Copy of Breguet’s
Pre-1914 Aircraft Challenge™ amended by 
Breguet’s Pre-1914 Aircraft Challenge™ related forum discussions and further details concerning these aerial machines can be found athttp://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/pioneer-aviation/. & History of Airplanes Photos and summaries of historical aircraft & wright-brothers.org & podniebni.zafriko.pl Challenge enumeration and submitted images of aircraft 1914-1918 JANE'S ALL THE WORLD'S AIRCRAFT 1913*****
retour-back Les tout-premiers, aviateurs, performances, records..., revues - The first airmen, performance, record ..., journal
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| 451 Ponche et Pimard “Tubavion”
Monoplane.
The all-metal Tubavion of Charles Ponche & Maurice Primard – the first 100% metal aeroplane built in France – which went through a number of variations from 1911 onward, well into WWI. This photograph represents the 1912 version flown by Marcel Goffin at Reims or Amiens. The undercarriage and metal framework around the nacelle containing the engine and pilot are distinctive. Development of the Tubavion halted when Ponche was killed in an aircraft accident on February 10, 1916.  History of tubavion |
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| 452 Crawhez Triplane. The aeroplane of Baron Jean de Crawhez on display at the Eighth Annual Belgian Motor Show, held in Brussels from the 16th through to the 26th of January 1909. In the background of M. Crawhez’s aeroplane is the ornithopter of M. de la Hault, both Belgian machines. [*]  Baron Jean de Crawhez |
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| 453 Vaniman-Goodyear Airship “Akron”. The original Akron, specifically built for the Sieberling-Vaniman trans-Atlantic expedition, during its November 5, 1911 trials at Atlantic City, New Jersey. After making changes and repairs to the airship, it was once again tried on June 1, 1912 with results less than satisfactory due to an accident with the drag rope in which Calvin Vaniman, the younger brother of expedition leader and commander Melvin Vaniman, had to climb out on the propeller struts to save the airship from wrecking. Sadly, the final test of the Akron on July 2nd ended in an explosion of the over-pressurized hull 1000 feet above Absecon Bay, resulting in the deaths of all five crewmen aboard. theaerodrome |
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| 454 Cornu Ballon Remorqueur.
The ballon remorqueur, or balloon tug, was a patented dirigible airship conceived and drafted by Cornu Aîné of de Nuits, Cote D’or, France, during the years 1852-1854, with the intention of using compressed steam as its system of propulsion to tow a train of balloon carriages as a proposed aerial express running between Paris and London. The steam reactor system employed a pivoting “point d’appui aerien” (aerial fulcrum) in the shape of a bell set three meters ahead of the nose of the dirigible express. By injecting steam into the bell and deflecting the steam rearward, M. Cornu planned to steer the craft by articulating this hinged fulcrum device. [*] POINT D'APPUI AÉRIEN Système CORNU Ainé Légende: Archimède disait: "Donnes-moi un point d'appui, etc." Mr Cornu Ainé a trouvé ce point d'appui, en 1852, à Ham, chez Mr. Tetrel, Constructeur mécanicien à qui il disait: "ma fortune est faite d'ici à 3 mois, si vous daignez m'aider dans cette affaire". Dans le courant de Mars 1853 Mr Cornu Ainé, poursuivant son oeuvre, écrivait à Mr. Maurice Stiebel, banquier à Francfort sur le Mein, pour le prier de le mettre en relation avec quelques personnes qui voulussent s'associer à son oeuvre. Le 4 Avril 1853. Mr. Maurice Stiebel faisait une offre à Mr Cornu Ainé, mais cette offre n'était pas suffisante. Le Point D'Appui Aérien a la forme d'une cloche, pour que la vapeur, après avoir produit son premier effet puisse s'échapper ou se dégager sans trouver aucun obstacle qui en détruise l'effet. Il doit être place au bout d'une tige en fer creux d'au moins trois mètres en avant de l'appareil aérostatique, pour que la vapeur ne puisse pas l'endommager. La puissance du Point D'Appui comme moyen de locomotion aérienne, est de la force de 10 a 15 chevaux, vapeur obtenue par l'effet d'une pression de 5 Atmosphères, et par conséquent, le Ballon Remorqueur, arme du Point D'Appui, pourra faire le voyage de Paris à Londres en moins de 3 heures. Le Système de locomotion aérienne de Mr Cornu Ainée consiste en un Aérostat allongé en forme de Cône tronque sur les cotés duquel sont adaptes deux ailes (ou plan incliné) immobiles fixées à l'Equatoriale et terminées par une queue de la forme de celles des Oiseaux. Dépose. Cet appareil Remorqueur a donc toute la forme d'un cerf-volant à la queue duquel seront entrainés tous les autres appareils aérostatiques destinés au transport des Voyageurs et des Marchandises Son moyen d'ascension est le gaz. Au dessous de l'Aérostat Remorqueur se trouve suspendu le Générateur destiné à produire la vapeur nécessaire qui doit donner la puissance d'action à l'Aréostat précité. Mr. Cornu Ainé remplace par l'emploi de l'Electricité l'usage du Combustible toujours dangereux. La vapeur, en sortant du générateur, est dirigée vers le Point D'Appui par un tuyau en caoutchouc aboutissant par un raccord à une tige en fer creux fixée a l'Equatoriale en tête de l'appareil remorqueur, la tige à sa naissance tient à une fourche qui fait char mère et permet à la manoeuvre de faire obliquer le point d'appui à droite ou à gauche et par ce moyen permet au mécanicien de faire prendre une direction quelconque a l'appareil remorqueur. Ainsi la Cloche ou Point D'Appui fixée a l'extrémité de la tige enfer par un croisillon qui se monte et se démonte par un pas de vis, constitue toute la science de l'Invention dont le résultat est la direction obtenue par l'effet de la pression continuelle de la vapeur qui s'introduit avec force dans l'intérieur de la Cloche ou Point D'Appui. Le système de Mr. Cornu Ainé est d'une combinaison si simple qu'il peut s'adapter à tous les systèmes de Ballons. source |
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| 455 Moisant “L’Ecrevisse” of
1910.
Also known as the “aluminio-plane”, an all-metal sesquiplane built at Issy-les-Moulineaux by American aviator John Benjamin Moisant entirely of steel and aluminium; constructed by workmen hired from the Clément-Bayard airship hangar and completed in February 1910. Revolutionary in the construction of its wing – patented by Moisant in France as 414,748 – described as aiming to make the machine automatically stable laterally without any form of ailerons or wing warping. Trials proved considerably less successful than had been anticipated. Specifications: surface 22 metres; span 5.5 metres; length 9 metres; weight 250 kilograms; powered by a 50 hp Gnôme rotary. |
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| 456 Battini Flying Motorcycle of 1911. Design of the Battini brothers of France; described as a flying motorcycle. |
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| 457 Breguet 1-bis of 1909. In full flight at aérodrome de la Brayelle |
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| 458 Henri Farman No.1 of 1908. Built for Farman by the firm of Voisin Frères, Charles and Gabriel – often referred to as the Voisin-Farman 1 or Voisin HF-1 – yet sometimes called the Farman HF-1, since after delivery from the Voisin Factory, Farman made significant modifications to the machine. The photograph shows Farman at the moment he crosses the start/finish line at Issy-les-Moulineaux in completing, on January 13, 1908, the first 1 km circuitous flight, thus winning the Grand Prix d'Aviation that had been offered by Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe. Although the two points (start and return) were exactly at 500 m distance, Farman was unable to fly the aeroplane in that way. As this Voisin-built Farman had no ailerons and no wing warping, the only thing to do was to fly a very steady level turn. Observers in the photo from left to right are: René Demanest, André Fournier, Louis Blériot (commissaire au départ et à l'arrivée) and Charles Voisin. In the car are Ernest Archdeacon (one of the prize sponsors) and his wife. Page spéciale, photos Maurice & Henri Farman (BNF) |
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| 459 Auffm-Ord Monoplane of 1908. Built in the Paris factory
of the firm Frères Voisin and powered by a 7-cylinder
35 hp R.E.P. engine – the first of two monoplanes
designed by the Swiss-born Clément Auffm-Ordt (often
misspelled as Auffin-Ordt). This tractor monoplane had
a unique solution to lateral stability, whereas the
wing could be tilted as a whole, while a small center
surface could be tilted separately. Preliminary tests
began at the airfield at Buc on April 23, 1908 with
little success, though promising enough to build a
second machine, a pusher monoplane tested in
Switzerland on the frozen lake near St. Moritz in
early 1909 and abandoned after crashing from a height
of six meters onto the ice. Although the machine
seemed to be quite intact after its mishap nothing was
heard from M. Aufmm-Ordt again, at least related to
aviation. A possibility may be that his financial
backers had no further trust in the abilities of his
concept.
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| 460 Gonnel Uniplan of 1911. Second patented Uniplan of
the Gonnel brothers – Raoul-Georges and Arthur-Édouard
– built at Juvisy, France during March 1911. This
rebuilt, 2nd version of the machine, which is actually
a complete rebuilt of the fuselage and undercarriage,
was also fitted with a more powerful engine, a 45-50
hp 4-cylinder Velox-Suère.
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| 461 Preston Rocking-wing Machine. Preston Watson’s first
rocking-wing aeroplane, photographed at Errol,
Perthshire, Scotland probably around 1909-1910.
Watson’s second aeroplane was his first to have
actually left the ground under its own power.
more Preston Watson's Aviation History Watson No.3 Mr Watson's Flying Machines The Concours de La Sécurité en Aéroplanes Competition Rocking Wings |
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| 462 Kuhnert Ferryboat of 1911. The creation of Frederick Kuhnert of New Jersey, and at the time was said to be to the largest aeroplane in the world, though no doubt it was just one of several claimants to that title. He established the Kuhnert Aerial Construction Company in order to “manufacture flying machines”. The $100,000-valued company’s directors were Frederick Kuhnert, Matthew Andronico and Lester Gilbert. In 1910, Kuhnert bought 20 acres of land in the Hackensack Meadowlands to use as an aerodrome where he built a passenger airplane that could hold 14 people. Called Kuhnert’s Ferryboat, it, along with his aerodrome, was destroyed by a tornado in 1912 before it could make its first flight. Prior to the tornado, the Kuhnert Aerodrome hosted weekly aerial demonstrations. |
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| 463 Prosper Monoplane. Fifty-five horsepower Viale 5-cylinder radial-powered monoplane from Canada circa 1909, constructed by Louis Prosper, possibly of Montreal. Almost nothing is known of Prosper, although he was reported to have assisted in the assembly of the infamous “Scarabée” – a Channel-crossing 50 hp Blériot XI flown by Comte Jacques De Lesseps – at the Montreal aviation meet, Canada’s first airshow, which ran from June 25 until July 5, 1910. |
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| 464 Friedrichshafen FF 2 Seaplane Monoplane of 1913. A further development of the floatplane of the Swiss engineer Grandjean, who had patented floats with coils (in German: “Schwimmerabfedering”). Characteristic of this wing warping monoplane is its Orlikon engine of 50 hp, radiators at the fuselage sides and completely open fuselage behind the pilot seat. |
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| 465 Sohn Doppeldecker of 1909.
German flight-technician Emil Sohn seated on his doppeldecker during one of his trials at Johannisthal. Sohn’s machine was a Wright-like biplane with a Haake motor. The engine didn't work and Sohn was left without enough money to purchase a better one. |
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| 466 Kébouroff-Vasiliev Monoplane
of 1912.
Second monoplane design of Kébouroff and Vasiliev, built in 1912 in Georgia (part of Russia). In 1910 Vissarion Kébouroff took flying lessons from Blériot at his flying school in Pau where he obtained a brevet from the Aero Club de France on August 29, 1910, becoming the first licensed aviator from Georgia. On his return to Russia he brought back two Blériot monoplanes (probably Type XI) which he flew there frequently. As these machines were rapidly worn out and in need of repair, Kébouroff worked together with Alexander Vasiliev to design and built a new monoplane to replace the aging Blériots. Kébouroff and Vasiliev actually built a pair, where the second (1912) is given as the same construction as the first but fitted with a 50 hp Gnôme rotary engine. Later a third monoplane was built by the two which was designed somewhat along the lines of the Nieuport IV monoplane. This turns out to be
unexpectedly very complex, probably because we are
in Georgia (in the Caucasus) around 1910-1912 which
was then a part of the mighty Russian empire led by
Czar Nicolas II.
The first challenge is the name of the man standing before the monoplane. His name in the Georgian language is the most exact ბესარიონ ქებურია, but it has probably little meaning for us Westerners. But we are lucky that the man took flying lessons with Blériot in his flying school in Pau in 1910. He obtained a brevet of the Aero Club de France on 29 August 1910 which has survived and gives his name in the French style. His name in the French style was written as Vissarion Kébouroff, who acquired Brevet No.209 according to this scan of the original. When looking in the official list of Brevets of pre-1914 allotted in France he acquired Brevet #210. There is some discrepancy here, but the original brevet prevails I think. So Vissarion Kébouroff became the first licensed aviator from Georgia (part of Russia). When coming back to Russia he brought back two Bleriot monoplanes (probably Type XI) which he flew there frequently. As usual the machines had hard landings etc. so were worn out rapidly and in need of repair. In Russian our friend Kéboureff had another name in Cyrillic which was Виссарион Савельевич Кебуров, as mentioned by Shavrov in his first part on Russian aviation (p.99). Kéboureff worked together with Алекса́ндр Алексе́евич Васи́льев to design and built a new monoplane to replace the aging Blériot monoplanes. They actually built two of them, where the second (1912) is given as the same construction as the first one but fitted with a 50 hp Gnôme rotary engine. Later a third monoplane was designed and built by the two which resembled somewhat the lines of the Nieuport IV monoplane. So I think we are looking to the second monoplane design of Kéboureff and Vasiliev built in 1912 and fitted with a 50 hp Gnôme rotary. |
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| 467 Baumeister Schraubenflieger.
Designed by Wilhelm Baumeister of which a model was built. Exhaustively described and illustrated in an article which appeared in the Austro-Hungarian weekly Allgemeine Automobil-Zeitung Jahrgang X (1909) Heft 11 (March 14) pp. 37-39. (special supplement of this magazine is named Allgemeine Flugmaschinen-Zeitung). No full-scale machine was produced. Below: source To round
this Challenge off. It is the Schraubenflieger
designed by Wilhelm Baumeister. The built model
is exhaustively described and illustrated in an
article of 3 pages which appeared in the
Austro-hungarian weekly Allgemeine
Automobil-Zeitung Jahrgang X (1909) Heft 11
(March 14) pp.37-39. (special supplement of this
magazine is named Allgemeine
Flugmaschinen-Zeitung).
   Unfortunately
searching everywhere I could not discover any
other information about Wilhelm Baumeister. It may
have been that the built model accompanied an
application for a patent, but I was also unable to
unearth a patent of Wilhelm Baumeister. Surely it
is a phenomenon of the interest and ingenuity
which existed for helicopters in the whole of the
area of Austro-Hungary far before the start of the
1914-18 war.
" Machines which exist only as 'paper', that is absolutely no material has been cut to construct it, are excluded from this ID Challenge." |
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| 468 Abelmann Eindecker of 1909.
Constructed during 1909–1910 at Kassel-Waldau by Carl Abelmann; the son of a Cologne factory owner. The monoplane had both tractor and pusher propellers with extra lift propellers (Hubschrauben). Carl Abelmann, FlAbt 254(A), along with his observer Ltn Heirich Schönberg, were the victims of Georges Guynemer on April 14, 1917 – his 36th victory. |
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| 469 Vert Poisson Volante of 1858. “Flying Fish” designed by Camille Vert shown here during the presentation of the machine in 1859 at the Palais de l’Industrie in Paris. The realization of Camille Vert was also presented in the provinces – that which was this snapshot of the first photographic representation of a flying apparatus in history. A description of the system elaborated by the ingenious mechanic is quite explicit: “Two propellers are placed under the balloon, at the extremity of a horizontal axis and the vertical plane passing through the length of the device, that is to say one at the front, the other at the back, and united by a steam engine at the center of the nacelle, are used to direct the Flying Fish. Tractive effort is directed onto the frame solidly fixed around the aerostat.” Demonstrated in the presence of the French emperor Napoleon III, the airship, which had an ingenious parachute system for the safety of its passengers, functioned satisfactory as it turned at will in all directions when in the air. Plus tard, en 1859, un aéronaute, ouvrier habile, constructeur de mérite, Camille Vert, fit fonctionner à plusieurs reprises, un navire aérien de son système, qu'il désigna sous le nom de poisson volant. Cet aérostat allongé, à hélice, était mû par une petite machine à vapeur (fig. 69); il fonctionna devant le public, au palais de l'Industrie, à Paris, et il fut expérimenté devant l'empereur. Voici en effet le compte rendu de cette séance, tel qu'il a été publié dans le Moniteur du 19 novembre 1859. Le 27 octobre dernier, une nouvelle machine aérienne, inventée et exécutée par M. Camille VERT, a été expérimentée dans le palais de l'Industrie, en présence de S. M. l'empereur. Cette machine se dirigeant à volonté, dans tous les sens et à laquelle est adaptée un système ingénieux de sauvetage des voyageurs, a fonctionné de la manière la plus satisfaisante. L'inventeur de cette curieuse découverte, après avoir été complimenté par Sa Majesté, a été autorisé à en faire une exposition publique dans le palais de l'Industrie. source |
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| 470 Crosbie “Aeronautic Chariot”
of 1784.
As detailed in the September 1784 issue of Hibernian Magazine, the gondola portion of the craft – with its windmills, masts, and sails – had been built and were on display by August of that year. The article explains how his craft was supposed to work, which in its own way was quite ingenious and clever, even if it was doomed to fail. As events transpired, it wasn’t until January of 1785 that Richard Crosbie was first able to take to the skies. When he did so, it was in a conventional hydrogen balloon, the fixtures and fittings of his “Aeronautic Chariot” having been left behind on the ground. Crosbie went on to make a series of attempts to cross the Irish Sea, none of which were successful. Back in 1785, this was where young Richard Crosbie became the first Irishman to fly. Crosbie spent much of his childhood devising peculiar contraptions at his family home in Baltinglass, Co Wicklow. By 1783, he was a student at Trinity College, Dublin, listening to the tale of two Frenchmen who spent 25 minutes elevated in the sky within the basket of a hot air balloon. Crosbie vowed he would one day cross the Irish Sea. His vehicle of choice would be a rubberised silk-covered balloon, filled with hydrogen. To raise funds for his adventure, Crosbie held an exhibition in Ranelagh Gardens in Dublin. For a small fee, the public was invited to examine both his balloon and the "aeronautic chariot" which would carry himself, his equipment, his scientific instruments and the ballast. On the final day of his exhibition, he launched the balloon skywards with a cat on board. It travelled north-west, rolled up the Scottish coast and was recovered near the Isle of Man the following day. Crosbie let his fans know that next time, he would be on board... more |
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| 471 Delest Biplane of 1912. Constructed by Juan Alberto
Delest during 1912–13 at Villa Lugano, a section of
greater Buenos Aires where the first airfield in
Argentina was established. Although unconfirmed, the
machine was possibly named “Porteno”.
Sgt Albert Delest, pilote de l'escadrille MF 1 - Cette photo date de son passage à l'escadrille F 35 en 1916. Adjudant Albert Jean Delest - Né le 7 février 1891 à Buenos-Aires (Argentine) - Fils de Jean Albert Delest et de Charlotte Moras - Avant guerre Ingénieur Électricien - Marié un garçon et une fille - Engagé au 2ème groupe d'aviation comme élève pilote, le 16 janvier 1915 - Brevet de pilote militaire n° 925 obtenu à l'école d'aviation militaire d'Etampes, le 7 mai 1915 - Pilote de l'escadrille MF 1 du 1er juin au 16 octobre 1915 - Nommé Caporal, le 27 juin 1915 - Une citation à l'ordre du régiment en juillet 1915 - Nommé Sergent, le 7 septembre 1915 - Pilote de l'escadrille MF 60 du 29 octobre au 3 décembre 1915 - Pilote de l'escadrille F 35 du 4 décembre 1915 au 18 novembre 1917 - Croix de guerre - Une citation à l'ordre du corps d'armée en avril 1916 - Nommé Adjudant, le 16 août 1916 - Médaille militaire, le 20 août 1916 - 2 citations à l'ordre de l'armée, le 20 août 1916 et le 27 août 1916 - Hospitalisé à l'hôpital complémentaire n° 18 de Toul du 21 juillet au 18 novembre 1917 - Rayé du personnel navigant, le 16 novembre 1917 - Muté au 2ème groupe d'aviation de Lyon-Bron du 22 novembre 1917 - Photo famille Delest que je remercie pour son aide. source The reason for
why I think Delest's biplane may have been
called the "Porteno" is due to the online
snippet I'd found:
American Aviation Historical Society Journal - Google Books You viewing rights may be different than mine, however, from this corner of the globe, one of the columns of text that I can see is labelled Delest "Porteno". Since the late 19th C, Porteno has been the demonym used for residents of Buenos Aires. source |
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| 472 Da Vinci Volante Piume
Glider of 1490–1496.
2003 realization of a glider design by Leonardo da Vinci which was found as a drawing and identified with the name “Piume” (Feather), only coming to light with the rediscovery in 1966 of the da Vinci Madrid Codices. The replica was designed by Angelo d’Arrigo, a famous hang glider pilot, who actually flew the aerodynamically-modified replica in 2003. Angelo d'Arrigo (April 3, 1961 – March 26, 2006) was an Italian aviator who held a number of world records in the field of flight, principally with microlights and hang gliders, with or without motors. He has been referred to as the "Human Condor".D'Arrigo was born in Catania, Sicily but grew up from a very early age in Paris, as his parents emigrated there in search of work... MORE |
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| 473 Urbánek II of 1910.
The second design of Vilém Urbánek (sometimes identified as Urbánek II) which was exhibited at the Prague Automobile Salon of 1910 in an unfinished form. The aim of Urbánek was to design an “automatic” device for lateral control. In the available photographs of the machine can be seen a long construction of lattice fitted before the wing used in such a way that when one wing half dropped (or rose) the other wing half would automatically compensate in the opposite direction. The machine was never finished, so it was never determined whether the automatic stability system devised by Urbánek would work in actual flight.[*] |
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| 474 Pini Monoplano/Biplano of 1910. Designed and built by Enrico
Pini of Italy, its planes were so arranged as to
widely separate a large rectangular monoplane wing,
then to add a small horizontal plane above the
gap.
"In 1908 Enrico Pini (born in Milan in January 1889), was in Paris during time when Wilbur Wright presented their airplanes. He became excited and remained influenced by aviation. He abandoned his normal activities and followed the American aviator, with such interest as to attract attention and sympathy of Wilbur Wright, who wanted to reward him by taking him as a passenger in a short flight. Then Pini decided to build himself an airplane, he designed one, a monoplane-biplane that best met his needs for aesthetics rather than technical ones. In Milan, Enrico Pini had a brother, engineer Adolfo Pini, who was five years elder, he was an electrical engineer and occupied a responsible position at the Edison Electric Company. Bothe brothers started to build a full size machine according to Enrico`s drawing and with help of Adolfo`s fundings (this sum was to be used for the expenses of his marriage, which was therefore postponed), Adolfo even resigned from Edison`s company to dedicate himself fully to the project. The brothers built the machine at the Bezzi`s factory, he was an industrialist, who owned an electric motor factory. All year 1909 was dedicated to the creation of the airplane, the assembly of which took place in the hangar of Societa Restelli, which built the Rebus engines, located in Piazza d'Armi nuova. In turn, the uncle and godfather of the two brothers Adollo, wanted to help them by providing them with the engine unit, a three-cylinder fan-type Anzani fan of about 25 HP, the kind used by Bleriot in his famous crossing of the Channel. At the end of 1909, on 15th November, it was inaugurated in Milan the first exhibition of Italian Air Force "1a Esposizione Italiana d'Aviazione" organized by the Gazzetta dello Sport, at the vast halls of the Splendido Corso Hotel. The Pini brothers exhibited the model of their aircraft that was awarded by the jury with a bachelor's bronze medal. In the spring of 1910 finally they began testing, pilot was Enrico, but at first the machine rarely reached the desired speed, it was only taxiing, the engine was underpowered. They made some improvement of undercarriage. With the daily trials and modifications aimed at improving the performance of complex propulsion and weight reduction, the device gradually lengthened its hops up to make small flight in height ranging between 50 and 80 cm from grass surface and a length variation from 200 to 500 meters. Unfortunately the financial means of the two brothers were soon at the end, in view of their uncle would not hear of poor results to come to the aid; they tried to borrow, but even this was limited by the lack of trust that was fed to the success of the company (Bezzi was the same creditor to over six thousand liras) and therefore the tests had to be suspended and the two unfortunate inventors, despite all the sacrifices and renunciations that were subjected to succeed in their intent, reluctantly abandoned their aviation activities. The autumn saw the device removed and deposited in a cellar and was eventually sold as scrap. A manufacturer from Milan, Ercole Marelli, which had seen the equipment of the Pini brothers had been appreciated, rather than the qualities of the aircraft itself, the brilliant and original construction, the engineer then offered a job in his company. Enrico Pini, after the bitter disappointment, continued in his business with bold new initiatives, and finally, helped by luck managed to form a solid financial position. SOURCE MORE |
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| 475 Fortney Monoplane of 1911. This large monoplane, Louis
Fortney’s third, was powered with a 4-cylinder Knox
engine of 60 hp weighing 400 lbs. Viewed from a
distance the machine had a very fine appearance, but
under closer inspection revealed a number of weak
points in construction. After two short jumps Fortney
met with the usual fate of the novices –yet deserves
credit for staying in the game– as this was also his
third machine to be destroyed.
MORE: This is Louis Fortney's third machine. From Aeronautics - May 1911: Fortney Monoplane - This large monoplane, viewed from a distance, had a very fine appearance, but close inspection showed a number of weak points in construction ... This machine after two short jumps met with the usual fate of the novices. Louis Fortney, the builder, deserves credit for staying in the game, as this is his third machine to be destroyed. Aeronautics - May 1911 - page 175 (photo) Aeronautics - May 1911 - page 176 (text) |
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| 476 Sweany-Davenport Airship of 1897. Non-rigid design with an
external ballonet, from which was slung a car fitted
with two sets of 6-bladed aluminium propellers that
were to be driven by a 4 hp gasoline engine. However,
the project at Green Island, California was never
brought to its final construction. The designers had
high hopes for their machine, and talked about making
“a transcontinental journey to the national capital.”
The envelope was described as circumscribed along its
length with bicycle tubing to prevent it from
collapsing. This tubing, a part of the suspension
band, was probably inflated to pressure and thereby
stiffened. This device was similar to an idea
developed and demonstrated by the notable aeronaut
Louis Capazza using a free balloon in the 1880s; that
if the envelope were to suffer a catastrophic loss of
lift gas during flight, the suspension band would keep
the envelope from folding, or rather collapsing, and
thus allow the gas bag to act as a parachute in
slowing the descent of the airship.
|
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| 477 Gallo Monoplano Gabbiano of 1911. A design of Count Muzio
Gallo, construction of the machine was started in
spring 1911 but work was still not finished in October
of 1912 for some reason. Unfortunately the monoplane –
christened Gabbiano (Seagull) – was completely
destroyed by fire on October 24, 1912. The engine
fitted developed 40 hp.
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| 478 Auto-Volant of 1905. L’Auto-Volant, was a
helicopter invented and built by Jean-Baptiste Laisnez
and Charles Wilfart in France during 1905–06. Two
rotors consisting of three arms, each of which held
small moveable blades closed to form a flat surface on
the downward stroke. The machine was featured in the
February 1905 issue of the Parisian publication
“Cosmos”. It was also the subject of the 1905 French
patent #357,036.
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| 479 Mumford Aerodrome of 1913. A Scottish machine of the
helicopter type built in Glasgow where Mumford
realized two different machines. His first machine was
started in 1908, and after a rather long and active
life for an early flying machine, was wrecked in 1912.
In that time, it went through a number of improvements
and alterations, as various flaws with the design were
attended to. Construction on the second helicopter was
started in 1913. The patented Mumford machine was
originally identified as the Mumford Aerodrome in a
1909 article published in “The Aero”, Vol. 1, No. 1.
A few points on the Mumford machine The Mumford machine was originally identifed as the Mumford Aerodrome in an article published in The Aero Vol. 1 (1909) No.1 (25 May) p.175. The Mumford aerodrome. A Scottish machine of the helicopter type. Mumford realized two different machines. His first machine was wrecked in 1912 and the second of which construction was started in 1913. The machine on the Challenge picture is the second machine of Mumford The crew consisted of one pilot, no passengers The invention of Mumford was patented in Great Britain as improvements in or connected with Aerodromes or Flying Machines In the USA a patent was also acquired by Mumford Improvements in or connected with Aerodromes or Flying Machines. in France there were equivalent patents Aéroplanes ou machines volantes and Machines volantes. |
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| 480 Bristol Coanda Military Monoplane of 1912. Henri Coanda, son of
Gen. Coanda the Rumanian War Minister, had trained as
an engineer in France and was an artist of merit as
well. He. Had studied under Eiffel, whose wind-tunnel
at Auteuil was the first to be built in Europe. At the
Paris Salon of 1910, Coanda exhibited a novel biplane
whose engine drove, not an airscrew, but a
small-diameter ducted fan. It is uncertain whether
this biplane ever flew, as has been claimed, but
Coanda deserves due credit for originating this form
of propulsion unit. Another of Coanda's projects was a
tandem-wing monoplane with a submerged engine driving
an airscrew mounted half-way along a streamlined
circular-section fuselage... MORE
... A second monoplane, No.
80, was similar but had side-by-side seats with
dual controls. It was built in May 1912 and
remained in continuous use as a school machine at
Brooklands and Larkhill until crashed by Merriam
and Gipps on 26 January 1914...
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| 481 Strack Hochdecker of 1911. High-wing monoplane built by
the Strack Flugzeugwerke of Duisburg; a completely
open model of tubular metal construction, fitted with
a two-cylinder rotary engine which drove two
counter-rotating propellers.
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| 482 Biot-Massia
Glider of 1879.
Designed and built by Comte de Massia, leading to flights made by Gaston Biot. Biot flew the glider several times at Clamart, a suburb of Paris approximately 3 km south-southwest of Issy-les-Moulineaux. Donated to the Musée de l'Air in 1925 and restored in 1960, the glider is currently on display at the Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace, and is said to be the oldest surviving heavier-than-air flying machine in the world. |
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| 483 Rupel Flying
Machine of 1904.
Although it flew as a glider in October 1904, its builder Albert Rupel died before he could test it with a proper engine. |
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| 484 Myers Sky Cycle
of 1900.
Third “Sky Cycle” built by Carl E. Myers of Frankfort, New York, in controlled, man-powered flight at the St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall Coliseum where the machine made over 120 ascensions during a single engagement in 1900. |
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| 485 Zambeccari Rozière Balloon. Constructed by
Italian aeronautical pioneer Count Francesco
Zambeccari, who had served as an officer in the
Spanish navy, fought against the Turks in 1787, and
after three years of captivity in a Constantinople
prison devoted himself to the study of
lighter-than-air flight. Between 1803 and 1812 he made
a number of ascents with balloons of his own
conception.
|
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| 486 Lamson Man-Lifting Kite of 1897. One of several kites built by American inventor Charles H. Lamson over a span of years before and after the turn of the century. The name of the man ascending in this trial is Frederick W. Bickford, his assistant. |
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| 487 Lescarts
Biplane “N’Deke Mwaope” of 1912.
In April 1912 Fernand Lescarts, with the financial help of King Albert, travelled from Belgium to the Congo bringing with him a Farman biplane. The Farman was destroyed during the journey whereupon Lescarts designed and built a new biplane, and named it N’Deke Mwaope (White Bird), which flew pretty well until a violent windstorm wrote an end to the story. |
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| 488 Kaiser Tandem
Biplane of 1912.
Dan Kaiser’s interesting tandem biplane, with tilting fore and aft biplane wing cells and a metal-covered fuselage enclosing aviator and engine, was tested at Cicero Flying Field, Chicago, in 1912. |
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| 489 Blériot I Ornithoptère. Louis Blériot built the model – datable to 1900-1901 and patented in 1901 – with a span of 1.5 m and powered it with a carbonic acid engine. In 1902 Blériot built another machine to size which he tried to fly (span 9 m, weight 70 kg), but despite the successive replacement of three chemical engines it was a failure. |
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| 490 Dorner-Begas
Gleiter of 1908.
A parasol design started by Diplom Ingenieur Hermann Dorner in the spring of 1907 as a glider with a possibility of attaching an engine at a later time. He was financially assisted by Gottfried Begas, the son of the German sculptor Reinhold Begas. The machine was flown by towing it behind a horse and flights made were about 80 meters in distance at a maximum height of 10 meters. Dorner himself flew the machine and as can be seen in the photo, lay horizontally in the same way the Wright brothers would lie on the lower wing of their biplane gliders or early motorized biplanes. |
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| 491 Clark Bi-wing Ornithopter. Currently
residing at the Owls Head Transportation Museum in
Maine, and may well be the oldest full-sized internal
combustion engine powered flying machine anywhere in
the world. James W. Clark of Bridgewater,
Pennsylvania, supposedly tested this machine between
1900 and 1910. It failed to fly, was wrecked, then
rebuilt and fitted with its present engine – a 5 hp
2-cylinder Waterman – in 1907.
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| 492 Stringfellow Flying Machine of 1848. Built by John
Stringfellow using a Henson steam engine modified by
himself. The model was demonstrated attached to a
cable inside a lace production shed at Chard,
Somerset, and at Cremorne Gardens in 1848; however no
proof exists that this machine, having a wingspan of
10.5 feet and a wing surface area of 12 square feet,
was capable of sustained powered flight at all.
1843
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  Very interesting indeed. However, the
first steam powered airplane that was man carrying was
almost flown by Hiram Maxim (the inventor of the
machine gun) in 1891, it rose a few inches off the
ground for about fifty yards.
 However, even this was not the first,
in 1848, John Stringfellow of Chard, Somerset,
England successfully flew a model steam powered
aircraft. It used a six and three-quarter
pound engine and flew indoors. This was the
first successful flight by a heavier-than-air
machine to fly under it's own power, albeit only a
model and unmanned.
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| 493 Chantraine
Monoplane of 1908.
Belgian monoplane designed and built by Joseph Chantraine. Chantraine was incapable of making test flights so he asked an 18-year old pupil of a technical school in Brussels, Edouard Tollet, to attempt them instead. Tollet is seen in this photo at the left wing tip, while Chaintraine is in the center. Tollet made a flight which was not successful as the machine crashed and was heavily damaged, and he himself slightly injured. Chantraine acquired several patents in Belgium, France and the UK, however he died in 1910 at the early age of forty. Tollet followed a career in aviation, serving in WWI and continuing as a member of the Belgian aviation service until pensioned as a high-ranking officer in 1946. Few people are aware that the inventor of the joystick, Joseph Chantraine, lived and worked in Kortenberg in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. And now you do too. Chantraine patented several inventions and in 1906 patented a ballpoint pen (maybe the ballpoint pen?), and the same year patented a classifier system (whatever that is?) In early 1907 Joseph Chantraine was awarded patent No. 198,483 for his “Aéromobile”. This aircraft was a monoplane controlled by means of a joystick and driven by three strong bicycle wheels driven by chains. The wings were made of bamboo covered with light tarpaulin. Joseph Chantraine was an engineer and a university professor. His machine was constructed in 1907 in Kortenberg. The available picture of the machine shows a little monoplane with two tractor propellers driven by a single engine via rods (I think). The joystick / steering rod can be clearly seen in this picture. The machine flew twice, but on its second flight it fell down in a tree. Joseph Chantraine died on June 8, 1910. He was probably very engaged in aviation as his villa in Kortenberg was named ‘L’Aérocottage’. |
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| 494
Pröckl-Hasselböck Flügelschlagflieger of 1908.
Motorschwingenflieger / Flügelschlagflieger designed by Moritz Hasselböck and Wilhelm Pröckl, and apparently worked on for five years in Vienna. Looking further into the construction of the machine reveals that the flapping wings were not only just flapping in a vertical plane. The two had realized that in this way the ornithopter would only ascend and descend vertically. To achieve forward motion they devised a method to rotate the wings to another angle with the objective to achieve forward motion or in the event of landing, a braking of the speed of descent. The machine was built to specification by “Automobilfirma Wyner, Huber und Reich” of Vienna. Photos taken on the property of the firm date from July 1908. [*][*] |
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| 495 Sutro
Hydroaeroplane of 1913.
Assisted by Waldo Waterman, California millionaire Adolf Gilbert Sutro designed and built this machine in San Francisco, and, powered by a Hall-Scott 60 hp engine, it flew quite successfully. Specifications given are: upper span 45 feet; lower span 33 feet; length 25 feet. |
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| 496 Seidelinger Delaplane. Designed and
built by Robie Seidelinger for the Wilmington Aero
Club, and flown by Eddie Bloomfield. According to
“Delaware Aviation History” by Frebert, taxi tests in
the configuration shown resulted in moving the engine
to a position after the wings rather than under the
pilot’s seat, and use of a single propeller, as well
as shortening the rear fuselage. In this later form it
flew 300 yards on October 21, 1910, and made several
other fights on the following days. It was destroyed
when lightning struck its storage shed. While by
Seidelinger, it was funded by the Wilmington Aero
Club.
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| 497 Albessard “La
Balancelle” of 1912.
First actual built design of Lucien-Joseph-Antonin Albessard; although not necessarily named “La Balancelle” at the time. Albessard tried to design a comfortable passenger aeroplane that would prevent stalling in alternating wind conditions, therefore he arranged the wings around an enclosed cabin to help keep the aircraft in the stream. Jules Vedrines tested the machine and noted that it was underpowered. MORE HERE |
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| 498 Romanoplane of
1910.
Built by Eugene Joseph Romano in Seattle, Washington, the aircraft had a caged centre section designed like a biplane, while it had monoplane wings only. According to a contemporary newspaper clipping of unknown origin, the Romanoplane had a span of 36 feet and “was flown successfully”. |
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| 499 Howard Wright
Avis Monoplane Type 1910.
Named “The Golden Plover” – and fitted with an Anzani three-cylinder delivering 25 to 30 hp – this wing-warping monoplane was delivered to the Scottish Aviation Syndicate. |
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| 500 Burchardt Gleitflieger of 1909. A dreidecker glider built by Wilhelm Burchardt of Klosterneuburg, Austria; the Gleitflieger was seen as a full scale test machine for his design with the intention to fit an engine with pusher propeller later. Burchardt had connections to the Austro-Hungarian military who were interested in his machine and after validation of his design by Professor Budau (Technical University Vienna) facilities to build it were provided. [*] |
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| 500-01 Galvin
HC - This is the mysterious Galvin HC where HC
stands for Hydravion de Chasse ['Seaplane
Fighter']. The propeller was mounted in the middle of
the fuselage, comparing with for example the Gallaudet
floatplanes. The engine ( a Gnome rotary of 160
hp) was mounted in the fuselage. Streamlining was
first class with these designs, but the cooling of the
engine ? Streamlining was extra attended for by the
big metal nose cone.
Galvin floatplane fighter from France with mid-fusealage propeller. see Curtiss-HS-2L |
 
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