means that, when the weight of the aircraft is so high that it will not take off, the relationship between engine power and weight is zero.]
…………………………………………….
18
January 1908. P.6.
Farman,
after a journey of several days, will resume his trials [‘recherches’]. His
monoplane will not be ready for 5-6 weeks. He will continue trials of his
‘cellulaire’ which is having its cloth [‘toile’] covering replaced with
rubberized silk, very like that used on dirigibles.
……………………………………………
21
January 1908, p.3.
Farman
is in England for a few days, inspecting the car track at Brooklands. He found
the ground unsuitable for his trials, and will not take part in a competition
on this strip [‘piste’] for a prize of 25,000 francs. He will return to Paris
on Wednesday, for further trials.
……………………………………………
23
January 1908, p.4.
Farman
is back in Paris, from England. He has no intention of flying or competing in
England. London has no suitable space for flying [‘terrain propice à
l’aviation’]. What were offered to him were rough pieces of grass [‘pelouses
raboteuses’] suitable only for ‘steeplechase aéronautique’, with telegraph
wires, woodland [‘futaies’], barriers, and houses – on all of which his
aircraft would have had a 90% chance of crashing.
More
suitable land exists outside and around London, but those lands are not closed
off, so that the donors of prizes could only with great difficulty have put on
a show [‘exhibition’].
‘Moreover,
the English seemed to me to be unaware of airplanes, and, in that respect, one
is better advised in France’ [‘D’ailleurs, les Anglais m’ont paru ignorer
l’aéroplane, et, sous ce rapport, on est mieux renseigné en France’].
He
will resume flying in his ‘cellulaire’, with rubberized silk surfaces, in two
weeks
………………………………………………………….
31
January 1908, p.5.
Farman
will start trials next Monday or Tuesday (it is now Friday) with his machine
covered in rubberized silk, and with a new 50 hp motor with cooling fins [‘avec
refroidissement à ailettes’].
……………………………………………………….
Scientific American, 15 February 1908
p.
111 ‘Aeronautical notes’
Various
prizes are offered in England for aeroplane flights. Henry Farman went to
investigate them and to find a suitable place in which to compete for them.
The
Daily Graphic has offered a prize of
1,000 pounds (US$4,860) for a one mile flight over the Brooklands automobile
race track, before 1 August 1908. Farman declined to try. The place is not
suitable for flying because of bridges over it and telegraph wires strung all
around. For Farman the only suitable venue is a smooth turfed field about ½ mile
square, without ditches and other obstructions, and smooth enough for a bicycle
to be ridden ‘at a good pace’. Without these conditions, a flying machine might
well be broken. In addition, setting [flight] times beforehand is impossible
because of the varying weather. For the Deutsch-Archdeacon prize competitors
had to give 24 hours of notice. In addition, prizes in England are ‘speculative
in character’; spectators are to be charged an entrance fee, and those fees will
provide cash for the prize. Henry Farman has stated ‘that he is experimenting
for his own amusement, and that he does not intend to try for any more prizes
save those which have no difficult restrictions’.
Farman’s
new aircraft [the triple-winged, dolphin fuselage machine] will soon be ready.
Meanwhile his 1907 aircraft has been recovered with a ‘new waterproof
material’, which is lighter and stronger than the canvas previously used.
Farman,
while in England, spoke of the difficulties of controlling his machine in the
air. It has a tendency to follow a ‘sinuous course’ in both the horizontal and
perpendicular planes. It is therefore necessary to use the horizontal rudder
constantly to ‘keep the machine from plunging to the ground or from diving
upward [sic] and turning a backward somersault’. If the ground is not level, a
downward movement could result in a damaging contact with the ground. ‘This
seems to show that even with its steadying tail, the machine is by no means
stable in a fore-and-aft direction.’
Also,
the small vertical rudder set in the centre of the tail, and which is half the
length of the tail, fore and aft (i.e. about 3 feet), ‘does not seem sufficient
to keep the aeroplane from veering to right or left’. [Scientific American here notes its previous incorrect description
of the vertical ends of the tail acting as rudders.]
Transverse
stability can be seen to be lacking. An eyewitness says that, even when flying
in a straight line, the machine ‘is liable to tip to one side or the other at a
considerable angle’.
………………………………………………………
Pégase
No. 8 (December 1977), p. 22
15
February 1908. Henry Farman, ‘Extrait de l’Aérophile
du 15 février 1908. L’aviation à l’Académie des Sciences. Essais méthodiques
d’un aéroplane cellulaire’
[Noted
from this is material not noted elsewhere in this file]
Farman
notes that in his first month with the machine, in autumn 1907, he could not
get off the ground. Then he managed 30-50 metres of flight; then 100-120
metres. Then suddenly he understood how to get the machine off the ground [tail
up – increase speed – then lift off with the fuselage horizontal and very
little up elevator]. On 26 October he flew 770 metres, the whole length of
Issy-les-Moulineaux. Then he began to study turning. On 11 January 1908 he
achieved two ‘perfect circles’ [‘boucles parfaites’], four months after the
first sortie of the machine.
Farman
chose the cellular [i.e. biplane] form for his machine because he saw it as the
best studied, and the best producer of stability. It is also easily built and
solid. He considers his success as due not so much to the general form of the
aircraft as to many methodical trials and to modifications inspired by
experience. Much of his success is due to the Voisin brothers, the builders of
the machine.
His
trials have shown that weight is less important than resistance to penetration
[i.e. drag]. A heavier, streamlined part is preferable to a lighter, more
resistant one. Farman has achieved long flights by covering with cloth various
parts exposed to passing air, thus greatly reducing their resistance.
He
has also got better results with his most recent propellers. These will
certainly be the most important components of future machines. For now, it is
not clear how best to build them, nor of what, especially since they deform
under the stress of centrifugal force, which is enormous at 1,200 to 1,500 rpm.
……………………………………………………….
27
February 1908. P.4.
Voisin
[Gabriel?] has today taken to Farman’s hangar at Issy his ‘cellular apparatus’,
with the new 50 hp engine with cooling fins. The assembly of the cellules
[wings] will take place today; and if possible, and the weather is good
tomorrow, Farman will try for the Armengaud prize [for a 15 minute flight].
………………………………………………………
28
February 1908, p.1.
This
article has a good photograph of Henry Farman, and is signed with an autograph
signature of his – so presumably these are his own words.
The
conquest of the air is no longer a chimera. The dream of centuries is becoming
a reality [there is no mention here of ballooning, which does not apparently
count as flight.]
‘Aviation
is beginning at its proper time. The joining of two quite distinct elements –
the provision of lift and propulsion – has clearly resolved the problem.’ [‘L’aviation débute à son heure.
La conjunction de deux éléments bien distincts, les organes de sustentation et
de propulsion, a nettement résolu la question.’]
After
Langley’s fine research – Langley was the first to set out the essential bases
of aviation -- and the experience of Lilienthal, Chanute, Tatin, Ferber,
Santos Dumont, Blériot, and the remarkable studies of Gabriel Voisin, it can
now be said that an aviation machine sustains itself in the air with perfect
stability. [There is no mention of the Wrights here.]
Additionally,
progress made in gasoline engines and the making of propellers has helped
‘aerial locomotion’ to take off.
Conquest
of the air is not yet fully achieved. France cannot be crossed yet in one
flight. It is necessary to know how to pilot [‘conduire’] an aircraft. Pilots
must undergo apprenticeship, and ‘go from jump, to bound, to flight’ [‘passer
du saut, au bond, et au vol’]. They must begin with a slow, stable machine,
such as the ‘cellulaire’ that won the Deutsch-Archdeacon prize, and then
progress to a monoplane, which, by virtue of its form and the relationship
between its wing surface and the weight carried, comes notably close to a bird.
Twenty
years ago, Langley foresaw that with greater speed, work diminishes [‘Plus la
vitesse est grande, plus le travail diminue’]; i.e. an aircraft will carry more
weight as its speed rises. The monoplane is the aircraft of the future, because
of its low resistance to movement. Speeds will increase from 120 to 150 kph,
even to 200 kph.
Aviation
will be an admirable sport, giving the aviator magnificent panoramas and
perfect freedom. Pilots will fly over cities (low, in case of obstacles
[‘anicroches’]), landing [‘aterrir’ used here] wherever they like, and
departing again without a care (apart from damaging their aircraft).
Trusting
in the stability of the aircraft and in the working of the engine, a pilot can
certainly go higher to find calmer air, disappearing among the clouds. ‘The
object of sport and of transport thus becomes a terrible arm for he who know
how to use it. Invulnerable through its extreme mobility and its small size,
the aeroplane makes all murderous war impossible. It does better than
conquering the air; it conquers the world…’ [‘L’objet de sport et de
transport deviant ainsi une arme terrible pour celui que sait l’employer.
Invulnérable par son extreme mobilité et sa petite surface, l’aéroplane rend
impossible toute guerre meurtrière; il fait mieux que conquérir l’air, il
conquit le monde…’]
The
aviator has not fully arrived yet, but in two years will have covered 200
kilometres.
……………………………………………………..
29
February 1908, La Vie en Grand
Air, No. 493
pp.
134-5 François Peyrey, ‘Ceux qui voleront en 1908’
Refers
to recent rains creating mud at Issy, which is churned up by the cavalry
horses.
Farman
has had his aircraft recovered with rubberized fabric [‘étoffe caoutchouté’].
He is also having a new aircraft built, of the Langley type, with five pairs of
wings (three forward and two aft) mounted ladder fashion [‘montées en
escalier’] – (i.e. in descending height) -- on a fuselage 14 metres long. Their
placing prevents them from producing ill effects on one another.
The
forward wing span is 7 metres; it is less on rear wings. The frontmost wing
pivots on an axis passing through the centre of pressure, and thus serves as an
elevator [‘gouverneur de profondeur’]. At the extreme tail is a vertical
rudder. The lifting area is 45 square metres, and the weight about 600 kilos.
The propeller is of 2.5 metre diameter; the motor, a 35hp Renault. There are
two steerable mainwheels and a tailwheel.
Farman
also wants to try a monoplane. Peyrey approves – the future does not belong to
heavy and clumsy biplanes [‘cellules’], with excessive drag. Blériot has two
new monoplanes (no details here).
Propellers
break with disconcerting and frequent ease. The reasons for this must be found,
because broken propellers can kill spectators or bring a machine down. Only
Esnault-Pelterie does not suffer from this problem.
………………………………………………………
13
March 1908, p.5.
‘The
sun’s ray comes at last.’ Happy and at ease, Faman announced he would resume
trials today (Friday 13th!). Farman has no doubts about
anything [‘Farman ne doute de rien’].
………………………………………………………
14
March 1908, p.5.
Farman
flew yesterday. His aircraft took off three times, though he had intended only
to taxi over the ‘sticky and marshy ground’ [‘le sol gluant et marécageux’] at
Issy. Farman, the Voisin brothers, and the engine builder [who?] were anxious
about the performance of the aircraft and engine. All went well. The propeller
turned at 1,080 rpm. The aircraft was stable despite gusts.
……………………………………………………..
15
March 1908, p.5.
Farman
made a sharp turn [‘virage hardi’] yesterday; the aircraft almost rested
[‘couché] on its right side, but recovered. 1 kilometre was flown in 1 minute
and a few seconds.
…………………………………………………….
18
March 1908, p.5.
Farman’s
motor was removed for adjustment [‘mise au point’ of the
‘démultiplication’—downward gearing]. The connection [‘rapport’] between the
engine and the propeller needs reviewing. [This suggests that the engine’s
rotational speed was being reduced for the propeller.]
……………………………………………………
20
March 1908, p.?
Farman
is not waiting for his new motor, the ‘démultiplication’ [downgearing] of which
needs reviewing. He will fly today using his former motor [the Levavasseur
Antoinette]. [The motor tried, and abandoned, may have been a Renault; there
are certainly photographs of a Renault engine mounted in his aircraft.]
…………………………………………………..
(Saturday)
21 March 1908, p.1.
[title]
‘Un nouveau triomphe de l’aviation. Farman
couvre en planant 2 kilomètres 300. Delagrange, sept à huit cent mètres.’
Yesterday,
Farman, having replaced the wáter-cooled engine of the Appareil No. 1, made
three trials at around 5 p.m. (helped by Gustave Voisin).
Farman
had asked the public to keep its distance. It did.
1st flight – a ¾ circle. 2nd flight (‘saisissant’), Farman climbed
before turning near the Porte de Grenelle. At 7-8 metres he followed the
fortifications (after turning). Then came second turn, ‘with an audacity that
made more than one spectator tremble … the aircraft seemed to lie completely on
its left side’; then, after coming level again, it crossed the field. Farman
turned again near the well [‘puits’], and a fourth time near the hangar. Then
he landed, having recrossed [‘remonté’] the field. Long applause followed.
Farman said that all had gone normally in the 2 minute 15 second flight (at 62
kph, a distance of 2 kilometres 300 metres).
Farman
said that for the first time he had flow high enough [to turn steeply?]. ‘The
sensation is strange. I thought I was staying in one place [in the steep
turn?]. The disappearance of the sun and the appearance of the barriers brought
me back to reality.’ [This is indeed the sensation that a steep turn in an
aircraft can give – of the machine hanging motionless in the air while the
earth rotates around it.]
Farman
will continue flight today and will require the presence of officers of the
AéroClub de France to record any records set.
In
the morning, Delagrange made seven flights of 700-800 metres, using the whole
field length. He will try to turn tomorrow.
‘The
match between the two aviators is just beginning.’
[Accompanying
this article is a good picture of the aircraft in flight. The [presumed] fuel
tank is above the wing, although a tank is still in place over the motor,
possibly for water cooling].
[What
is noticeable here is Farman’s greater height and steeper turns. He is getting
more confident in handling the machine.]
[What
became of Farman’s third flight the newspaper does not say.]
………………………………………………………
23
March 1908, p.5.
The
town council of Issy les Moulineaux has voted, on the motion offered by the
mayor, to give the liveliest congratulations to Farman and Delagrange for their
flying successes at Issy. [They are beginning to be noticed.]
………………………………………………………
24
March 1908, p.5.
Farman
has slightly increased the size of the rudder on his machine, to achieve
greater manoeuvrability.
……………………………………………………..
Wednesday,
25 March 1908, p.1.
‘Match
d’Aéroplanes. Delagrange s’approche de Farman’
The
contest between Farman and Delagrange draws crowds to Issy On the 23rd,
1,000 were present. Yesterday morning Delagrange flew for 3 minutes 30 seconds,
covering about 3.2 kilometres, but falling short of Farman’s 3 minutes 47
seconds.
In
the afternoon Farman made a flight of 3 minutes 20 seconds and then went back
to the hangar. All was well. Farman will try to beat his own record of 2
kilometres 4 metres in the morning, with AéroClub de France witnesses. Today
Farman flew at 8-10 metres.
The
whole problem of flight is now in the motor – especially its cooling. Both
Farman and Delagrange are using water-cooled engines. The need to replenish the
water supply has often ended flights.
[With
this article is a nice cartoon of Farman by Mich – the first such in Le Matin.]
[
note on 26 March, p.2., says that both flew with officials present on the 25th,
but that rain stopped activities.]
………………………………………………………
[Saturday]
28 March 1908, p.1.
[heading]
‘Virage dangéreux ou La revanche du sol. Farman choit et se contusionne.’
Farman
became the victim of his ambition to turn as sharply as possible (he has said
‘I will try to turn as sharply as possible’ [‘Je vais essayer de tourner le
plus court possible.’])
When
the aircraft is at a good height, the inclining of the lower wing towards the
ground has little importance. ‘The aeroplane, tilted to its side, recovers as
soon as the turn is finished.’
But
not so yesterday. Farman had made one circuit of the field at a good speed.
Then he started another; and finishing a turn near the Porte de Grenelle the
aircraft, not being high enough, touched [the ground] with the front left
longeron [‘toucha du longeron inférieur avant gauche’]. The piece broke, and
the machine hit the ground on its side.
Farman
was thrown quite violently forward for 2 ½ metres. He remained stretched out for
about a minute – ‘a moment of stupor and emotion’.
There
was a mad rush towards him. Farman got up, though severely stunned [‘abruti’]
by the shock. The motor had luckily stopped because a wire from its battery
[‘accumulateur’] had broken.
There
were slight scrapes to Farman’s nose and forehead. The aircraft will be
repaired by Monday morning.
[A
drawing shows the left wingtip hitting the ground. The left wheel is not
touching the ground. Farman was thrown forward onto the ground, left of the
nose.]
[Farman
getting a little over-confident about turning here, at least about turning at
low altitude? Perhaps the machine slid inwards and downward on the turn,
causing the wingtip to touch.]
…………………………………………………….
28
March 1908, La Vie en Grand
Air, No. 497, pp. 200-201
Here
is a double spread photograph of Farman and Delagrange flying circuits at Issy.
[Neither aircraft has vertical panels between the wings. The aircraft look
identical.]
……………………………………………………..
Scientific American, 11 April 1908
p.
256 ‘The first two passenger airplane’
The
US War Department has stipulated that new aircraft contracted for by the army
must carry two men. The same requirement is in the new prize offered by
Michelin for 220 metre flights in France in the next decade (with a total prize
of $20,000). It is interesting that on 21 March 1908 Henry Farman and
Delagrange flew 75-80 feet in Farman’s No. 2 [Ibis?] aircraft. This is the
first time, as far as is known, that an aircraft has carried two people.
The
flight took place after both had spent the morning flying. Farman, soon after
10 am, exceeded his 13 January 1908 flight by flying 2 ½ circuits around two
posts set 500 metres apart, at a height of about 20 feet. The official distance
flown was 2 ½ kilometres, but the actual distance was over 3 kilometres. Farman
could probably have flown further but for the overheating of his engine. The
machine showed better stability than ever before; ‘even in making turns it
tipped but little’.
Late
in the afternoon, Farman flew two circles of one kilometer, taking 2 minutes
and 45 seconds. Again, overheating forced him down.
‘The
day before [presumably 20 March], after refitting his aeroplane with the 8
cylinder, water-cooled, Antoinette motor in place of the similar-type,
air-cooled, Renault motor with which he had experimented with slight success a
week previously, Farman made two flights estimated at 2.3 and 3 kilometres in 2
minutes 50 seconds and 2 minutes and 55 seconds respectively.’
With
the Renault engine, Farman could fly only 900 feet, though he expects that with
this motor, overhauled and tested, he will do better than with the Antoinette
engine.
On
27 March Farman had an accident during a ‘sharp turn’. ‘One end of the
aeroplane struck the ground.’ Farman was thrown 35 feet, and was ‘badly cut
about the face’, but not seriously injured.
[Despite
Farman’s optimistic forecast about the Renault engine, this motor was
apparently never fitted again to the 1bis. He may have drawn to it by its being
air cooled, since the rapid exhaustion of cooling water was clearly a problem
for him by this time. Later in 1908, presumably as a result of fitting a
radiator to his machine, he was able to fly with the Antoinette for far longer.
Farman, presumably by very cautious use of his rudder, is making turns with
very little bank – perhaps the caution resulted from his crash on 28 March.
Before then, he had clearly been experimenting with steep turns.]
………………………………………………….
L’Aérophile, 1 April 1908, pp. 129-131, ‘Les étapes de
l’aviation. À l’assaut des Records et de la Coupe Archdeacon. Delagrange contre
Farman’
On
14 March, two aircraft flew at Issy successfully: the Henri-Farman 1bis and the
Delagrange 2. On the Farman, the old varnished silk of the covering has been
replaced by ‘Continental’ rubberized fabric. This has an absolutely smooth
surface, reducing air friction, and complete impermeability. ‘Continental’
fabrics are used to cover current large dirigibles. It is quite possible that
the material will become the common covering of aeroplanes, giving a new market
to the famous rubber company.
14
March also saw the start of trials of the new aviation motor ‘Renault frères’.
The Farman aircraft flies marvelously with the new motor. Farman made five
flights of 500-600 metres, with a turn included.
On
the same day at Issy, Delagrange – who had in March 1907 shaken up the torpor
of aviators (lulled by the successes of Santos-Dumont) – found rewards for his
long sacrifices. In his No. 2 aeroplane (exactly the same as the Farman 1 that
took the Grand Prix in January 1908), and equipped with an Antoinette 50 hp, 8
cylinder motor, he made a flight of 300 metres in 19 seconds, and was stopped
only by the limits of the Issy field.
Witnesses
of these flights were the Voisin brothers, Ernest Archdeacon, and General
Kovanko (commander of the Russian military balloonists, in France on an
official mission to study aeronautical progress).
16
March Between 9 and 11 a.m. on this day
Delagrange made five flights of 500-600 metres, limited only by the edges of
the field. Observing were Ernest Archdeacon, Louis Blériot, Henry Kapferer,
Charles and Gabriel Voisin, Captain Ferber, C.-A. Bertrand (a reporter from Sports and l’Intransigeant). The stability of the aircraft was such that
Delagrange was able to take his hands off the controls and wave to his friends
in passing.
17
March Delagrange tried for one of the
three prizes offered by the Commission d’aviation of the AéroClub de France for
200 metres (an enamel plaque and 20 francs).
p.
130 He made this attempt between 5 and
6 p.m., with François Peyrey and Henry Kapferer observing for the Commission
d’aviation. He succeeded at the first attempt, with a flight of 269.2 metres at
a height of 2 metres. At the start line the aircraft must be airborne; so the
distance flown is actually greater than 200 metres. The flight took 21.2
seconds. It would have been longer if a group of cavalry had not been in the
way.
20
March Delagrange is now the rival of
Farman, though no official match exists. On this day Delagrange flew a loop of 700
metres. At about 5 p.m. Farman flew several times, now with an Antoinette motor
(replacing the Renault).
21
March A misty day, but that did not dissuade
aviators at Issy. Farman flew 2 ½ oval circuits (the length of the oval,
between posts, being 500 metres). On each turn the aircraft banked inwards, but
rose – and then came down again once the turn was completed.
p.
131 The Commission d’aviation,
calculating by the distance between the posts (501.2 metres), recognized that
Farman had flown 2,004.8 metres, in 3 minutes 31 seconds. Distance and time are
records. Farman in fact probably flew 4 kilometres, if the space needed for
turning is counted.
Around
12.30 p.m. Delagrange started to fly, around the same posts. He travelled 1,500
metres, in 2 minutes 3 seconds, before having to land because cavalry horses
were in his way.
Delagrange
has shown interest in a ‘Syndicat d’aviation’ which has engaged the Voisin
brothers to produced six machines of the same type of the Farman 1bis and the
Delagrange 2. He is impressed by the ease of manoeuvre and safety of the
machine. Recent advances in aviation should be recognized. In 3-6 months
kilometres have come to be flown on demand, turns are accomplished, and serial
building of aircraft is starting. Progress is quicker than expected.
……………………………………
19
April 1908, p.6.
Farman
will return in two days (the ‘redoutable concurrent’ of Delagrange). Farman has
now fitted a radiator to his airplane, after modifying his engine with an
increased cylinder bore (110mm instead of 100). This gives an estimated power
increase of 10 hp, enabling the carriage of 70 more kilos. The radiator weighs
13 kilos. Its surface area is 25 square metres. It holds 15 litres of water.
……………………………………………………...
23
April 1908, p.4.
Farman has decided to remove the radiator fitted in
his absence. It had no cooling effect.
……………………………………………………..
1
May 1908, p .6.
The
aircraft is now repaired. The motor has been modified, with larger cylinder
bore. Trials yesterday had good results. The rear ‘cellule’ has been adjusted
[‘reglée’], and the increase in power from the motor allows Farman to take off
very easily.
……………………………………………………..
3
May 1901, p.1.
Yesterday
Farman and Delagrange tried for the 15 minute Armengaud award. Neither
succeeded. Farman abandoned his attempt at a flight at 6.45 p.pm. because of the
large number of spectators on the field. Le
Matin comments that Issy is
now too small for major trials. It was good at the start. But if flyers cannot
get authorities, civilian or military, to keep the field clear of spectators,
they should go elsewhere.
…………………………………………………
5
May 1908, p.5.
Farman
intends to stop flying at Issy. ‘Farman est un sage.’ At the speed his machine
flies (75-80 kph) he cannot turn, without extreme risk, in less than 200 metres
[diameter?].
Le Matin comments
that aircraft can now indisputably turn. Future research for heavier-than-air
flight must include stability in wind, engines, and trials at height; and
flyers must have large, flat space. Turning an aircraft at Issy is now as
dangerous as driving a car around the Place de la Concorde without brakes, in
fourth gear.
………………………………………………..
10
May 1908, p.5.
Farman
flew yesterday at 7 a.m. to avoid any interruption. He tried two vertical
surfaces added to the rear of the center cell, and set on the connecting beams
[‘sur les poutrelles de raccordement’]. [This suggests two vertical surfaces on
either side of the motor, toward the rear of the wings]. He flew easily.
He
also carried a passenger, his father, and a load of 30 kg of water and 10
litres of gasoline [all at the same time?]
[The
aircraft will now carry a passenger. Farman’s changes to the airframe and
engine have doubled the weight it can lift.]
…………………………………………………
13
May 1908, p.6.
Farman,
invited by the AéroClub of Belgium, will probably go to Ghent [Gand] on 25 May,
and there do trials with his Aéroplane No. 1 [this name has not previously been
used in Le Matin].
………………………………………………..
17
May 1908, p.5.
Farman
issues a challenge to the Wright brothers for speed and distance flying, with
prizes of 25,000 francs.
This
follows a first report in Le
Matin, on 9 May 1908, of the Wright brothers’ flying in the USA. [Reportedly]
They flew at Mantev [sic] on 6 May 1908, with both of them aboard one aircraft.
The Wrights’ activities (according to Le
Matin) seem always wrapped in mystery, whereas French flight is in the
open. Another puzzled and skeptical report on the Wrights’ flying is in Le Matin, 16 May 1908.
……………………………………………….
24
May 1908, p.6.
Farman
is leaving this evening, or tomorrow, for Ghent. He hopes that his first trials
will be on Ascension day (28 May). He plans to fly with Ernest Archdeacon as a
passenger, making a 1 kilometre straight flight. After Ghent, Farman plans to
go to Milan, where a new Voisin-built aircraft will be ready for him. It will
be sent in a week. Farman and Delagrange will have a ‘match’ in Milan on 5
June.
………………………………………………..
31
May 1908, p.1.
Farman
and Archdeacon bet with M. Charron that before the end of July 1908 an aircraft
would carry two people 1 kilometre or more. According to a telegram from Ghent
on 30 May 1908, they flew that morning 1,236 metres together ‘[‘à deux’], very
easily, and were halted only by the size of the field they were on.
………………………………………………..
6 June 1908, La Vie en Grand Air, No. 507,
p.356
Shows
3 photographs of Farman at Ghent. Take off is from a platform [‘plancher’] of
wooden boards (probably 12-15 feet long), laid edge to edge. The ground looks
wet. One photo shows Farman airborne carrying Archdeacon – in a flight of 1,241
metres at 7 metres height. The aircraft has vertical panels inboard on the
wings on each side of the engine, extending forward to the leading edges –
though with cut-outs beside the pilot [presumably to allow side views].
………………………………………………..
[Note
taking for June and July 1908 was reduced to front page items]
………………………………………………..
8
July 1908, p.6.
Farman won the Armengaud prize on 6 July with a flight of
20 minutes 19 seconds at Issy. He beat the record held by Delagrange, flying an
estimated 20 kilometres. [The Armengaud prize was for a flight of 15 minutes or
more, in the air over France, and was worth 10,000 francs. See Lucien Marchis et al, Vingt-cinq ans d’Aéronautique française, 2 vols., Chambre Syndicale
des Industries Aéronautiques, Paris 1934, p. 29.]
[The
problem of the motor using up its cooling water in 3 or so minutes has
obviously been overcome. Perhaps a radiator has been fitted, with the coolant
being recirculated through it, rather than being expelled as steam, as before.]
……………………………………………….
Scientific American, 18 July 1908
p.44 Henry Farman recently made a twenty minute
flight, of 18 kilometres – thus winning a $2,000 Armengaud prize for the first
¼ hour flight over French soil. He has contracted with a St. Louis syndicate to
come to America this month, and is expected to start making flights at the
Brighton Beach race track on 29 July, for three successive days – and then from
10 August for four days. These flights will be under the auspices of the Aero
Club of America, and it is expected that Farman will fly for a Scientific American trophy. Delagrange
will also be brought over the by Aeronautical Society. He is expected around 20
August, to make a series of flights somewhere on Long Island. [This did not
happen.]
………………………………………………
Scientific American, 1 August 1908.
p.
75 Henry Farman, ‘the celebrated aviator
who won the Deutsch-Archdeacon 10,000 dollar prize’ on 13 January 1908, arrived
in New York City on 26 July. His aeroplane reached America several days later
on another steamer. Starting on 1 August Farman will make exhibition flights at
the Brighton Beach race track. He will start with short flights across the
‘center field’ – ‘as the aviator, daring as he is, will hardly attempt to fly
above the mile track, which is lined with fences. Would-be spectators must
remember, too, that in a slight breeze Farman’s machine is impractical [not
so], and that consequently they will have to take their chances upon witnessing
a flight on the date set.’
Farman
has challenged the Wright brothers to fly against him in a competition. It is
possible, therefore, that in about a month, when the Wrights ‘have finished
their contracts here and in France [Orville outside Washington DC, and Wilbur
near Le Mans], these foremost aviators will successfully defend the Scientific American Trophy in an
international competition, which the Aero Club of America will doubtless hold.
[This did not happen.]
Wilbur
Wright is only just recovering from a ‘severe scalding’ a month ago, suffered
when a water pipe burst on a motor he was testing. His machine is ‘practically
ready’ for the two 50 kilometre (30 mile) trials flights he has to make about
the race track at Le Mans, with a passenger. The first of these is expected
within ten days. Orville Wright has a two-man aeroplane he is working on for
the War Department. It is ‘about completed’. He intends to test it at Fort Myer
within a month.
…………………………………………...
4
August 1908, p.4.
Farman
was to fly last Saturday at Brighton Beach in the USA. But the mosquitos bit
him so badly that he was unable to make any trials.
……………………………………………….
8
August 1908, Scientific American,
pp.86-7, ‘A talk with Henry Farman’
Farman
is here described as ‘The best known and most successful of aeroplane
experimentalists in Europe’. He has been invited to the USA by the Aeronautical
Society of America to stimulate public interest in aeroplanes, which he will do
by giving demonstration flights in various parts of the USA.
Farman’s
flying has long been familiar in the USA through photographs and newspapers.
But there is a wide difference between reports and performance – such as the
trials that Farman did [in Brooklyn] in the afternoon of Friday, 31 July, in
the presence of the Aero Club and its friends. These were to be followed by a
public demonstration on the Saturday afternoon.
Farman’s
machine has often been described in the Scientific
American. It has two planes, 32 feet long by 6 ½ feet wide, one 5 feet
above the other. There is a ‘rudder for horizontal control, in front’, and a
‘box-shaped tail, 10 feet to the rear, in the center of which is the vertical
rudder for lateral control and for the prevention of lateral oscillation’. This
box tail gives the machine its ‘remarkable stability and evenness of flight’. Between
the wings is an Antoinette 50 hp motor, weighing some 400 lbs, ‘a really
beautiful specimen of the aeroplane motor builder’s art’. Farman sits on a low
seat ahead of the engine. The steering wheel shaft projects horizontally
forward through two sleeves. On the shaft, just in front of the wheel, is a
drum to which are attached cables that control the rudder; turning the wheel
right turns the rudder in the same direction, and the same to the left. The
shaft also moves backwards and forwards, controlling as it does so the angle of
the forward ‘horizontal rudders’ [elevators]. This controls the ‘vertical
course’ of the machine.
‘Mr
Farman is greatly hampered in his exhibitions in New York by the limited area
of the field at Brighton Beach.’ The field is not wide enough to allow turns.
So all flights must be straight. The first demonstration flight, on 31 July,
made a very favourable impression on viewers. The machine at first accelerated
slowly, then fast. The tail lifted very soon after the start. [Farman is, of
course, using the ‘tail up’ take off technique that he discovered in November
1907.] At about 25 mph the aircraft slowly lifted off the ground, and then flew
horizontally, at about 20 feet, straight and level until power was shut off.
After landing, still all straight and level, it ran for perhaps 100 yards
before stopping. It seemed under ‘perfect control’ despite a 5 mph diagonal
cross wind. The length of future flights in the USA will be determined by size
of flying area. Farman says that the machine is capable of a 2 ½ hour flight at
over 40 mph if conditions are right. A flight of that length would require a 9
gallon fuel tank.
Farman
is an artist by profession [not for some time past, actually; his most recent
occupation in France was selling cars]. Brief conversation with him, however,
reveals that he has, to an unusual extent, the qualities of a successful
engineer and inventor; a combination of imagination and a ‘keen logical and
discriminative faculty’. He can, to an unusual degree pick out the essential
from the non-essential. In aircraft, he has realized the essential need for
stability, which results in the large box tail he uses. This gives increased
weight and air resistance, but also stability. He uses ‘larger surfaces’ [of
wing?] than are necessary; but these give him ‘the steadiest flying machine in
existence’. ‘Lateral oscillation’ is controlled by the use of the box tail. ‘If
the right wing is lifted by a puff of wind the rudder is thrown over to the
right, the machine is “thrown into the wind”… and the aeroplane returns to the
level position.’ The action is not so quite as that produced by ‘separate,
controllable tips’ at the ends of the wings (as on the June Bug [an aircraft
designed and flown by Glenn Curtiss]), or by the Wrights’ wing warping. ‘In
this respect the box-tail is, perhaps, inferior. It is Farman’s intention to
experiment with controllable wing tips and use them in connection with his
rudder, gradually reducing the size of the latter, until … the tail may be
eliminated altogether.’ This sort of ‘conservative method of development’ has
characterized all of Farman’s experimental work.
In
his trials last Friday, Farman flew at about 35 mph. In longer flights he has
reached 50 mph. The Wright brothers have moved their 900 lb machine with 25 hp
at 42 mph. Farman’s machine weighs 1,100 lbs. His claim of 50 mph, with his 50
hp motor, ‘is not unreasonable’.
Farman
says that in future aircraft he will reduce wing chord from 6 ½ ft to 3 ft, and
reduce the size of his boxtail and horizontal rudder [i.e. elevator]. He
expects those changes to increase speed to 60 or 70 mph. Future aircraft will
be monoplanes and have smaller tails. 100 mph is foreseeable in 2-3 years.
[120
mph was reached by the Deperdussin Racer in 1912-13.]
[It
is a pity that this piece contains no direct quotation from Farman. But it
efficiently sums up the state of his aircraft in the late summer of 1908,
stressing its stability, but also criticizing it for its slow control of bank.
The writer does not point out that turns can be much quicker made by the
Wrights, with their wing-warping, or (presumably) by Curtiss’s June Bug, with
its wing-tip ailerons.
,
The
writer is right to stress Farman’s conservative approach to change on his
machine, which served him very well. Also interesting is Farman’s intention to
try tip ailerons [presumably for turning], until he can do without a tail. He never
in fact reached that point. Although he fitted ailerons to his Voisin aircraft,
and flew it with them installed before selling it early in 1909, and also to
the new machine of his own design that he built in that year, he did not make
tail-less planes.]
……………………………………………….
12
August 1908, p.3.
Farman
denies reports in the New York press that he had offered to sell his
aircraft to the US government.
……………………………………………….
13
August 1908, p.3.
According
to a telegram from New York to the United Press, Farman’s aircraft in New York
has been seized by the authorities at the request of a cloth seller [‘vendeur
de toile’], claiming a payment of 600 francs. The Aero Club of New York will
probably pay, but Farman is completely disgusted [‘complètement dégoûté’], and
will return to France on the next steamer [‘paquebot’].
……………………………………………….
Scientific
American, 15 August 1908
p.102 All Farman’s flights at Brighton Beach
were made in very light winds. Aeroplanes generally suffer from lack of
stability (in contrast to dirigibles), and difficulties of control in strong
winds.
……………………………………………….
Scientific American, 15 August 1908
p.111 The Aero Club of America has decided to hold
a competition for the Scientific American
trophy on 7 September 1908 (Labor Day), near New York City. The distance to be
flown is a minimum of 25 kilometres (15
½ miles), in a closed circuit. The longest flight, with evidence of stability,
speed, and ease of control, will win. The hope is that Farman and the Wrights
will meet here, to give Farman a chance to ‘show what his machine capable of
doing’ – which was ‘by no means the case in the recent short flights he made at
the Brighton Beach race track.’ [This meeting of the Wrights and Farman did not
take place. Farman had returned to France, and the Wrights were occupied
demonstrating their machines in the USA and France.]
……………………………………………….
16
August 1908, p.2.
From
New York, 15 August: Farman left today, ‘exclaiming against the Americans and
the way he has been treated here’ – notably by those who engaged him to go the
USA and then did not pay the promised sum.
……………………………………………….
24
August 1908, p.5.
Farman
arrived yesterday at Cherbourg, He immediately left for Pontarson, where he
proposed to establish a trial field [‘champ d’expériences’].
…………………………………………………
25
August 1908, p.2.
Farman
arrived at Le Mans in the evening [of the 24th or 25th -- probably the latter] and was
warmly greeted by friends, aviators and ‘simple mortals’
…………………………………………………
26
August 1908, p.1.
[long
article] l’Odyssée de Farman. Il connut aux Etats-Unis les ovations et
les huissiers.
[This
is Farman’s account of his experiences in New York in August 1908, probably
somewhat exaggerated by the newspaper. He actually flew more at the Brighton
Beach racecourse than is suggested here; and there may have been more
spectators, though not nearly so many as the organizers from St Louis hoped
for. They, as he says, seem to have abandoned him once the numbers fell short
of what was expected. It was a curious series of events. But it is worth noting
that Farman was the first man to fly an aeroplane in New York, a year before
Wilbur Wright flew (a much greater distance) up and down the Hudson near the city.]
The
voyage to New York was ‘pittoresque’. ‘A royal reception was given to me when I
arrived in New York. To the sound of music, I had to leave the Touraine before entering the port, and
take my place on a pleasure yacht, with honour reserved to persons of
distinction, since, contrary to law, I was not submitted to the rigours of
customs and of the visit.’
He
would have liked to avoid this honour, because the yacht was moving in the sea
and Farman began to feel seasick, amidst a crowd of reporters and of people
waving flags.
‘I
was driven around New Work in an automobile. I was installed in a hotel where
there floated a banner wider than an aeroplane. I was offered a “Farman
cocktail”, and banquets where my rising glory was celebrated by touching speeches.
I was sent an aeroplane made of nougat, which, once brought to my room,
lamentably melted during the night and spread everywhere. The newspapers did
not tire of praises for me. I was made to say unlikely things. I was famous.’
[‘On
m’enleva en automobile, on me fit parcourir New York, on m’installa dans un
hôtel où flottait une banderole plus large qu’aéroplane, on m’offrit du
“cocktail Farman”, des banquets où ma gloire naissante était célébrée par de
touchants discours, on me remit un aéroplane en nougat qui, porté dans ma
chamber, fondit lamentablement pendant la nuit et coula partout. Les journeaux
ne tarissaient pas d’éloges sur mon comte; on me faisait dire des choses
invraisemblables; j’étais célèbre.]
These
‘ovations’ helped him to assemble his airplane quickly – it had arrived a
little late. Farman passed a sleepless night [‘nuit blanche’] near the
racecourse at Brighton Beach, on Coney Island, where the aircraft was fully
assembled. The racecourse was a small area with nothing to it [‘un petit
terrain de rien de tout’] 300 metres long, and devilishly swampy [‘marécageux
en diable’].
Farman
made some trials on 31 July, with General Allen present. The next day
(Saturday), the organizers expected a huge crowd at the field. Weekly
attractions there draw 20,000.
‘O
bitter disappointment! Two thousand citizens, mostly invited people, stood
behind the barriers. And, as an excess of bad luck [“comble de guigne”], the
wind and rain stormed around us [“faisaient rage”].’
On
2 August there were 500 spectators, and the numbers kept falling. ‘The
Americans did not lack enthusiasm or disenchantment. They did not understand.’
But
the organizers understood that they ‘were losing the game’ and that it was ‘bad
business’.
‘Without
saying a word, they took their suitcases and fled as fast as they could, taking
the fastest railroad to Pennsylvania, they hastened to St Louis, leaving their
manager Mac Mechel (MacMichael), a very brave man by all means, to debate with
the creditors, the dactylographers, the secretaries – who left him with so
little space [‘si peu d’une semelle’] that they seemed, so he said, to be
hungry wolves running after him. To compensate these poor guys, I did a day of
trials.’
As
the businessmen who had asked him to do a tour of the USA had fled, on 11
August Farman made arrangements to return to France. Then a reporter and
MacMichael told him that an embargo had been placed on his airplane; a guard
had been posted outside the hangar, preventing entry, night or day. ‘My
mechanic, who had to nail a box, almost came to blows with him.’
The
explanation was that someone unknown to Farman had sworn that Farman had
ordered a tent, and refused to pay. This annoying charlatan [‘fâcheux fumiste’]
wanted $1,500. ‘To have peace, I offered him ten dollars, which he accepted.’
Other
claims soon arrived for things that Farman had never ordered. ‘I immediately
took action. [“Je pris immédiatement mon parti”] Helped by MM. Triaca and
Hammer, I had wagons brought quietly by night, and the horses removed the aircraft
at full speed. When, at daybreak, a guard [‘huissier’] arrived to protect the
aeroplane, we walked this “gentleman” around for a half hour before taking him
to the hangar. Once there, the guard, stupefied, said to us “Where is the
aeroplane?” We replied that it had already gone, and that, since he
wished to see the hangar, we would show him. The man of the law, ashamed as a
fox, fled without even saying goodbye.’
The
airplane, after customs inspection, was put aboard ship, where it could not be
seized.
The
‘vaudeville’ ended there. In addition to meeting men who understood business in
a way unknown in France, Farman met many amiable, obliging, welcoming and
polite people. Edison welcomed him warmly. ‘Seven or eight of us found
ourselves in his office; he came up to me, smiling, and exclaimed “Ah! You’re
the man”.’ Edison has vague ideas about aircraft; he has done some laboratory
work on the question. He said that current aircraft would never fly far.
Farman
is not at all of this opinion. He will continue with long distance flights, for
hours. He thinks that the terrain offered by M. Hugon [Hugou?], through the
intercession of Le Matin will suffice for the moment. [It is
not clear where this land was. In the event, Farman moved to the Camp de
Châlons, east of Reims, in early September.]
Farman
will make several modifications to his aircraft, so that he can fly in the
strongest winds.
‘Well,
I will try my new machine, the Flying Fish, as soon as I have my motor.’ [He
never did.]
‘Ah!
To possess a regular, solid motor, fairly light, able to function for several
hours – that is the solution to the problem of the airplane.’
[That
is an interesting observation. The problem of cooling the Antoinette for more
than a few minutes has been overcome. But Farman now wants more from a motor –
more power, less weight.]
………………………………………………
4
September 1908, p.2.
Farman
will move to the Camp de Châlons to fly, far from the crowds of ‘admirateurs’.
His mechanic [unnamed] is already in Champagne to inspect the ground for a
hangar. The Camp de Châlons is a vast rectangle, of which Mourmelon-le-Grand,
Mourmelon-le-Petit, Sainte Hilaire du Temple, and Suippes are the corners.
Farman will probably put his base near Mourmelon-le-Petit. At the south of the
Camp, between Mourmelon [which?] and Ste. Hilaire, he will have an ideal ground
of about 10x2 kilometres.
Farman’s
plan is to have two aircraft, one at the Camp and another near Boulogne on the
coast, to train himself in conditions of regular and strong winds on the great
beaches of the north coast [in imitation of the Wrights at Kill Devil Hill].
[This plan for Boulogne never seems to have been realized.]
Farman
also plans to make a long, straight flight.
………………………………………………
11
September 1908, p.4.
At
Farman’s request the Minister of War, General Picquart, has authorized trials
at the Camp de Châlons. Hangars are to be built only on private land near the
field. Flying is not to interfere with troop exercises.
………………………………………………
25
September 1908, p.1.
Farman
is now at Mourmelon (Camp de Châlons), and is becoming a true countryman
[‘véritable campagnard’]. Those who like solitude would find Mourmelon-le-Grand
meets their desires. For aviation the great plain from there to Bouy is ideal.
In a corner of this space Farman has built a hangar.
Gabriel
Voisin came to supervise the assembly of the aeroplane; it was finished today.
Farman
has approached the AéroClub de France for its attendance for three days (next
Saturday, Sunday, and Monday), when he plans to compete for the Archdeacon cup
(now held by Delagrange), and for prizes from the commission of the AéroClub
and from Michelin (held by Wilbur Wright for 39 kilometres).
…………………………………………….
26
September 1908, p.1.
[report
from Mourmelon, 25 September]
A
constant stream of officers today visited Farman’s hangar – the number of
officers at the Camp de Châlons is astonishing. Local people also came to look.
The aeroplane is now ready. Farman has fitted a 75 litre fuel tank. Reference
is often made to the care taken by Wilbur Wright. But Farman is the same (as is
his mechanic, the excellent Maurice Herbster). This morning they used a scale
to weigh the valves of the motor, to see if the springs worked well. Fittings
[‘ajustages’] were cleaned on the ‘crin de cheval’ [horsehair??]. The fuel was
twice filtered. The cooling water is distilled.
Last
night a wild boar appeared.
…………………………………………….
27
September 1908, p.3.
More
than 1,000 people appeared for Farman’s first flights [at Mourmelon] today
(military and civilian). Behaviour is bad, as at Issy. Boys run behind the
aircraft, and cavalry officers gallop alongside. Measures must be taken to
close off the field; If not, there will mayhem [‘grabuge’].
There
was steady rain today. Farman brought his machine out only during a break in
it, to make adjustment to the motor and aircraft. All is well.
Blériot
and Fournier, delegates from the AéroClub de France, arrived this morning to
oversee trials, rain permitting.
……………………………………………..
28
September 1908, p.1.
Farman
had trouble with his motor today. He flew 5 kilometres in 5 minutes, at 60-62
kph. Compare yesterday’s flight at 70-75 kph. There is some problem with the
water pump.
……………………………………………..
29
September 1908, p.?.
Farman
flew at sunset (5.38 p.m.) yesterday, after a day of strong wind (7-10
metres/second).
Gabriel
Voisin has brought a new propeller. Farman flew at 10-12 metres height at 65
kph, covering 37 kilometres in 40 minutes around a triangle of 3 kilometres
perimeter. There was frenetic applause at the end. The aircraft turned as if on
rails.
………………………………………………
Musée
de l’Air et de l’Espace, Le Bourget [hereafter MAELB], box ‘Avions 12’, folder
Voisin Farman No.1.
Contains
a photo of the Voisin No.1 bis in triplane form, with ailerons on the upper and
lower wings; and vertical panels enclosing the outer bay of each wing (two
panels per wing, at the tip and inboard). There is a bicycle on the ground in
front of the aircraft. Two men hold the tail; one man is behind the propeller,
one (probably Farman) at the controls. Typed on the back of the photo is
‘519 ROL. 27 September 1908. Triplan 1bis de Farman’. Stamped Louis VALLIN, 126
rue Victor-Hugo, Levallois.
The
engine on this aircraft looks like an Antoinette V8. Across the fuselage is
what looks like a radiator, above the rear of the engine – just forward of the
propeller.
In
the same place, the next photo to the preceding is marked 42525 in the bottom
left hand corner. This is a front, starboard ¾ view of the same machine,
showing the radiator more or less clearly, held between two uprights over the
motor. The aircraft still has control wheel. It also has ailerons (at least on
the lower wing), with long (2-3 feet) rods attached, two per aileron, at
rightangles near the aileron. These are presumably control horns to pull the
ailerons down in flight.
The
first picture (3/4 from the starboard rear) shows no similar rods or horns
attached to the top surfaces. Thus the ailerons could be pulled only down
(presumably from a level, streaming position in flight).
[The
date typed on this photo is almost certainly wrong. It may be from late
November, 1908. Farman makes no mention of the added third wing (about 2/3 of
the span of the biplane wing), or of ailerons in September 1908. Le Matin reports the addition of the third, top
wing on 27 November 1908].
………………………………………………
L’Aérophile, 15 October 1908, p. 420. ‘Splendides vols d’Henri Farman’. By Georges
Blanchet.
Farman
has continued trials at Mourmelon. His aircraft now has vertical panels between
the wings [outboard]. Gabriel Voisin is at Mourmelon with Farman. On 26, 27,
and 28 September Farman wanted to pursue the Michelin prize, the prize of the
Commission d’aviation, and the prize for height.
His
real debut at Châlons took place on 29 September. The flight did not start
until 5.45 p.m. – so close to sunset that there was no chance of taking from
Wilbur Wright his official record [the clock stops at sunset for flight times].
Farman nonetheless flew fourteen laps of a triangular course in 43 minutes. The
total distance flown was officially measured at 42 kilometres; but given the
size of the turns, it was in fact much longer.
Farman could thus
hope, on 30 September, to exceed the 48 kilometre distance flown by Wright
(which provisionally gives him the distance prize of the Commission
d’aviation). But a lubrication fault deprived him of this chance. He had to
stop a flight after 35 minutes 36 seconds, and eleven circuits of the
triangular course (covering 34 kilometres total). He nonetheless became the
holder on this day of the Coupe Ernest Archdeacon [awarded for what, not
stated].
…………………………………………….
2
October 1908, p. 1.
Farman’s
flight at Mourmelon was interrupted after 3 kilometres by a radiator leak. A
cloud of water caused by the propeller enveloped the tail. The water pump was
jammed.
………………………………………………
3
October 1908, p.1.
Farman’s
flight at Mourmelon was interrupted after 40 kilometres (in 44 minutes 32
seconds) by an unidentified engine problem. The flight was around a triangular
course. There were no obvious faults after landing.
Farman
says he will get another engine in Paris ‘that is not affected by heart
trouble’ [‘malade de coeur’].
………………………………………………
6
October 1908, p.5.
Farman
is waiting for a Vivinus motor, with which he will resume flying in ten days.
………………………………………………
8
October 1908, p.?
The
maker of Farman’s new motor says it will run for three hours without stopping.
Farman returns to Mourmelon today. The motor will be tested on the aircraft, on
the ground.
………………………………………………
Scientific American, 10 October 1908
p.240 Henry Farman flew, on 2 October, almost 40
kilometres, at almost 54 mph, ‘said to be the world’s record for speed’.
……………………………………………..
Lucien
Marchis et al, Vingt-cinq ans d’Aéronautique française, 2 vols., Chambre Syndicale
des Industries Aéronautiques, Paris 1934, p. 29.
On
20 October Farman flew 40 kilometres in 44 minutes 32 seconds.
………………………………………….
22
October 1908, p.2. (Thursday)
Farman
was to make trials today, and thus celebrate the 125th anniversary of the [balloon] ascents
by Pilâtre [de Rosier] and Durozier. But the engine was not fully adjusted.
Flying is postponed until next Saturday.
……………………………………………..
30
October 1908, p.1.
On
28 October, Farman flew away from the field across country at Châlons, almost
reaching Cuperly [12 kilometres from Châlons]. His speed was 65 kph, and his
height 40-45 metres. Farman then returned to the field [presumably at Châlons].
On his last trial [presumably not the cross country flight] he dived sharply
towards the ground from 30 metres, using his elevator, and then levelled out
easily to land.
[The
picture here of the aircraft in flight at Châlons shows vertical panels between
the wings, though it impossible to see if there are others inboard, or if there
are ailerons.]
………………………………………………
31
October 1908, p.1.
A
report on Farman’s cross-country flight from Bouy [his hangar site on the camp
de Châlons] to Reims. [This is nearly all excited froth, but with a clear sense
that this is the first cross-country flight]
[The
article makes it clear that the decision about this flight was made at the last
minute. It was not planned for that day. At about 4 p.m. Farman and Gabriel
Voisin, having noted the wind direction, decided that the flight was possible. Le Matin’s reporter and others
– though not Voisin, who stayed at Bouy – left before Farman in a ‘rapide auto’
provided by M. Hector Passega. Farman’s ‘sympathique mécanicien’, Maurice
Herbster, was with them in the car. They observed Farman en route in various
places.]
After
Farman landed, Gustave Voisin arrived [the car having apparently been sent back
for him]. There was much applause for both. Farman at first proposed to fly
back to Bouy, but the aircraft needed minor attention and dusk was falling. So
the aircraft was taken apart and sent back on a truck kindly lent by M. Cochet,
an ‘important industriel’ in Reims. The distance covered was 27 kilometres, in
20 minutes (4 to 4.20 p.m.)
[accompanying
this are ‘Mes impressions’ by Farman. Not much substance]:
A
quick pull on the elevator [‘coup d’équilibreur’] got him over some high
poplars [suggesting the power of the new Vivinus motor, compared to the
Antoinette?]
Farman
emphasizes the effects of winds and gusts on aircraft. These are still an
unknown. When they are well known, travel by aircraft will be child’s play
[‘jeu d’enfant’]. [The problem is apparently that winds lift and drop the
machine]. ‘For the first time… one can be impressed by the effects of wind.’
Farman
was not aware of his exact height. He was told 50 metres, which is possibly
true. The flight was the ‘greatest joy of my life’ [‘la plus belle joie de ma
vie’]. He had a sense of being above everyday life, in pure air, caressed by a
gentle breeze. [Question – why was this different from ballooning or dirigible
flight?]
…………………………………………….
From
MAELB dossier FARMAN, Henry, Perso F3. A 4 page typed report on Farman,
evidently written soon after his death, author unknown, undated. This quotes an
account by Farman of his flight from Bouy to Reims:
‘At
first I was somewhat moved … The departure for this first journey had impressed
me somewhat.
“What”,
I said to myself, “shall I do when I arrive at the large poplars that I can see
over there, in the direction of Mourmelon-le-Petit? All is going very well at
the moment. The ground is smooth [‘tout uni’] and nature is behaving in an
agreeable fashion.”
“But,
while I was in these thoughts, the poplars grew in a surprising way. The crows,
which were in a raucous assembly, were scared and scattered as I approached. Ah
– those thirty metre poplars! Should I pass them to the left or to the right?
My indecision was brief, because I was now at scarcely 50 metres from this
large and high bouquet. Good Lord – so much the worse! With a sharp pull on the
elevator, the machine rose quickly. It passed over the trees, although with a
troubled eye I looked to see if I had not brushed the tops. My tranquility did
not last long. Here is the Mourmelon mill and Mourmelon itself. Bah, I thought
to myself, we only die once! The mill, the village, the railway – I am over
them all. It was a critical moment in an exciting journey. You don’t fully
realize your height. I have been told that I was flying at fifty metres. That
is possibly so, because I climbed as high as possible so that the poplars would
not pluck me as I passed. I paid close attention to the direction the machine
was taking, to the sounds of the motor, whose misfirings worried me now and
again, and to the roaring of the propeller. But nonetheless I had, at that
moment, the keenest joy of my life: the charm of flying over my fellow
creatures, though the countryside passed by in strips. People came running from
everywhere; they seemed so small. At that moment I found myself in pure air,
caressed by a sweet breeze, and a clear and serene sun lit the way. That is my
greatest memory.”
………………………………………….
The
Automotor Journal, 7
November 1908, p. 1453, ‘Henry Farman to the front again’
Since Farman’s trip to the USA, which was ‘so very
unsatisfactory’ to him, little has been heard of him. But he has been at
Chalons for some time, preparing for future action. And he has now eclipsed the
‘wonderful performances’ of Wilbur Wright by flying from Chalons to Reims – 27
kilometres in 20 minutes, with altitude of up to 100 feet or more.
At first Farman intended to fly back to Chalons. But a
small engine fault led him to decide to return the aircraft by road, on a motor
wagon of Pommery’s. He telegraphed his father, simply ‘Have travelled from
Chalons to Reims without incident. Henry’. Farman now has other flights in
mind. The London to Manchester flight prize from the Daily Mail is now ‘within measurable distance’.
Farman’s cross country success, passing over villages
and populous districts, was a far greater accomplishment than going ‘through
evolutions, however clever they may be’ over a large, clear square of ground. Farman
cannot turn as well as the Wrights, but he can claim a new record with his
cross-country flight. It remains to be seen what Wilbur Wright will do to
‘eclipse the performance’.
Farman also entered for the High Flight Prize, and won
this on Saturday 31 October by flying over the 100 foot high balloons set out
for the purpose at Chalons.
On Wednesday last Farman flew for 40 kilometres at
about 36 kph; and in the evening made a 1.5-2 kilometre flight with M. Paul
Painlevé of the French Institute.
……………………………………..
The
Automotor Journal, 14
November 1908, p. 1498, ‘Farman’s Record and After’
French aviation supporters have decided to put up two
monuments to commemorate Farman’s Bouvy (Chalons) to Reims flight – one
monument to be placed at the start point and the other at his landing point
near Reims. Farman thinks his flight
‘hardly worthy of such a mark of honour’, But it seems that the monuments will
be installed. Farman, meanwhile, has been checking his machine at Chalons and
making testing flights of 15 minutes.
……………………………………..
L’Aérophile, 15 November 1908. Pp. 458-9. ‘Les merveilles de
l’aviation’
Farman has flown from Bouy to Reims. This is the first
cross country flight. The aircraft is the same one as won the
Deutsch-Archdeacon prize ten months ago, only slightly modified [no details
given].
In the morning of 28 October, Farman made a 40 km flight
[presumably circling the field at Mourmelon]. In the afternoon he took aboard
M. Painlevé, of the Académie des Sciences, and flew with him for two km. Then,
solo, he flew from his hangar to Cuperly and back. He ended this busy day with
a 5 km flight at 35-40 metres, landing after he had cut the motor at 30m.
To increase transverse stability, Farman had added
ailerons to his machine. He had also increased the capacity of the fuel tank to
75 litres, enough for three hours of flight.
On 29 October he made a flight of two minutes, stopped
by a leak in the fuel tank.
On 30 October, he flew cross country. The aircraft was
taken from the hangar at 3.40 p.m., and placed on the camp de Châlons to the
left of the central road. Farman took off at 3.50 p.m. in the direction of
Reims, with an ESE cross wind. He climbed to some 40 metres, a height necessary
to clear some poplars. At 4.07 p.m. he landed easily at Reims, on a field close
to the manoeuvering ground of the cavalry and also to the cellars of the
Pommery company.
The distance flown, straight line, was 27 km – and the
time 20 minutes, at a speed of 73 km/hour and an average height of 40 metres.
p. 459 Farman
considered flying back to Bouy. But some small adjustments needed making, and
dusk was falling. He decided to fly no more that day. The aircraft, disassembled, was placed on a
motor camion of the Pommery company,
and arrived at the hangar at 10 a.m. on 31 September. [sic] Farman, with the
help of Gabriel Voisin and his mechanic Herbster, immediately set about
reassembling the machine (scarcely stopping to have lunch).
That day Farman was due to compete for the altitude
prize of 2,500 francs. Controllers from the aviation commission, MM. Robert
Esnault-Pelterie and Ernest Zens were present, along with MM. Paul Tissandier,
André Fournier, Gabriel Voisin, and others. The rules for the prize stated that
there should be a line of balloons at 25 metres height, perpendicular to the
prevailing wind. But the necessary materials were lacking. So, to represent the
obstacle, there was fixed to the observatory of the experimental battery
[‘batterie d’expériences’] – a 10 metre pylon – a ladder with a pole on top to
which were fixed two small balloons. At 4.15 p.m. Farman brought out his
machine after a brief stop near the Roman road, and at 4.30 easily passed over
the obstacle. The sun set a few minutes later, at 4.40 p.m.
The true height of the obstacle, measured by General
Jourde, was 23.3 metres instead of 25 metres. The Commission will therefore
have to decide if Farman can be granted the prize. He has, in any case, flown
higher than 25 metres many times.
Farman will continue preparing to compete for the
Michelin 1908 prize, for the greatest distance flown before 31 December of the
year.
………………………………………….
1
November 1908, p.2.
Farman
wins a prize on 31 October for a height of 25 metres – 2,500 francs from the
Auto Club de France. The height was set by a small tower with balloons
attached. The observers were MM. Zens, Tissandier, Esnault-Pelterie, and
Fournier. Farman made two ‘vast circles’ to reach the height, and then cleared
it by 5 metres. The Le Matin reporter makes it clear that Farman
has flown higher, and that 25 metres is commonplace for him now.
What
was more impressive was the return of the disassembled aircraft from Reims
after the cross-country flight [of 30/31 October]. The ‘grande cellule’
[biplane wing] was placed on a standard truck [‘camion ordinaire’], while the
tail and fuselage [sic in French]
were towed along the road by a heavy automobile, lent by M. Auroy of Reims. The
aircraft is quick to disassemble and re-assemble – ‘remontage quasi
instantané’, indeed.
[6
November 1908, p.2.: Le Matin notes that Farman has been denied the
prize for this flight because the tower was found to be only 23.5 metres high].
…………………………………………..
Scientific American, 10 October 1908
p.
240 ‘Aeronautics at home and abroad’
On
2 October Farman flew 40 kilometres
(about 24 miles) at almost 54 mph – ‘said to be the world’s record for speed’.
On
28 September 1908 Wilbur Wright flew for 1 hour 7 minutes 11 4/5 seconds,
covering 32-36 miles. On 29 September he flew twice with a passenger (for 11
minutes 36 2/5 seconds, and 6 minutes 15 seconds). The ‘large gold medal’ of
the AéroClub de France has been given to the Wrights.
Orville
Wright’s time for delivering a military aircraft to the US government is
extended to 28 Juan 1909.
The
Aeronautic Society [USA] has decided to hold a competition on 3 November
(election day). Octave Chanue offers two prizes, of $50 and $30, for the best
gliding performances.
[The
general impression is that the Scientific
American was more impressed by ‘foreign’ aviation before Henry Farman’s
visit to the USA and Wilbur Wright’s flights in France (in August 1908). After
then the magazine’s attention is to the Wright brothers, with little notice
taken of other fliers (except dirigibles in Germany)].
……………………………………………
11
November 1908, p.5.
Farman
spoke yesterday at a meeting of the Groupe de la Locomotion Aérienne with
members of the Ligue Nationale Aérienne [presumably in Paris]. He said
that all that was needed for aviation to become an industry is lighter motors.
The aircraft themselves are ready [‘au point’]. With the right motors they
could well serve national defence.
………………………………………….
Scientific American, 21 November 1908
p.
350 ‘A new era in aeroplane transport’
‘After
his failure to make satisfactory flights in this country last summer, and after
losing to Wilbur Wright the prize of the French Aero Club for the longest
flight up to October 1, Henry Farman has at last shown himself to be, after
all, one of the world’s most daring aviators, while at the same time he has
opened a new era in aeroplane flight, an era in which the flying machine will
be put to practical use in the transport of individuals from place to place.’
These were followed, on 30 October, by his
flight from Châlons to the outskirts of Reims (17 miles at c. 100 feet, in 20
minutes). [The frontispiece of this issue of the Scientific American shows Farman over a house and church during
this flight (apparently an actual photograph)].
Then
on 31 October, Louis Blériot made a 9 mile flight across country from Toury to
Artenay, and back, after a short stop. This was in a monoplane. [There is a
photograph on p. 357 of a Blériot 8-ter {third version}, with tip ailerons. The
tailplane is double, with one surface below the fuselage just forward of the
rudder, and another above the fuselage several feet forward of the rudder.]
These
two ‘remarkable performances’ put France ‘in the lead’ in ‘practised
cross-country flight’. They show the possibilities of there being a winner of
the $50,000 prize offered for a London-Manchester flight; and also of the
$10,000 prizes being won for a crossing of the English Channel. They also
‘assure’ the holding of a cross-country race in France in the summer of 1909
(e.g. Paris to Bordeaux, with a $20,000 prize from the AéroClub of France).
But
for his accident, it is likely that Orville Wright would have made a
cross-country flight before Farman, by a month, since the government [of the
USA] required a ten mile trip. The syndicate dealing with Wilbur Wright in
France required no cross-country demonstration. Therefore Wright flew only over
one field. [He also commented on Farman’s cross country flight to Reims that
such flights were still too dangerous.]
………………………………………….
23
November 1908, p.5.
Farman
is still calmly continuing his experiments, and is probably going to transform
his aircraft into a triplane, reducing the total span by 7 to 10 meters [more
likely, from 10 to 7 metres]. Farman is still in pursuit of a lighter motor. In
1909 he will resume cross-country flights.
…………………………………………..
25
November 1908, p.1.
Farman
will today reduce the span of his biplane to 7 metres, in the hope of getting
higher speed with the same stability. Yesterday he flew at Châlons in a strong
and gusty wind (of 6-14 metres per second).
He
found himself lifted, by gusts, 15-20 metres, and then dropped again, in a
series of oscillations. He flew turns in the wind. Downwind his ground speed
was 90 kph, but, into the wind, at times 0 kph. He found that the aircraft
would hover over a point on the ground without control input. Farman said he
was happy to have learned how to ‘glide in the gusts’ [‘planer dans la
rafale’], which he had not previously done.
…………………………………………..
27
November 1908, p.4.
The
aircraft is now in triplane form, with the biplane wing reduced in length. It
has flown. A sudden failure of the motor, because of a short circuit in
the batteries, caused the aircraft to drop hard from 5 metres, breaking some
wooden longerons. These were immediately repaired, and a trial made at night.
[It is unclear whether this accident happened before or after the aircraft
became a triplane].
………………………………………….
29
November 1908, p.5.
Farman
continued his series of ‘very scientific experiments’ yesterday with his
machine. He had changed it by removing the third upper plane and shortening the
lower wings, ending up with ¾ of a cellule with a surface of 40 square
metres. The aircraft, clearly less stable than before, flew at 80 kph. By
reducing the size of the rear ‘cellule’, Farman thinks that in calm conditions,
and using the elevator [‘gouverneur de profondeur’] and ailerons, he will be
able to break records.
The
third plane, the form of which has been modified, will be fitted [re-fitted?]
to the aircraft tomorrow. After trials, Farman will come to Paris in search of
a motor.
[It
seems that Farman added the upper wing, then removed it and shortened the
existing biplane wing, and then re-added the third wing.]
…………………………………………
L’Aérophile, December 1908, p. 507. ‘L’Aviation en France. Henri
Farman en triplan’
The
rain having stopped, Farman on 24 November 1908 restarted his trials of his now
triplane aircraft. In the morning he performed several remarkable flights in a
strong wind (of 6-14 metres/second). Sudden gusts lifted the machine 15-20
metres, and then it fell again until the next gust arrived. Farman described
his movement as a series of oscillations, like those of a forward moving
elevator.
Farman
also did turns. With the wind astern he reached 90 kph; into wind the machine
sometimes did not advance at all. Towards the end of his trials, he let the
aircraft remain in a perfectly stable condition [into wind?]. He used only the
rudder, to turn.
26
November – a circular flight of 9 kilometres around 4 p.m.
28
November – Farman did odd experiments. He had taken off the third wing, and
reduced the span of the lower wing to 7 metres; the upper wing remained at 12
metres span. The lifting surface was thus reduced to 40 square metres. The
aircraft in this state seemed less stable. But Farman thinks that if the
[forward] elevator and tail are reduced in size the aircraft could beat
records.
1-2
December – continued trials of the aircraft in triplane form, with 7 metres
span. He flew easily. The aircraft is stable and easy to steer. Farman thinks
he can carry 70 litres of fuel.
3
December – Farman hoped for a long duration trial, but fog prevented it. He
almost went into the small wood that is in the centre of his terrain.
………………………………………..
3
December 1908, p.5.
Farman
continues trials of his triplane. On 1-2 December he flew the aircraft (now a 7
metre span triplane) with ease. The machine is stable and steers easily. Farman
believes he can carry 70 litres of fuel. He hoped on 2 December to make an
endurance trial, but fog intervened.
………………………………………..
13
December 1908, p.5.
The
triplane is now ready. It has ailerons of 8 square metres surface. The rear rudder
has been removed. Steering will be obtained by using ailerons and ‘other
surfaces placed at the stabilizing cell’ [presumably the tail]. Farman is
waiting only for better weather to attempt the Coupe Michelin. He will soon
have a Renault motor of 50 hp, geared down to 900 rpm. The propeller will have
a diameter of 2.8 metres.
…………………………………………
Monday
15 December 1908, p.5.
Farman has
flown at Châlons, using a brief period of calm [though there was a strong wind
– perhaps the implication of the report is that it was not raining?], and flew
9-10 kilometres. Weather permitting, he will continue today with the triplane,
though with the top surface ‘slightly advanced’ [légèrement avancé].
………………………………………..
19
December 1908, The Automotor Journal,
pp. 1666-1667, 1696-1697. F.W. Lanchester, ‘The Wright and Voisin Types of
Flying Machines’
[This
– originally a lecture – contains much detailed information. Only information
and argument not found in other sources is included in these notes]
Lanchester
has observed both Wright and Farman flying in France, near Le Mans and at
Mourmelon le Grand.
The
Wright machine: The machine can trace
its ancestry back to Lilienthal. According to Gustave Lilienthal (brother of
Otto) two Lilienthal machines were sent to the USA – one to Octave Chanute and
the other to Augustus Herring. The machine was improved by Chanute and the
Wrights; and the Wrights finally added a petrol [gasoline] motor to produce the
first man-bearing machine driven by its own motive power.
[Measurement
of the current Wright machine follow here] ‘Ordinary’ maximum velocity is 64
kph (58 ft/sec). Aspect ratio of the wing is 6.2. The forward small fins,
half-moon in shape, are fixed. The propellers have a diameter of 8 feet 6
inches (2.6 metres), and an estimated effective pitch of 9-9.5 feet. The
propellers are 11 feet (3.5 metres) apart. The number of teeth on the driving
pinions (counted by the author) gives a gear ratio of 10:33.
The
diameter of the cylinders in the four cylinder motor is 106-108 mm, and the
stroke is 1—102 mm. Motor total weight is given as 200 lbs (90 kg) and power as
24 hp at 1,200 rpm. Another source gives 34 hp at 1,400 rpm. Wright told
Lanchester that he could fly with 15-16 hp, and that he had normally a power
reserve of 40%. The gliding angle of the machine is about 7 degrees.
The
Voisin machine: The Voisins are still
largely unknown, despite the achievements of Farman and Delagrange with their
machines. The Voisin design derives directly from the large ‘cellular kites’
that G. Voisin built for Archdeacon in 1904, which were towed over the Seine.
Voisin sued data from those machines to build his current aircraft. Colliex,
the Voisins’ engineer or work manager, is largely responsible for their
designs. The Voisins say that they base their work on Lilienthal, Langley and
others. But at the same time they take little for granted. They have an
‘artificial wind’ apparatus that they use on models before settling on a
design.
To
date they have built about five machines of the Farman/Delagrange type, and
four machines with ‘three superposed members’.
Only the former have flown.
Lanchester
has spoken with the Farmans. Farman made flights before Delagrange mostly
because he had made in advance ‘appropriate arrangements’ for trials on the
Issy field – which Delagrange did not do. The Delagrange machine also went
through some early changes, such as the fitting of swiveling main wheels to
accommodate slight cross winds on take off or landing.
With
pilot aboard, the Faramn aircraft weighs 1,540 lbs (700 kg), and has 535 square
feet of supporting surface (this includes the tail, which contributes to lift).
The ordinary maximum velocity is 45 mph, or 72 kph.
Various
vertical surfaces contribute to controlling direction of flight and give
lateral stability. These have a total area of some 255 square feet. The wings
are 10 x 2 metres (aspect ratio of 5); the aspect ratio of the tail is 1.25; it
is almost square. The propeller is of 7ft 6 in diameter (2.3 metres), with an
effective pitch of 3 ft. (the actual pitch being much higher, but there is much
‘slip’). The motor is an 8 cylinder Antoinette of 4.35 ins.cylinder diameter by
4.15 ins. stroke. It is said to give 49 bhp at 1100 rpm. Its weight is given as
265 lbs (120 kg). The gliding angle of the machine was originally 1:5, or 11
degrees; but reductions in resistance [drag] by rounding off and covering in
‘to form stream-line sections’ has improved the ratio to between 1:6 and 1:7,
or roughly 9 degrees.
[note
1 on this page: The Voisins guarantee their machines will fly. The buyer makes
a deposit and pays the balance when the machine has flown. Delagrange and
Farman had nothing to do with the design of their machines – no more than the
buyer of a car has with its manufacturer.]
[note
2: Lanchester is informed that triplane machines, such as the Goupy 1, do not
perform as well as the Farman type of machine. This may be the outcome of
little experience with triplanes. Lanchester thinks that the three wings are
too close to each other for maximum efficiency. The position of the propeller [in the nose] ‘is not one conducive
to the best efficiency’, and the placing
of the propeller in the nose ‘may materially add to body resistance’.
p.
1667 ‘Comparison of the two machines’
The
Wright machine is 40% lighter than the Voisin. Since both can carry two people,
it could be thought that the Wright machine has an advantage, or even more
scientific design. But a major difference between the machines is that the
Voisin has a ‘chassis’, carrying a wheeled undercarriage. The wheels swivel
freely, and the front wheel are sprung (to absorb shocks from the ground). The
Wright machine has only runners.
The
chassis on the Voisin probably increases its weight to 60-70 lbs more than the
Wright aircraft. The total inert load carried by the two aircraft (the pilot
and sundries) is about 200 lbs. The total weight of the machine should be
proportional to the inert weight it has to lift – i.e. in the ratio of 200 to
270 lbs – thus the greater weight of the Voisin is in large part explained. The
Voisin machine can take off from any ‘reasonably smooth surface’. The Wright
aircraft needs a launching gear. Hence it is not legitimate to attribute its
relative lightness to superiority of design. [On very smooth ground the Wright
aircraft could take off on its skids – as Wilbur Wright is reported to have
done in Italy in 1909. But otherwise it required at least a take off rail.]
Horse-power:
The
author has shown that ‘for equal perfection of design the resistance to flight
of two machines of equal weight is approximately independent of the velocity of
flight, consequently the horse -power will vary directly as the velocity of
flight, and the Voisin machine is entitled to more power both on account of its
greater weight and … its greater velocity.’ The Voisin’s velocity seems to be
10% higher than the Wrights’, which is roughly in accordance with known
figures.
Figures
for power are not reliable. Power is expressed in ‘a rather elastic manner’.
Estimating, however, by cylinder dimensions and rpm, and assuming a ‘mean
pressure’ of 72 lbs/square inch ‘as appearing at the brake’, the comparison is
thus:
Wright 4.25” bore 4”
stroke 1,200 rpm
24.7 bhp
Voisin/Antoinette 4.35” bore 4.15” stroke 1,100 rpm
49.2 bhp
‘which
agree remarkably well with declared h.p. in both cases’.
Lanchester
thinks that engine revolutions are understated for ordinary flight. The bhp
supplied to the Voisin machine is almost exactly double that supplied to the
Wrights’. The actual bhp of the Voisin machine is 49.2 – an excess of some 28%
-- which must be seen as an excess of power (which is shown by how fast the
machine can gain altitude), or represents loss of efficiency in propulsion or
sustentation. Both machines seem to have 10-20% surplus power (Wright says
more, but his machine does not seem to show it).
[There
follows discussion of the efficiency of propellers on the two machines. This
involces calculations of ‘effective pitch’ – calculated as 3.6 feet for the
Voisin machine, and 9.6 feet for the Wrights’. Efficiency of propulsion is
calculated as 0.54 for the Voisin, 0.63 for the Wright.]
The
following table shows several figures for each motor, pre revolution, on the
basis of 72 lbs per square inch of mean pressure.
Foot lbs per
rev feet travelled per rev efficiency lbs thrust weight
Wright 708 2.9 .63 155 1,300
Voisin 1,550 3.6 .54 230 1,720
[Col.
2 gives feet travelled by the machine.
Col. 3 is the efficiency of propulsion.
Col. 4 thrust in lbs.
Col.
5 shows the weights of the machines
‘augmented by an amount that would absorb the whole thrust in horizontal
flight, that is the maximum weight that can be sustained in flight’.]
p.
1696
The
Voisin machine seems ‘considerably less efficient in its screw propeller (a tax
paid for the constructional advantage of a direct drive) ‘, and also slightly
less efficient as a glider – its gliding angle is not quite as good as the
Wrights’. ‘The machine aerodynamically
less efficient.’ There are many possible causes of this: a lesser aspect ratio;
a relatively larger ‘idle surface’ subject to skin friction; and the fact that
the tail surfaces act on air that has already been “trodden” by the aerofoil.’
[There
follows discussion of ‘skin friction’ for the two aircraft, with estimates as
close as Lanchester can make].
Wright
believes skin friction on his aircraft to be negligible. Lanchester does not
agree. It is ‘qite certain’ that the gliding angles of the two machines are
between 1:6 and 1:8 – and nowhere near the 1:12 given in a recent paper.
‘On
the whole the advantage certainly rests with the Wright machine from the
aerodynamic standpoint.’
Stability
and control:
Longitudinal
stability – Wilbur Wright says that
stability depends entirely on the skill of the pilot. Wright does not agree
that safety can come from the inherent stability of a machine; a ‘fatal puff’
will eventually a flight.
Lanchester
agrees that Wright relies entirely on his piloting skills. The layout of the
aircraft ensures that when it pitches up or down, the change of pressure on the
forward elevator will exaggerate the initial movement and make the machine turn
over. The aircraft is like an arrow travelling feather first. Thus Wright pays
constant attention to pitch; the machine is designed for ‘hand-controlled
equilibrium’.
The
Voisin machine, on the other hand, is made to be ‘automatically and inherently
stable’, and indeed is so to a very large degree. The aircraft is automatically
stable [in pitch] if 1. Pressure on the tail per square foot is less than on the main aerofoil 2. ‘if the
areas and disposition of the surfaces, the amount of inertia, the velocity of
flight, and the natural gliding angle, are related to comply with the equation of stability so that any
oscillation in the vertical plane of flight will not tend to an increase in
amplitude.’ It cannot be said if this is
the case, because the provision of the forward elevator enables the pilot to
correct from deviation from level flight. From Lanchester’s observations of the
machine in flight, he considers that in reality it is just a much
hand-controlled as the Wright machine. With a beginner, the aircraft would
oscillate [horizontally], but ‘would take care of the aeronaut to some extent’.
In the beginnings of Farman’s and Delagrange’s flying, observers saw a ‘fugoid
oscillation’; whereas Lanchester, observing Farman recently, saw none – and the
day was breezy.
M.
Colliex, Farman’s engineer, says that the flight path of the aircraft is stable
because: 1. A tenth scale model showed
itself to be stable in gliding flight. 2. A machine flown by Delagrange glided
smoothly down from 8 metres after ignition cut.
p.
1697
Lanchester
objects that the distance glided from 8 metres would be roughly 55 metres, or
only a quarter of a phase length. A true demonstration would require gliding
down from some 150 metres height, allowing four or five free oscillations, with
the phase length being some 600 feet. Thus there is no proof of the horizontal
stability of the Voisin machine; although the builders intend it to be so.
Lateral
stability -- In the Wright machine, lateral stability is
directly controlled by the pilot through wing warping. When warped, the wings
meet the oncoming air at different angles of incidence; this gives ‘any desired
turning moment about the axis of flight’. This mechanism is used to counteract
the effects of wind gusts, and to correct the position of the machine if it
acquires an ‘undesirable list’. Warping is also used to prevent the machine
from ‘canting’ too much when turning. To facilitate this, the control of
warping and of the rudders in the tail is on one lever – movement to the side
producing warping, and back and forth movement altering the rudder position. It
is wrong to think that warping is used to give the wing cant [bank] required
for turns. This is not so. When the rudder is moved to one side, the machine
cants because one wing then moves faster through the air than the other, and
produces more lift. This cant can become severe is not unchecked – which
warping does. Warping is used to
increase the angle of incidence on the inner wing, and thus resist the
excess lift from the outer, faster-moving, wing. [An interesting understanding
of a turn, with the rudder in the tail taking precedence in producing it. What
is not considered is that a banked wing produces a lateral force, needed for
anything but a long, shallow turn. Wilbur Wright impressed observers in France
by the sharpness of his turning, which was the result of lateral force produced
by the banked wing. Once the wing was banked, ‘opposite’ warping might be
required to prevent overbanking, just as ‘opposite’ aileron is used for that same
purpose.]
The
Voisin machine is steered by a vertical rudder in the tail. There is no control
of lateral stability. Farman’s turns are therefore ‘leisurely’ – whereas Wright
can be seen turning sharply, with bank angles of almost 30 degrees and a turn
radius of 60-70 yards.
Farman
has recently fitted his machine with ‘adjustable flaps’, giving the same
‘wing-twist’ effect as Wright’s warping. ‘Presumably this is to facilitate
turning, for the flight of the machine does not suggest that they are otherwise
wanted.’ [It is interesting to see
Lanchester uninformed about ailerons – which Farman fitted to his aircraft late
in 1908. He (Lanchester), though one of the foremost thinkers about
aerodynamics of his time, has still not grasped the basic fact that it is
banked wing that produces turn – although the example of the Wright flyer would
seem to have made this blindingly clear.]
In
a comparison of the two machines, from the ‘aerodonetic’ viewpoint, the Voisin
machine has the advantage. It has more of what will be embodied in future
flying machines. Wright is correct is saying that a puff of wind can upset an
aircraft dependent on inbuilt stability. But the same is true of hand
controlled aircraft – since control has limits, and the human may fail. ‘The
fact is that the secret of stability is contained in the one word velocity, and until it is possible to
attain higher speeds of flight, we cannot hope to see the flying machine in
everyday use.’
Construction:
The
Wright machine is ‘astonishing in its simplicity’. It is almost surprising that
it holds together. The Voisin machine has at least ‘some pretensions to be
considered an engineering job’. But the Wright machine continues to fly from
day to day without falling apart, or showing signs of weakness. It has an
‘aggressive simplicity of constructional detail’.
The
Voisin’s direct propeller mount to the engine is ‘immeasurably superior’, from
a mechanical viewpoint, to the Wrights’ use of chain drive and wooden
propellers. But the Voisins’ arrangement of engine and propeller brings about a
loss of some 15% of transmitted horsepower [this is not explained – it may be
that Lanchester considers that the propeller on the Voisin machine turns too
fast for efficiency]. The use of gearing [i.e. reduction of engine revolutions
in the chain drive] allows better proportions of propeller to be used by the
Wrights. Future aircraft may have central, but geared, propellers. Or the
simplicity of direct drive may outweigh gearing altogether.
Lanchester
considers the Wrights’ arrangement of propellers dangerous. If one propeller
stops, because a chain breaks or from some other cause, the whole power of the
engine is transferred to the other propeller – resulting in a ‘torque about a
vertical axis that must be overwhelming.’ If one propeller stops turning, the
motor must be immediately stopped also. The risk from unequal thrust from the
propellers is great. Whether wing warping can overcome that danger is unknown.
A recent press report states that a drive chain did break in flight, at an
aircraft altitude of 4-5 metres. W. Wright landed safely from that height.
……………………………………….
Sunday
20 December 1908, p.5.
Farman
hoped to try for the Coupe Michelin today, but the aircraft is not ready. He
has only just received his new 58 hp motor. The weather was also poor. Farman
has also returned the airplane to biplane form; the triplane trials were
mediocre [‘quelconques’]. He will therefore challenge Wilbur Wright’s records
with the same aircraft as was flown from Bouy to Reims, probably after next
Wednesday. Official delegates of the AéroClub de France who had gone to Châlons
to witness the attempt (Tissandier, Zens, Fournier) returned to Paris. Farman
is using the 2.8 meter propeller at 900 rpm.
…………………………………………
23
December 1908, p.5.
Farman’s
aircraft has been returned to its triplane state, and the new motor fitted. It
is now being checked over. Farman intends to compete for the Coupe Michelin
tomorrow afternoon.
………………………………………..
24
December 1908, p.4.
The
new motor is not yet in service. The fan that cools the cylinders rattled
[‘claqua’]. Repairs are due this week.
……………………………………….
25
December 1908, p.5.
The
fan failure explained: Farman had ordered a smaller fan [‘refroidisseur’] than
the one usually fitted to the motor. This fan was delivered fast, without
trial. But at Châlons the blades of the fan twisted under load, giving no
cooling, and making the motor unusable. All will be corrected in the evening.
……………………………………….
Scientific American, 26 December 1908
p.
468 ‘Farman’s experiments with his
triple-surface aeroplane’
Henry
Farman has added a third wing surface to his airplane, which enable it to lift
‘considerably more weight’. The new top plane is 2/3 the length of the other
two.
He
has also lengthened the top surface of his box tail.
Farman
made two brief demonstration flights of his aircraft with the third wing at
dusk on 21 December. This was at his ‘experimental ground’ at Bouy, near Reims.
Various senators and members of the National Aero League [what is this?] had
come to see the flights, which strong wind prevented before dusk. The two
flights were of 2-4 minutes, around the field. Farman had fitted automobile
acetylene lights to the aircraft. The ‘effect of the machine flying at night is
said to have been very weird’.
On
24 November the wind allowed Farman to make demonstration flights, though the
wind had an average speed of 21 ¾ mph. Farman nonetheless flew successfully.
‘Sudden puffs’ raised and lowered the machine from 45 to 60 feet. These were
‘very curious oscillations’. Farman had to fly ‘quite high’ to make turns.
Downwind he flew at about 55 mph, but was almost still [over the ground] going
upwind. The aircraft showed such marked improvement in stability when flying in
a strong wind [when carrying the third wing] that Farman, although he
found in a subsequent test on 28
November that the machine was much faster with only two wings, nevertheless
decided to return to the use of three.
……………………………………………
29
December 1908, p.5.é
Preparation
of the motor continues. The maker of the motor [unspecified] has gone to
Mourmelon to help.
………………………………………
31
December 1908, p.?
Yesterday,
despite Siberian temperatures, Farman flew a few circles.
……………………………………..
1
January 1909, p.2.
Farman
and Moore-Brabazon are at Châlons. Wilbur Wright’s record could not be equaled,
in part because of minus 10c temperature. Farman could not carry the 70 litres
of fuel needed for the 2 hour flight.
Moore-Brabazon’s
fuel tank burst [‘éclata’], injuring the mechanic, Christian (removing an ear).
……………………………………..
MAELB
L’Aérophile, 1 January 1909, p. 13
Photo
(3/4 rear view with bike in foreground) of the Farman 1 bis triplane with
ailerons. The text notes that the ailerons serve for transverse stability and
for turns. It also says that the rear rudder ‘had even been suppressed’, but it
is impossible to see that in this picture.
………………………………………
9
January 1909, p.5.
Farman
is in Paris, looking for a new motor.
…………………………………….
16
January 1909, p.5.
Farman
will soon receive a new biplane, with wings further apart than on the Voisin
1bis, and with the elevator further forward.
…………………………………….
27
January 1909, p.5.
Farman
is passing through Paris. He will return to Châlons to put his aircraft, which
he has recently sold, into good condition. Legagneux will probably manage
[‘manier’] the sale. The new aircraft that Farman will fly has two propellers.
……………………………………
7 February
1909, p.5.
Farman
is currently studying a new biplane, with wing warping [‘gauchissement’],
elevators [‘gouvernails de profondeur’], and a steering rudder [‘gouvernail de
direction’] in the tail. The aircraft is also to have a stabilizing cell [‘cellule
de stabilisation’] and a rotary engine. Assembly will probably take place in 10
days, and trials will start at Châlons in late February. [The stabilizing cell
is puzzling; perhaps it was to be in the nose of the aircraft.]
……………………………………
15
February 1909, p.4.
Farman’s
aircraft is still at Mourmelon. It has been sold to an Austrian syndicate, and
will be flown by Legagneux, who piloted Ferber’s airplane several months ago.
The first lesson for Legagneux in flying Farman’s machine was yesterday at Châlons.
The first flight was of 2 kilometres, and the second, of 5. ‘For a beginner, a
pretty result!’
……………………………………
15
February 1909, L’Aérophile, p. 86
Farman
sold his 1908 Voisin aircraft to an Austrian group, who will use it in Vienna
to give public demonstrations. The aircraft will be handled [‘conduit’] by
Legagneux, a former pilot of the Ferber IX.
Farman
has ordered from the Voisin brothers a new biplane very similar to the Voisin 1
of 1908, but with larger inter-plane spacing (2 metres rather than 1.5 metres),
and an elevator further forward, to give greater effectiveness. There will
possibly be ailerons and a rear cell that can be twisted [that is
‘gauchissable’]. If it has that cell, the rudder will be eliminated. In
addition, Farman himself wishes to build a different aircraft, without a
forward elevator, with a wing [‘cellule principale’] that can be twisted, and
with a rear cell that can be moved in all directions [similar to
Santos-Dumont’s on the Demoiselle? ]
[What
became of the plane Farman ordered from the Voisins is unclear. It is likely
that he never received it. They could easily have sold it to someone else.]
…………………………………….
2
April 1909, p.5.
One
of Farman’s new aircraft is now at Châlons. In a new hangar that Farman has built
there, he will assemble the machine, which will be tested in 15 days.
…………………………………..
National
Air and Space Museum (USA), Garber Archive, William J. Hammer Collection, Acc.
xxxx-004, Box 1, folder 7. Pencilled mark xii-3
Paris,
2 April 1909, Farman to William J. Hammond [letter in English]
para.
1 About ‘the benefit of my contract with
the Syndicate’ [in New York?]
para
2. Farman will be glad to see Mr. Motteley if he comes to New York, ‘although I
spend most of [my] time at Chalons just now. I am very busy with my machines as
I have sold several and dates of delivery are coming rapidly. The machine with
which I went to New York is sold to a “Syndicat Viennois”. I have studied a
small machine on which I have very great hopes and with which I will try
different motors. I am glad the photos I sent were found satisfactory and will
send you some others if any interesting ones come out. My brother Maurice is
trying a biplan [sic] also very similar to my original one, but so far the
weather has not permitted any interesting flights.’
para
3 He wishes Hammer all success with the Aeronautical Society.
p.s.
‘kindly present my compliments to Mr. Edison when you see him.’
[This
letter shows that Farman can write quite good English. It is not clear what the
Syndicate in New York is (possibly the organization that set up his visit to
the USA in August 1908?]
…………………………………
18
April 1909, p.5.
Earlier
reports are that Farman’s new machine had done flights of 100-500 metres.
Farman says he is very satisfied with the stability of the new aircraft. Its
wings are spaced wider than on the Voisin 1b, and the depth control is more
sensitive, being placed further forward.
…………………………………..
21
April 1909, p.4.
Farman
continues trials at Châlons. Yesterday he flew 1 kilometre. The aircraft sits
on both skids and ‘roulettes’ [presumably wheels]. Contrary to appearance,
these wheels do not retract after take off. Farman hopes soon to eliminate the
wheels, and take off from the skids alone.
[In
this same column is a report on a Voisin biplane now at Châlons owned by the
Baron de Carters, a Belgian. This has a 60 hp Gobron engine, placed as an X in
the fuselage.]
…………………………………..
23
April 1909, p.5.
Farman
continues trials at Châlons, in straight lines at 4-5 meters height. Three
aircraft are now at Châlons: Farman’s, de Cater’s Voisin, and an Antoinette
{belonging to Welferinger?]
Farman’s
old aircraft, sold to Austrians, flew yesterday in Vienna, piloted by
Legagneux. The flight was of 200 metres, but the aircraft hit the ground on its
right side and was badly damaged.
…………………………………..
26
April 1909, p.5.
Farman
flew a circuit [tour] of the ‘aérodrome’ [note the use of the term] of Bouy, of
3 kilometres; and then did some straight flights.
…………………………………...
27
April 1909, p.5.
Farman
has increased the pitch of his wooden propeller [not explained how – did he get
a new one?], with the effect that the machine lifts more quickly. It flew
several hundred metres straight, and then turned between the hangar and a small
wood.
…………………………………..
Lucien
Marchis et al, Vingt-cinq ans d’Aéronautique française, 2 vols., Chambre Syndicale
des Industries Aéronautiques, Paris 1934, p. 30-32
On
27 April 1909 Farman flew at Châlons his new biplane aircraft, making several
straight line flights and one circular 3 kilometre flight.
This
was the new aircraft designed by Farman. His machines were no longer being
built by the Voisin brothers, but in a workshop he had set up at Châlons. To
this aircraft he applied all the principles now [1934] used: detached ailerons
in the wings, a tailplane consisting of a fixed surface to which is attached an
elevator, the fin consisting of a fixed vertical surface, with a moving surface
attached to it.
[The
photograph of the Farman machine on p. 31 shows a rotary engine on the aircraft
{in fact a Gnôme motor} and a control column.]
Farman
also fitted a skid (’patingue’] to the nose [to avoid pitching forward], as was
later used on all WW1 bombers.
The
elevator was placed in the tail, though a forward plane was retained. Farman
also introduced landing gear attached with bungee cords, independent[ly
rotating?] wheels, and a braced skid [‘patinage haubané’]. A control column
[‘manche à balai’] operated ailerons and elevator. A rudder bar (or pedals)
[‘palonnier’] was also used.
Dimensions
of Farman’s new aircraft: span, 12
metres; chord, 2 metres; wing separation, 2 metres; surface area, 50 square
metres; tail cell dimensions – span 4 metres, chord 2 metres; propeller
diameter, 2.1 metres; weight (aircraft alone), 320 kilograms. The motor is a
Vineus machine, giving 35 hp at 1,000 rpm [though Farman’s machine was fitted
with a Gnôme motor].
………………………………….
7 May 1909, p.5.
‘Le
nouveau biplane Henry Farman’: span, 8 metres, profondeur 5.5 metres [Length?
It is hard to imagine the aircraft was c. 17 feet high]. The rear cell is 2
metres deep [chord] and 3 metres wide [span]. It contains the elevator
[‘gouvernail de profondeur’] and acts as a rudder [‘gouvernail de direction’].
At the tips of the two planes of the central cell are two surfaces ‘the
twisting of which should assure lateral stability.’ [Ailerons, apparently.] In
front [i.e. not in the tail, presumably] is a rotary motor giving 45 hp, with a
propeller of 2.1 metres diameter and 1.5 metres pitch. The weight is 390 kilos
[could possibly be 320 kilos] all up. The aircraft sits on a ‘chassis mixte’ of
skids and wheels [roulettes]. The controls of direction, of lateral balance,
and of the motor are all on one wheel [‘volant’]. Later, if the trials go
well, Farman may reduce the span to 6 metres.
[The
aircraft dimensions given in this report and in Marchis’ book of 1934 (above)
are different. Presumably the same aircraft is being described. It is hard to
know which ones to accept.]
…………………………………
16
June 1909, p.5.
The
rotating motor on Farman’s aircraft is now close to working well [‘au point’].
Farman has made his first flight with his pupil, M. Cockburn – who, on 14 June
at Châlons taxied some 50 metres and then flew for 600 metres. But he cut the
ignition [‘allumage’] too sharply, with a rough landing resulting. A ‘montant’
[upright?] of the wing broke.
………………………………..
29
June 1909, p.5.
Farman
flew for 22 minutes at the Concours d’aviation de Douai (at the aérodrome de la
Brayelle). His aircraft was his ‘old’ biplane [presumably not the 1908
biplane], fitted with a Gnôme engine. The concours began on 28 June.
………………………………
Lucien
Marchis et al, Vingt-cinq ans d’Aéronautique française, 2 vols., Chambre Syndicale
des Industries Aéronautiques, Paris 1934, p. 32.
19
July Farman flew his aircraft for 1
hour 23 minutes.
……………………………..
15
August 1909, L’Aérophile,
p. 363
[Begins
with a description of the Henri Farman III aircraft, one of which was used by
Roger Sommer, a customer and pupil of Farman’s, to take the world endurance
record of 2 hours, 27 minutes 15 seconds at Châlons on 7 August 1909].
Farman
has not been spoken of much for several months. But now he has been ‘gloriously
recalled’ into the memory of those who might forget his ‘magnificent campaign’
of 1907-8.
‘For
a long time we have wished to see in him only a very skillful executor, a pilot
of the first order, a sort of great jockey of aviation.’ [‘Longtemps on n’a
voulu voir en lui qu’un executant fort habile, un conducteur de premier order,
une sorte de grand jockey de l’aviation’]
Throughout
the winter of 1909, at Bouy, where he had built a ‘hangar-garage’, with a
workshop next to it, he built three aircraft of his own design. As soon as the
weather allowed, he tested this design in his usual prudent, reasoned, and
progressive way, changing propellers, motors, etc. until he was satisfied.
Modifications are still being made.
The
aircraft has a 10 metre span, 2 metre chord, 2 metre separation of the wings,
no vertical panels. The covering is of Continental rubberized cloth.
Six
metres back is a cellular stabilizing tail, with two supporting planes [‘plans
porteurs’] of 2x2 metres. Forward of the wing is a monoplane elevator
[‘gouverneur de profondeur monoplan’] of 4 metre span, controlled by a lever.
Ailerons
are on all four wings, at the ends of the trailing edges. With a lever they can
be operated inversely [one side up, the other down], or simultaneously all up
or down. [If all down at the same time, they would function as flaps. Was
Farman innovating here?]
The
rudder has two vertical panels in the tail, at or near the tips.
The
motor is a Vivinus 35-40 hp, 4 cylinder machine, water cooled, directly driving
an Intégrale propeller by Lucien Chauvière of 2.6 metre diameter and 1.15 metre
pitch at 1,200 rpm.
The
undercarriage (a photograph shows skids with two smallish wheels mounted on
each skid) allows quick stopping on rough ground, and even passing over small
holes and ditches. Under the rear cell are three small steerable rollers
[‘galets’] in contact with the ground.
The
lifting area is 40 square metres. The weight is 550 kilos.
Farman’s
personal aircraft has a Gnôme 7 cylinder engine.
Farman
began tests of this machine in March 1909. His client-pupils (Cockburn and
Roger Sommer) started flying much later.
……………………………………………..
A
document on Henry Farman in MAELB (dossier FARMAN, Henry, Perso F3), 3 typed
pages, no author noted, has the following data on the Farman No. 3 of 1909:
Wing
dihedral is suppressed [or reduced?]; vertical surfaces are removed; the rear
‘cellule’ is gone; the angle of the motor mount is removed [or reduced?];
ailerons are added, as is a control stick [‘manche à balai’]; double elevators
[‘équilibreurs’] are used, fore and aft; a tailskid [‘béquille’] is fitted.
……………………………………………..
……………………………………………..
From
22 to 29 August 1909 a flying competition was held at Bétheny, five kilometres
north of Reims in France. This was the Grande Semaine d’Aviation de la
Champagne (and indeed much of the funding was provided by champagne companies,
operating not far away). It was the first major flying competition held
anywhere; many others soon followed. Farman took part in this week of
competition, winning two prizes in his Farman III biplane. One was for distance
flown – 180 kilometres (around the 10 kilometre course) – and he could have
flown further, except that no distance after 7.30 p.m. was counted, so he
landed then. The second was for passenger-carrying around the course. He took
up two passengers for that flight (the only pilot to carry two). His biplane
was equipped with the Gnôme rotary engine.
…………………………………………….
The
above extracts, almost all from Le
Matin, show Farman’s progress from the 1 kilometre and 180-degree-turn
flight at Issy-les-Moulineaux on 13 January 1908 to his successes at Reims.
1908 was a year in French aviation that he dominated. By 1909 many others were
entering the field, and men who had been flying from 1907 had learned how to
make aeroplanes that would perform, and how to handle them. Farman ceased to be
such a leading figure in 1909, though he did well at the Grande Semaine. Most
of the first half of the year was taken up by his building and testing his own
design of biplane, the Farman III. It is interesting, and indicative of the
changes in his prominence, that while in the second half of 1908 reports of his
activities were on p.1 or 2 of Le
Matin, in 1909 they returned to p.5.
……………………………………………
The
main changes, processes, and events in the year and a half of reports above
are:
Increasing
flight times:
Farman
(and Delagrange, and probably others) had been limited in 1907 and early 1908
to the time that the cooling water of the Levavasseur motor took to boil off.
This was 3-4 minutes. By July of 1908 Farman could fly for 20 minutes. Clearly
improvements had been made to the cooling system of the engine. Possibly a radiator
was added, and the boiling off of the water stopped.
Farman’s
growing impatience with the available engines:
The
Levavasseur motor served him well in the fall of 1907 and early 1908. But then
he begins to say that lighter engines are needed. He tried a Renault for a
short while in early 1908, but abandoned it. Later a Vivinus motor is his
preference. But by the summer of 1909 he has a Gnome rotary – a motor that
itself spins, cooling its cylinders with air as it does so. The complication
and weight of liquid cooling are gone. The motor will run for a long time
without problems.
Farman’s
growing confidence as a pilot:
In
the spring of 1908 he starts flying higher and turning more steeply. On one
occasion (27 March 1908) when he is not high enough for a steep turn, a wingtip
touches the ground and he crashes, fortunately without much damage to himself
or the aircraft. This is his only crash. Most of the other pionniers (notably Blériot) crashed constantly.
Farman worked with notable patience and caution, gradually extending his times
and distances of flight.
Farman’s
brief visit to the USA in August 1908:
He
was the first to fly in or near New York City. The field offered to him (a
racecourse at Brighton Beach, Coney Island) was not large enough to allow him
to show off the aircraft. It served for take off, very brief straight flight,
and landing. Few came to look. The people (from St. Louis) who had invited him,
abandoned him. On the whole, he was fairly measured about the experience
(unlike his wife, who, though not mentioned here, was fiercely critical of the
American hosts).
Farman’s
progression to building and flying his own machines in 1909:
The
Voisin 1/1bis that he had flown from autumn 1907 to the end of 1908 was sold,
in early 1909, to an Austrian group who intended to use for demonstration
flights in Austria (and perhaps elsewhere). The pilot was to be a Frenchman,
Legagneux. Farman then went into relative seclusion at Bouy (Châlons) while he
designed, built, and tested the Farman III. It was a biplane roughly similar to
the Blériot machine, but more lightly built. Its advent marked the divergence
between Farman and the Voisin brothers. By the time of the Reims meeting in
August 1909, it was a prize-winning machine.
The
increasing capacity of the aircraft:
Just
after the prize winning flight in January 1908, the Voisin aircraft would
barely carry an added 30 kilos. Later that year it would carry two people and
more fuel, and would fly further. This was a result of Farman’s constantly
reducing the weight and drag of the machine (some of that starting before
January 1908). The originally biplane forward elevator was reduced to one
plane. The wide tail was reduced in span. The bore of the engine’s cylinders
was increased. The rudder was increased in size. The upward projecting rear
wing spar was covered over. At the end of 1908 the wingspan was reduced.
Changes were also made to the pitch of the propeller. Perhaps other weight
reductions, not mentioned in reports, were also made.
French
respect for Langley, in the USA, and their ignorance and ignoring of the Wright
brothers:
Farman
often refers to Langley (whose aeroplanes failed to fly in 1903) as a model to
be imitated and a source of knowledge. He never mentions the Wright brothers.
In this he shows the wide French ignorance of the Wrights’ achievements from
1900 onwards, and perhaps the French unwillingness to accept reports of those
achievements. Of course, the Wrights themselves had not publicized their
flights – rather the opposite, in fact. Everything changed when Wilbur Wright
started flying France in August 1908. Then the French showed a variety of
reactions: astonishment, humility, a sense of being outdone. But a
determination to catch up also soon appeared, and the catching up soon happened.
By mid 1909 the French had better airplanes than the Wrights’.
French
flying extends from Issy-les-Moulineaux:
In
May 1908, Farman decides that Issy is too small a field for his expanding
activities. In September 1908 he moves to Châlons, just east of Reims. Issy
offers a maximum of 800 metres in a straight line, and barely enough room to
turn. (French machines still have wide-diameter turns because they are using
only rudder to cause the turn.) Issy continues as a flying site for many
others, but aviation in France begins to spread out to other sites.
Cross-country
flight:
At
the end of October 1908, Farman starts flying across country, notably from Bouy
to the edge of Reims. Wilbur Wright comments that this is still too dangerous
an activity.
Ailerons:
At
the end of 1908, Farman added ailerons to his Voisin aircraft (now in triplane
form with shortened wings). It is not certain whether they were added to
facilitate turns or to make keeping the wings level easier; probably for both
purposes. In any case, by this date the French were generally adding ailerons
or wing warping. They were rapidly coming to realize, thanks to Wilbur Wright’s
demonstrations of the manoeuverability that wing warping allowed, that their
dominating notion of aircraft as a machine that should be made to fly straight
and level was wrong. Making aircraft bank, and control of bank, were essential
if rapid turns were to be made in the air. Rudder alone would not do that.
Farman is said several times to be considering removing the rudder from his
machine.
…………………………………………
For information in 1909 on the dispute between Voisin and Farman over
the design of Farman’s new aircraft, see under Voisin.
………………………………………
Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace, Le Bourget. Photo folder ‘FARMAN, HENRY’
Contains the New York Times’
obituary of Farman, dated Paris 18 July 1958.
Farman dies in Paris after a long illness, aged 84.
After cycling in the 1890s (including tandem cycling with his brother
Maurice), and winning many races, Farman made motorcycles (‘a line known as
Werner’). Then he started car racing, and won ‘many early auto races’.
In 1908 Farman started an aviation school and a ‘construction works’
at Buc, near Versailles; and later [1909?] another works at Boulogne-sur-Seine,
where most Farman aircraft were built.
The obituary refers at length to Farman’s flights in New York. He was
the first to fly ‘over New York City’ [he was not – he flew only at the stadium
at Brighton Beach] on 31 July 1908. Quoting from The World of 1 August 1908, the Times’
obituary says, ‘It was in fact the first instance of mechanical flight before a
large number of persons in the Western hemisphere … The few Americans who have
workable airplanes have only navigated them in secluded places far from the
centers of population.’ [The World
continues] Some scoffed at Farman when he said that in five to ten years
‘flying machines would be as plentiful as automobiles and much more speedy’;
but after seeing him fly they thought that ‘the unassuming Frenchman might have
been a true prophet’. [The first?] flight was intended to be private, but ‘by
hook or crook nearly every New Yorker who has become infatuated with
aeronautics … managed to get within the fence…’
The World also said that
Farman’s flying was far more impressive than that of the ‘cigar-shaped balloon’
that overflew the race course earlier; it ‘bounced up and down like a ship at
sea’, while Farman’s machine, after a run of 200 yards, ‘sailed into the air at
an angle of about five degrees’.
……………………………………….
Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace, Le Bourget
Photo file FARMAN, HENRY, in folder in this ‘1er Bouclé. Issy-les-Moulineaux.
13 janvier 1908,’ is a summary biography of Farman typed on index cards:
26 May 1874 Farman
born, with English nationality
Then student
at the Ecole de Beaux Arts [n.d.]
1892 Champion
de France as cyclist
Winner
of Paris-Clermont cycle race
Forms
a tandem cycling team with his brother Maurice (they were never beaten)
1896 Owner
of garages in Paris and London
1896-1904 drives in many car
races; wins Paris-Pau in a Darracq; first in category ‘Grosses Voitures’ in a
Panhard and a Levassor in the Paris-Vienna race 25-29 June 1902.
1904 gliding
flight at Berck
1907 1 June –
orders first aircraft from Voisin brothers.
30
September – makes his first flight
26
October – sets world records for speed, distance, and endurance at Issy,
winning the Coupe Archdeacon (771 metres in 52 seconds, at 54.3 kph.)
9
November – first turns
1908 13
January - receives Grande Médaille d’Or of the AéroClub de France
16
January – receives Daily Mail prize
for first aviator flying a circuit of a half mile length
n.d.
– receives medal from the Académie des Sports
14
March – the first flight at Issy of the Farman No. 1 bis aircraft, with a
Renault 50 hp motor
21
March – in this aircraft flies at Issy 2,004 metres 80 centimetres in 3 minutes
31 seconds
21
March – Delagrange (who has flown 1,500 metres on his Voisin aircraft) takes
Farman aboard, and both return to the hangar in little ‘bonds’. This is the
first time an aircraft carries two people.
25
May-2 June [at Ghent?] – flies 1,241 metres on 30 May with E. Archdeacon
aboard.
6
July – at Issy takes the Armengaud prize [for a 15 minute flight] with a flight
of 20 minutes 30 seconds in the No.1 bis fitted with a 60 hp Antoinette motor.
This is a new world duration record.
17
July – 16 August – exhibition flights in the USA, ‘where he collides with the
incomprehension of the crowds’.
31
October – achieves a 25 metre height and wins a prize
17
November – makes flights in the No.1. bis converted to a triplane [at Châlons,
continuing into December]
1908-09
– the No. 1 bis is changed back to biplane form, and sold to an Austrian group.
Legagneux flies exhibition flights in it in Vienna.
1909 7 January
– receives ‘brevet de pilote’ No. 5.
27
April – at Châlons flies a 3 kilometre circuit in the Farman No. 3, with a
Gnôme motor. He has built the aircraft.
No
exact date – sets up a pilot school at Mourmelon, instructing himself. The
students include R. Sommer, who buys an aircraft on 4 July.
19
July – flies 1 hour 23 minutes at night, beating all French records. Breaks
undercarriage on landing, not being able to judge height.
25
July – receives Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur ‘à titre étranger’ [so he is
not considered French still]
22-29
July – the competition at Reims (Bétheny)
1912 Henry and
Maurice Farman set up an aircraft factory at Billancourt. Henry ceases
competing, but he, Maurice and Dick (Farman) test fly the aircraft they build.
1917 the three
Farman brothers set up an engine factory. The first motor emerges on 14 July
1918.
……………………………………….
‘Henry Farman’, by
Raymond Saladin (from MAELB, dossier FARMAN, Henry, Perso F3) [No publication
information with this. It is a recollection written soon after his death, so
probably in 1958]
On Farman and
Gabriel Voisin:
‘Their temperaments and their natures were
completely different: their knowledge of aviation, also different. Henry Farman
understood it by instinct, Gabriel Voisin understood it scientifically: from
this knowledge he developed the airplane that flew the kilometer.
Henry Farman was
gentle, calm, pleasant, modest, and affable. Gabriel Voisin remained violent,
but God gave him a golden heart, thanks to which he withstood many miseries
with a discretion that does him honour.
Gabriel Voisin is a
born orator, and his lectures are brilliant. Henry Farman had a horror of
talking and speaking on the radio. Like Wilbur Wright he disliked the time of
speeches at official banquets. He hardly ever spoke then, and left to some
comrade the task of exposing what he had to say – so great was his shyness.’
……………………………………
FARMAN, Henry. [in
script]: Biografie. Faite à Paris, le 9.11.1966 par M André BENARD – et
Approuvée par Mme H. Farman. [MAELB dossier Farman, Henry, Perso F3]
1874, 26 May born in Paris, with
English nationality.
Later Pupil at
the Ecole des Beaux Arts
1892 French
cycling champion. Winner of the Paris-Clermont-Ferrand cycle race. Tandem cycle
team with his brother Maurice; they were never beaten.
1895 Henry and
Maurice take the world record for 233 metres in 21 2/10 seconds. This record
lasted until 1932. Henry, Maurice, and Dick Farman form a triple cycle team.
1896 Garage
owner in Paris and London
1896-1904 Takes part in many car
races; wins Paris-Pau in a Darracq, comes first in the category of ‘grosses
voitures’ in a Panhard-Levassor car in the Paris-Vienna race, 25-9 June 1902.
1904 Gliding
flight at Berck
1905 Takes
part in Auvergne car circuit, and is victim of a serious accident. He is caught
in the branches of a tree while his car drops to the bottom of a ravine.
1907 1 June –
orders his first aircraft from the Voisin brothers. 30 September – first flight. 26 October –
sets world records for speed, distance, and duration at Issy-les-Moulineaux.
Winning the Archdeacon cup, he covers 771 metres in 52 seconds (54.5 kph).
9
November – Makes his first turns.
1908 13
January – At Issy-les-Moulineaux the first kilometer in a closed circuit (in 1
minute 28 seconds) on the Voisin aircraft, equipped with an Antoinette motor of
40 hp [usually stated as 50 hp]. Wins the Grand Prix d’Aviation created by MM
Deutsch de la Meurthe and Archdeacon.. Receives the Grande Médaille d’Or from
the Aéro-Club de France.
16
January – The Daily Mail grants him
its prize, offered to the first aviator covering a half mile in a circling
flight. Medal from the Académie des Sports. A new airplane, the Farman No.2
‘Flying Fish’ is being built at the Voisin brothers workshop [though it was
never finished, or at least never accepted by Farman – indeed there is no
evidence that this aircraft ever flew with any pilot.]
14
March – Flight at Issy-les-Moulineaux on the Farman No. 1 bis – which is the
aircraft that flew the first kilometer, modified and equipped with a Renault 50
hp engine.
21
March – on the same aircraft, a flight at Issy of 2,004.8 metres in 3 minutes, 31 seconds, doubling the
record set on 13 January. On the same day, Delagrange, after flying 1,500
metres in an aircraft built by the Voisins, takes Farman on board and both
return to the hangar in small leaps [‘bonds’]. This is the first time an
aeroplane has lifted two people.
27
March – slightly injured as a result of a crash
25
May/2 June – a series of public demonstrations. In one of them, on 30 May,
Farman makes a flight of 1,241 metres with M. Archdeacon as passenger. [This
was at Bruges].
6
July – At Issy-les-Moulineaux he takes the Armengaud prize by flying for 20
minutes 30 seconds on the No. 1 bis, fitted with an Antoinette 60 hp motor. He
thus takes the world duration record.
17July
– 16 August – A short series of exhibition flights in the USA, where he
encounters the incomprehension of the crowds. Installation of the Farman
workshops at Mourmelon, on the edge of the Châlons field.
29
September – flight of 43 minutes at Châlons
28
October – Flight of 40 km on the 1bis, fitted with balancing ailerons. [Just
for balancing? Possibly also for turning.]
30
October – First mechanical flight from town to town, from Bouy to Reims (27 km in
20 minutes) at 73 kph.
31
October – Record height of 25 metres, with prize [which was later rescinded,
since the measuring of height was found to be wrong].
17
November – On his 1bis aircraft, transformed into a triplane, several flights
made. After being returned to its biplane condition, the 1bis is sold to an
Austrian group [in early 1909]. Legagneux makes demonstration flights in it in
Vienna. Another biplane ordered from the Voisin brothers [perhaps not until
1909].
1909 7 January
– receives pilot licence No. 5
27
April – 3 km circular flight at Châlons in the H. Farman No. 3, equipped with a
Gnôme motor. He has built this aircraft himself. At Mourmelon a pilot school is created.
Farman gives lessons himself to pupils, among whom is R. Sommer.
4
July – Sommer buys a Voisin aircraft.
19
July – Taking off at 8.17 in the evening, Farman makes a night flight of 1 hour
25 minutes, beating all French records. On landing he breaks the undercarriage.
The darkness prevented him from judging the aircraft’s height.
25
July – He is made Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, ‘à titre étranger’.
22-29
August – Flies, at Reims-Bétheny, in the Grande Semaine de Champagne, winning
the Grand Prix de la Champagne [for the longest flight] and the
passenger-carrying prize. On 27 August he beats the world distance record,
officially flying 180 km; and the duration record, with 3 hours 4 minutes
56 2/5 seconds. This was in the Farman
No. 3 airplane, with a Gnôme 50 hp engine.
18-25
October – Blackpool meeting. He wins the speed prize (72 kph).
3
November – At Mourmelon, sets world records for distance and duration: 232 km
in 4 hours 17 minutes 53 seconds. He becomes holder of the Michelin cup for
1909. Médaille d’Or of the Académie des Sciences.
Late
December – The Etablissement d’Aviation Militaire de Vincennes (Artillerie)
orders its first H. Farman airplane.
1910 Academie
des Sciences gives Farman the Médaille d’Or de l’Aéronautique.
2
March – at Mourmelon, a world record with two passengers (20 km in 16 minutes 35
seconds0.
5
March – Wins the Prix de l’Ecole Centrale, at Etampes.
17
April – Carrying a passenger, he flies from Etampes to Chevilly (Loirot) 44.5
[?] in 1 hour 15 minutes. The next day, Paulhan takes his place, and makes a
solo flight from Chevilly to Arcis sur Aube (174 km in 2 hours 3 minutes). On
the 19th Paulhan flies from Arcis sur Aube to the camp de Châlons
(68 km in 1 hour 5 minutes). World
records for distance and duration across country, with and without passengers,
are broken.
June
– The Chalais-Meudon laboratory (Génie) order two Farman aircraft.
18
December – At Etampes, world duration record with a flight of 8 hours 12
minutes 47 2/5 seconds in an aircraft of the H Farman Coupe Michelin 1910 type.
50hp Gnôme motor.
1911 Creation
of the Farman pilot school at Toussus le Noble.
10
July – The French navy buys its first airplane: a Farman machine.
October
– Henry Farman presents his aircraft at the Concours Militaire.
1912 Henry
Farman joins his brother, who is also a builder and pilot. They construct
workshops at Billancourt. Competitions end, but the brothers Henry, Maurice and
Dick Farman continue flying, take part in trials, and in the adjustment of their
aircraft.
1917 The
three brothers decide to create an engine factory.
1918 14 July – The first motor
produced in the factory is received [by?].
In
the course of WW1 Farman aircraft were used for reconnaissance and bombing.
Construction of the
transport aircraft F.60 Goliath, developed from the F.50 bomber. Along with the
aviation activities, Farman factories make hydroplanes [‘hydroglisseurs’],
developed and piloted by Henry Farman. These hydroplanes took prizes from 1918
to 1928 in many competitions, and broke several records.
1919 8
February – The Farman company starts the first aerial link between Paris and
London, in an aircraft carrying 14 passengers, piloted by Bossoutrot. The
aircraft is an F.60 Goliath with two Salmson motors of 270hp. This is the first
aerial carriage of paying passengers. [In an aeroplane, perhaps; but the
Germans were carrying passengers in airships before WW1.]
12/13
February – The first aerial connection of Paris and Brussels, by an F.60
Gloiath, piloted by Bossoutrot.
1920 May –
Creation of the Société Générale de Transports Aériens (Lignes Farman).
1921 A
military pilot school is added to the school created in 1911 at Toussus le
Noble.
1923-4 creation of
the cartridge starter.
1926 Officer
of the Légion d’Honneur.
1928 The
Farman-Rougerie system of blind flying, perfected at Toussus le Noble, is made
available to all countries in which there is demand.
1930 18
January – At Issy-les-Moulineaux H Farman is present at the inauguration of the
monument commemorating the first kilometer flight.
1936 Nationalization
of the aircraft industry. Henry Farman leaves the workshop in which he studied
his prototypes, and dedicates himself to his hobby [‘violon d’I]ngres’] –
painting.
1937 Farman is
naturalized as a Frenchman.
1948 13 June
-- Receives the Médaille d’Aéronautique.
6
December – Is made Commandeur of the Légion d’Honneur.
1958 He
attends, at Issy-les-Moulineaux, the commemoration of the 50th
anniversary of the first officially observed 1 kilometre out and return flight
[which should have been in 1953].
17
July – dies at home in Paris.
21
July – funeral at the Temple de l’Etoile. Burial at the cemetery of Passy,
where a monument made by the sculptor Landowski maintains his memory.
He
accumulated some 10,000 hours of flight, including the personal trials of his
prototypes.
No comments:
Post a Comment