Gabriel Voisin - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Gabriel Voisin was an aviation

Aviation

Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...

pioneer and the creator of Europe's first manned, engine-powered, heavier-than-air aircraft capable of a sustained (1 km), circular, controlled flight, including take-off and landing. It was flown by Henry Farman

Henry Farman

Henri Farman Henri Farman Henri Farman (26 May 1874 – 17 July 1958 was a French pilot, aviator and aircraft designer and manufacturer with his brother Maurice Farman. His family was British and he took French nationality in 1937.-Biography:...

on January 13, 1908 near Paris, France. During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, Gabriel Voisin became a major producer of military aircraft, notably the Voisin III

Voisin III

-Survivors and replicas:There is a Full-scale replica of the Voisin III La on display at the Pearson Air Museum in Vancouver, WA near Portland Oregon-References:* * archived from www.caedmon.n-yorks.sch.uk* archived from www.csd.uwo.ca...

. Later on, he switched to design and production of exceptional automobiles under the name Avions Voisin

Avions Voisin

Avions Voisin was a French luxury automobile brand established by Gabriel Voisin.Gabriel B. Voisin was an aviation pioneer and manufacturer who in 1919 started producing cars using Knight-type sleeve valve engines at Issy-les-Moulineaux, an industrial suburb to the South West of Paris.Former...

Early biography

He was born at Belleville-sur-Saône, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, and his brother Charles Voisin

Charles Voisin

Charles Voisin was an early aviation pioneer. He was the younger brother of Gabriel Voisin, also an aviation pionieer.-Biography:...

, two years younger than him, was his best friend. When his father abandoned the family, his mother, Amélie, took her sons home to Neuville-sur-Saône

Neuville-sur-Saône

Neuville-sur-Saône is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.-Surrounding communes:* Genay* Montanay* Fleurieu-sur-Saône* Albigny-sur-Saône-Notable people:* Jacques Chauviré, physician and novellist...

, where they settled near her father's factory.

Their grandfather, Charles Forestier, took charge of the boys' education with military rigor. The boys also went for expeditions along the river, went fishing, and built numerous contraptions. When his grandfather died, Gabriel was sent to school in Lyon

Lyon

Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....

and Paris where he learned industrial design, a field in which Voisin claims to have been exceptionally gifted. However, he often returned home, and by the end of the century, the brothers had built, among other things, a rifle, a steam boat, and an automobile.

Early flying experiments

After completing his studies at the "Ecole des Beaux Arts de Lyon" in 1899 he joined an architectural firm in Paris. Here he saw the Clément Ader

Clément Ader

Clément Ader was a French inventor and engineer born in Muret, Haute Garonne, and is remembered primarily for his pioneering work in aviation.- The inventor :...

Avion III, which was displayed at the Paris International Exposition of 1900. This awakened an interest in the problem of powered flight. After nine months of military service, in February 1904 he attended a lecture given by Captain Ferdinand Ferber, one of the leading figures in French aviation circles at the time. After the lecture Voisin approached Ferber, and was given an introduction to Ernest Archdeacon

Ernest Archdeacon

Ernest Archdeacon , was a prominent French lawyer of Irish descent who was associated with pioneering aviation in France before the First World War. He made his first balloon flight at the age of 20. He commissioned a copy of the 1902 Wright No. 3 glider but had only limited success...

, the leading promoter and financial supporter of early French aviation, and Archdeacon hired him to test fly the Wright-type glider that he had had built. These tests took place at Berck-sur-Mer in April 1904, and some short flights of around 20 m (65.6 ft) were achieved. Archdeacon's next glider was similar to the 1904 aircraft, but differed in the addition of a fixed horizontal stabiliser behind the wings, in addition to its front-mounted elevator. This was tested at Issy-les-Moulineaux on 26 March 1905 by towing it into the air using Archdeacon's automobile. Fortunately the test was unmanned—the pilot's place being taken by 50 kg (110.2 lb) of ballast—for the aircraft suffered a structural failure and crashed. It was not rebuilt.

He then designed and built a glider equipped with floats for Archdeacon. This machine marks the first use of Hargrave cells, used both for the empennage

Empennage

The empennage , also known as the tail or tail assembly, of most aircraft gives stability to the aircraft, in a similar way to the feathers on an arrow...

and the wings of the glider. Voisin successfully flew this aircraft on 8 June 1905, the aircraft being towed into the air behind a motor boat on the river Seine between the Billancourt and Sevres bridges, managing a flight of about 600 m (1,968.5 ft). While working on this aircraft Voisin had been approached by Louis Blériot

Louis Blériot

Louis Charles Joseph Blériot was a French aviator, inventor and engineer. In 1909 he completed the first flight across a large body of water in a heavier-than-air craft, when he crossed the English Channel. For this achievement, he received a prize of £1,000...

, who asked him to build him a similar machine, later known as the Bleriot II. This differed principally in having a smaller span lower wing, resulting in the outer 'side-curtains' between upper and lower wings being angled outwards. After this first flight Bleriot suggested to Voisin that they form a partnership to build aircraft, and so Voisin ended his association with Archdeacon's syndicate. Voisin attempted flights in both aircraft on 18 July 1905. Although the weather was unsuitable, with a strong crosswind, Voisin decided to attempt to fly the aircraft since it was difficult to obtain the necessary permission to use the river. Voisin made a short flight in his glider and then attempted a flight in Bleriot's glider. The glider took off quickly, but Voisin was not able to control the aircraft and it crashed into the river. Voisin was trapped inside and was lucky to escape drowning. Louis Bleriot's cine footage of this experiment survives in the Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum.

The first aircraft built by Voisin for Bleriot, the Bleriot III

Blériot III

-Bibliography:* Phillipps, Brian A. Bleriot: Herald of an Age. Stroud: Tempus, 2000 ISBN0 75241739 8* Hallion, Richard P. 'Taking Flight. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. ISBN 0 19 516035 5...

, was a tandem biplane with the wings formed into a closed ellipse as seen from the front: according to Voisin's account, Bleriot had originlly wanted the lifting surfaces to be circular in front elevation, having experimented with models of this form, and the adoption of their eventual form was the result of a compromise between th two men

First aeroplanes

In 1905 Gabriel and Charles Voisin

Charles Voisin

Charles Voisin was an early aviation pioneer. He was the younger brother of Gabriel Voisin, also an aviation pionieer.-Biography:...

founded the world's first commercial airplane factory, Appareils d'Aviation Les Frères Voisin.

At this time aspiring European aviators were in fierce competition to be the first to achieve powered heavier-than-air flights, since until Wilbur Wright's flying demonstrations at Le Mans

Le Mans

Le Mans is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Le Mans is a part of the Pays de la Loire region.Its inhabitants are called Manceaux...

(France) in August 1908 many did not believe the claims of the Wright brothers to have achieved sustained flights, such as that made on 5 October 1905, when the Wrights' Flyer III had flown 24 miles (38.9 km) in 39 minutes 23 seconds.

In 1906, Alberto Santos-Dumont

Alberto Santos-Dumont

Alberto Santos-Dumont , was a Brazilian early pioneer of aviation. The heir of a wealthy family of coffee producers, Santos Dumont dedicated himself to science studies in Paris, France, where he spent most of his adult life....

made Europe's first officially observed and verified heavier-than-air powered flight with the 14-bis

Santos-Dumont 14-bis

The 14-bis , also known as , was a pioneer-era canard biplane designed and built by Brazilian inventor Alberto Santos-Dumont...

biplane. Despite its fame, all that the 14-bis could achieve was a short flight on a straight line. It had no potential beyond that and it was quickly abandoned.
Two identical pusher biplane machines, with Antoinette engines, had been built by the Voisin brothers for two early aviation pioneers, one for Leon Delagrange

Léon Delagrange

Léon Delagrange Léon Delagrange Léon Delagrange (Ferdinand Léon Delagrange; March 13, 1873 was a pioneer French aviator and also a sculptor .He was born at Orléans and studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris...

in March 1907, and the second for his friend and rival Henry Farman

Henry Farman

in October 1907. The latter biplane became known as the Voisin-Farman I

Voisin-Farman I

The 1907 Voisin biplane was the first successful powered aircraft designed by aeronautical engineer and manufacturer Gabriel Voisin. It was used by the French aviator Henri FarmanBorn in France to British parents, Henry Farman took French nationality in 1937 to make the first heavier-than-air...

, and it was flown by Farman to win a prize for making the first one-kilometer closed-circuit flight. Both Farman and Delagrange won great fame using these aircraft, leap-frogging each other with aviation records. The Voisins' machines became widely known as Europe's first successful aircraft, although in those times of rapid progress they were quickly superseded by new designs.

Later Farman modified and improved the Voisin pusher biplane considerably. He eventually ended his cooperation with the Voisin brothers, following a disagreement, and shifted to manufacturing his own

Farman

Farman Aviation Works was an aeronautic enterprise founded and run by the brothers; Richard, Henri, and Maurice Farman. They designed and constructed aircraft and engines from 1908 until 1936; during the French nationalization and rationalization of its aerospace industry, Farman's assets were...

designs which became very successful.

Further biography

In 1909, Gabriel Voisin became the youngest Knight of the French Legion of Honor .

He married Adrienne-Lola Bernet in 1909, and they had one daughter, Janine.

The Voisin brothers continued the expansion of their factory resulting for example in the Canard Voisin
Canard Voisin
The Voison Canard was an aircraft developed by Voisin brothers in 1910, named Canard after its duck-like shape. It was a successful land-based aircraft, that with the addition of floats became one of the first seaplanes of the French Navy....

of 1910.

Gabriel Voisin was greatly affected by the death of his brother Charles in 1912 in an automobile accident near Belleville-sur-Saone, but he continued the expansion of the Boulogne-Billancourt

Boulogne-Billancourt

Boulogne-Billancourt is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Boulogne-Billancourt is a sub-prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department and the seat of the Arrondissement of Boulogne-Billancourt....

factory, under the changed name Société Anonyme des Aéroplanes G. Voisin.

After 1912, the factory shifted its manufacturing and sales towards supplying the French military. As the World War I erupted, Gabriel Voisin immediately volunteered for service with French air corps. The Voisin III

Voisin III

, a two-seater pusher biplane with a 120 hp Salmson

Salmson

Salmson was a French engineering company, initially in the automobile and aeroplane manufacturing area,turning to pump manufacturing in the 1960s.-History:...

radial engine, was extensively used for bombing and observation missions during World War I. It had a light steel frame and thus could be stationed outdoors. The Voisin III was built in large numbers (about 1,000) between 1914 and 1916 and sold not only to the French air services but also to other allies, including Russia. The Type VIII (about 1,100 planes built) and Type X (about 900 planes built) were delivered in 1917 and 1918. Those last to appear Voisin military aircraft were almost identical in appearance to the Voisin III, although they were heavier and featured twice as powerful Peugeot and Renault engines. They also had a longer range and carried almost twice the bomb load of their predecessor. A complete and original Voisin Type VIII bomber aircraft is preserved in excellent condition at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum

National Air and Space Museum

The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...

in Washington,D.C. It is the oldest preserved bomber aircraft in the world.

After World War I

Gabriel Voisin abandoned aviation, citing the trauma of the military use of his more advanced airplanes (the Voisin III

Voisin III

) during the war in addition to the then embryonic demand for civilian aircraft. From then until 1958, he concentrated his efforts on making automobiles under the brand of Avions Voisin
Avions Voisin
Avions Voisin was a French luxury automobile brand established by Gabriel Voisin.Gabriel B. Voisin was an aviation pioneer and manufacturer who in 1919 started producing cars using Knight-type sleeve valve engines at Issy-les-Moulineaux, an industrial suburb to the South West of Paris.Former...

. His early cars were some of the finest luxury vehicles in the world, with unique technical details. Many of them won in competition. However, the luxury car market shrank in the late 1930s because of depressed economic conditions and he closed down his factory. After 1945, he turned his attention to designing a minimalist car for the masses, the Biscooter, thousands of which were produced under licence in Spain during the 1950s as the Biscúter
Biscúter
Biscúter was a microcar manufactured in Spain during the mid-20th century.-Background:...

. Today, his pre-war luxury automobiles have become highly prized by collectors, both in Europe and in the USA.

In 1960, he retired in his country house,"La Cadolle" at Le Villars, near Tournus

Tournus

Tournus is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne in eastern France.-Geography:Tournus is located on the right bank of the Saône, 20 km. northeast of Mâcon on the Paris-Lyon railway.-Sights:...

on the banks of the Saône

Saône

The Saône is a river of eastern France. It is a right tributary of the River Rhône. Rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department, it joins the Rhône in Lyon....

river, where he wrote his memoirs. A few years later, in 1965, he was made a Commander of the Legion d'Honneur

Légion d'honneur

The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...

. He died in 1973 in Ozenay

Ozenay

Ozenay is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne in eastern France.-References:*...

, Saône-et-Loire

Saône-et-Loire

Saône-et-Loire is a French department, named after the Saône and the Loire rivers between which it lies.-History:When it was formed during the French Revolution, as of March 4, 1790 in fulfillment of the law of December 22, 1789, the new department combined parts of the provinces of southern...

at the age of 93 and found final rest at Le Villars . Gabriel Voisin was the creator of some of the earliest functional flying machines in the world, and an artist in the field of luxury automobiles. His idiosyncratic style and his obsession with feminine conquests have not diminished achievements of Gabriel Voisin.

Early biography

Early flying experiments

First aeroplanes

Further biography

After World War I

See also

Further reading