Odd but fascinating early birds:Picture Gallery

[Willi Von Klugerman]

This thread for the many odd but amazing (to me) flying machines of the early years of aviation! Enjoy!

Roshon multiplane



Alexander Graham Bell's 5,000 cell glider!!



Marquis d'Ecquevilly machine



Robart Papillon monoplane



Stoeckel monoplane



Drum winged machine

[aerohydro]

Drum winged machine

Here is a better image of it:



This is the Givaudan flying machine, built and tested at the Vermorel motor factory at Villefranche, France in 1909. It was quite unsuccessful.

A later version of it, known as the Vermorel-Givaudan, had triplane wings fitted to either side of the front set of cellular wings, and a fixed tailplane fitted to the rear set. In this form, it was also quite unsuccessful.

A French aeromodeller called Emmanuel Fillon has made a semi-accurate scale model of this machine:





As you can see, the model can fly, even if the full-sized one couldn't. M. Fillon has produced many wild and strange models and offers plans for quite a few of them (visit his website at Plans Fillon), although unfortunately not for the Givaudan.

A few years ago, American aeromodeller David Dodge of Connecticut came up with a flying model that features also hoop wings. He calls these type of models the Ezekiel, due to the "wheels within wheels" aspect of their wing design. He has a website, but for some reason I can't put in a link to it. You'll just have to use this URL, but get rid of the spaces:

• http : // home . att .net / ~dannysoar3 /Ezekiel.htm

The idea of using hoop wings on full-sized flying machines is still around, as can be seen by these two entries in recent Red Bull and Birdman contests.

Cheers,
Paul

[Willi Von Klugerman]

Thats a pretty neat flying model!Wish I had one of those flying in my living room (That'll keep my cat buisy).Its funny how its always the model that only flies (Langley Aerodrome scale model for example,we all know what happened to the full scale version).

More pics!

The Bartlett Flapping Machine



Trajan Vuia's Flyer



Burke "Seagull"



1910 Wyndham



Corrugated metal wing!!

[Willi Von Klugerman]

1910 Shultz machine,took 12 years to construct



Horatio Phillips contraption,it flew 550 ft!



A better view of Bell's glider;Holy s***!!



Israel Ludlow Machine



Builder unknown

[Willi Von Klugerman]

I notice that in this pic there is a flap on the back of Horatio's machine.Is it a "doggy door" or an elevator?

[aerohydro]

I notice that in this pic there is a flap on the back of Horatio's machine.Is it a "doggy door" or an elevator?

It's very definitely an elevator, or "horizontal rudder" as Horatio Phillips referred to it. Here's a close up of the item in question:



In the 'other' photo of the 1907 Multiplane, the one showing it from the front-quarter, you can make out two sets of levers and crankarms leading off from the left of the pilot: this is the control mechanism for the elevator. There was a vertical rudder as well, but it seems Horatio didn't fit it to the machine when he was testing it.

The photo you posted is quite familiar to me, as I was the one who originally got it scanned and uploaded to the internet! A few years ago, I'd gone to a research library to check out century-old issues of a British journal called "Engineering", which frequently reported on the work of Horatio Phillips. It was while I was reading those old journals that I came across the photo. The image also forms part of this small website I'd made:

• Horatio Phillips' 1907 Multiplane

Cheers,
Paul

[Varese2002]

Originally Posted by Willi Von Klugerman

---

The Bartlett Flapping Machine



---

Information published on the internet is not necessarily correct, so the identification of this machine as the 'Bartlett Flapping Machine' is a blooper I wrote a mail to the holder of the site who identifies it that way, but as ever got no response and the false information remains.

This beauty of a machine is the Ornithoptère of Monsieur Collomb photographed in January 1908 by the famous French photographer Maurice-Louis Branger. The intention of Collomb was to get a flapping action with his wings of 150 cycles / minute.
Sure the technology of 1908 was not up to this class and the machine remained firmly on the ground. Also aerodynamically the machine was not up to it, given the choice of Collomb for 'venetian blinds' (lamelles). The design and construction of the machine must have cost a small fortune in those times, inclusive the fitted engine.
There is another picture of the machine of Collomb with the wings in the lowest position.

The ornithoptere issue has been in and out of interest during a century, but recently it has come on its own with for instance small insect like machines used for military reconnaissance. Technology seems to be up to the problem now. But one of the forerunners was Monsieur Collomb.

Have a fine day

Kees

[Willi Von Klugerman]

If it had a wing on the top,proper tail assembly,and a better engine it could have flown!

[Varese2002]

It is historically not sound to base judgment of an inventor from 1908 on the knowledge available now, that is a hundred years later. In the particular case of monsieur Collomb, his ideas should be judged on knowledge available in 1908.

Perhaps the contemporary judgment can be read in the French L'Aérophile volume 16 (1908) No. 5 (March 1) p. 87. It would be interesting to read the article, but unfortunately I have no copy or scan.

There is at least another contemporary (1910) text on Collomb



Source: Graffigny, Henry de. 1910. Le tour de France en aéroplane / par Henry de Graffigny,... ; ill. de Ferdinand Raffin.

The text describes the characteristics of the machine and leaves it at that.

Cheers

Kees