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1 Farman, Henri
SUBJECT AREA: Aerospace[br]b. 26 May 1874 Paris, Franced. 17 July 1958 Paris, France[br]French aeroplane designer who modified Voisin biplanes and later, with his brother Maurice (b. 21 March 1877 Paris, France; d. 26 February 1964 Paris, France), created a major aircraft-manufacturing company.[br]The parents of Henri and Maurice Farman were British subjects living in Paris, but their sons lived all their lives in France and became French citizens. As young men, both became involved in cycle and automobile racing. Henri (or Henry—he used both versions) turned his attention to aviation in 1907 when he bought a biplane from Gabriel Voisin. Within a short time he had established himself as one of the leading pilots in Europe, with many record-breaking flights to his credit. Farman modified the Voisin with his own improvements, including ailerons, and then in 1909 he designed the first Farman biplane. This became the most popular biplane in Europe from the autumn of 1909 until well into 1911 and is one of the classic aeroplanes of history. Meanwhile, Maurice Farman had also begun to design and build biplanes; his first design of 1909 was not a great success but from it evolved two robust biplanes nicknamed the "Longhorn" and the "Shorthorn", so called because of their undercarriage skids. In 1912 the brothers joined forces and set up a very large factory at Billancourt. The "Longhorn" and "Shorthorn" became the standard training aircraft in France and Britain during the early years of the First World War. The Farman brothers went on to produce a number of other wartime designs, including a large bomber. After the war the Farmans produced a series of large airliners which played a key role in establishing France as a major airline operator. Most famous of these was the Goliath, a twin-engined biplane capable of carrying up to twelve passengers. This was produced from 1918 to 1929 and was used by many airlines, including the Farman Line. The brothers retired when their company was nationalized in 1937.[br]Bibliography1910, The Aviator's Companion, London (with his brother Dick Farman).Further ReadingM.Farman, 1901, 3,000 kilomètres en ballon, Paris (an account of several balloon flights from 1894 to 1900).J.Liron, 1984, Les Avions Farman, Paris (provides comprehensive descriptions of all Farman aircraft).Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War I, 1990, London (reprint) (gives details of all early Farman aircraft).J.Stroud, 1966, European Aircraft since 1910, London (provides details about Farman air-liners).JDS -
2 Aerospace
See also: INDEX BY SUBJECT AREA[br]Caproni, Giovanni BattistaDassault, MarcelGiffard, Baptiste Henry JacquesJohnson, Clarence LeonardKorolov, Sergei PavlovichSopwith, Sir Thomas Octave MurdochTsiolkovsky, Konstantin Eduardovich -
3 Voisin, Gabriel
SUBJECT AREA: Aerospace[br]b. 5 February 1880 Belleville-sur-Saône, Franced. 25 December 1973 Ozenay, France[br]French manufacturer of aeroplanes in the early years of aviation.[br]Gabriel Voisin was one of a group of aviation pioneers working in France c. 1905. One of the leaders of this group was a rich lawyer-sportsman, Ernest Archdeacon. For a number of years they had been building gliders based on those of the Wright brothers. Archdeacon's glider of 1904 was flown by Voisin, who went on to assist in the design and manufacture of gliders for Archdeacon and Louis Blériot, including successful float-gliders. Gabriel Voisin was joined by his brother Charles in 1905 and they set up the first commercial aircraft factory. As the Voisins had limited funds, they had to seek customers who could afford to indulge in the fashionable hobby of flying. One was Santos- Dumont, who commissioned Voisin to build his "14 bis" aeroplane in 1906.Early in 1907 the Voisins built their first powered aeroplane, but it was not a success.Later that year they completed a biplane for a Paris sculptor, Léon Delagrange, and another for Henri Farman. The basic Voisin was a biplane with the engine behind the pilot and a "pusher" propeller. Pitching was controlled by biplane elevators forward of the pilot and rudders were fitted to the box kite tail, but there was no control of roll.Improvements were gradually introduced by the Voisins and their customers, such as Farman. Incidentally, to flatter their clients the Voisins often named the aircraft after them, thus causing some confusion to historians. Many Voisins were built up until 1910, when the company's fortunes sank. Competition was growing, the factory was flooded, and Charles left. Gabriel started again, building robust biplanes of steel construction. Voisin bombers were widely used during the First World War, and a subsidiary factory was built in Russia.In August 1917, Voisin sold his business when the French Air Ministry decided that Voisin aeroplanes were obsolete and that the factory should be turned over to the building of engines. After the war he started another business making prefabricated houses, and then turned to manufacturing motor cars. From 1919 to 1939 his company produced various models, mainly for the luxury end of the market but also including a few sports and racing cars. In the early 1950s he designed a small two-seater, which was built by the Biscuter company in Spain. The Voisin company finally closed in 1958.[br]Principal Honours and DistinctionsChevalier de la Légion d'honneur 1909. Académie des Sciences Gold Medal 1909.Bibliography1961, Mes dix milles cerfs-volants, France; repub. 1963 as Men, Women and 10,000 Kites, London (autobiography; an eminent reviewer said, "it contains so many demonstrable absurdities, untruths and misleading statements, that one does not know how much of the rest one can believe").1962, Mes Mille et un voitures, France (covers his cars).Further ReadingC.H.Gibbs-Smith, 1965, The Invention of the Aeroplane 1799–1909, London (includes an account of Voisin's contribution to aviation and a list of his early aircraft).Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War I, London; reprinted 1990 (provides details of Voisin's 1914–18 aircraft).E.Chadeau, 1987, L'Industrie aéronautique en France 1900–1950, de Blériot à Dassault, Paris.G.N.Georgano, 1968, Encyclopedia of Motor Cars 1885 to the Present, New York (includes brief descriptions of Voisin's cars).JDS
См. также в других словарях:
Farman, Henri — ▪ French pioneer aviator and airplane manufacturer born 1874, Paris, France died July 18, 1958, Paris French aviation pioneer and aircraft builder who popularized the use of ailerons (aileron), moveable surfaces on the trailing edge of a wing… … Universalium
Henri Farman — Retrato de Henri Farman Nacimiento 36 de mayo de … Wikipedia Español
Farman III — Louis Paulhan sur un Farman III au décollage Rôle Prototype Constructeur … Wikipédia en Français
Farman F.60 — Goliath Vue de l avion Type court courrier Motorisation Moteur 2 … Wikipédia en Français
FARMAN (H.) — FARMAN HENRI (1874 1958) Aviateur et industriel français, né et mort à Paris. Le premier avion de Farman est commandé, en 1907, aux frères Voisin, nouvellement installés à Billancourt: biplan avec moteur Antoinette et gouvernail de direction à… … Encyclopédie Universelle
Farman — (Henri) (1874 1958) et son frère Maurice (1877 1964), aviateurs et constructeurs d avions français, d origine brit. Henri effectua le prem. vol avec passager (1908) … Encyclopédie Universelle
Henri Farman — Métadonnées personne NOM Henri Farman NOMS ALTERNATIFS COURTE DESCRIPTION aviateur et constructeur d avions français DATE DE NAISSANCE 26 mai 1874 LIE … Wikipédia en Français
Farman F.50 — Vue de l’avion Co … Wikipédia en Français
Farman MF.11 — Vue de l … Wikipédia en Français
Farman MF.7 — Vue de l’avion … Wikipédia en Français
Farman III — ▪ biplane aircraft designed, built, and first flown by the French aviator Henri Farman (Farman, Henri) in 1909. (See also history of flight (flight, history of).) In the early spring of 1909, Farman, the son of English parents living in… … Universalium
