Voisin Type de Course
| Type de Course | |
|---|---|
| |
| Role | Sports aircraft |
| National origin | France |
| Manufacturer | Voisin |
| Designer | Gabriel Voisin |
| First flight | April 1910 |
The Voisin Type de Course was an early French aircraft built by Voisin Frères. It was first flown early in 1910.
Design and development
[edit]The 1910 Type de Course was designed by Gabriel Voisin as a racing aircraft to take part in the many competitions being held at the time. A development of his highly successful 1907 biplane, it was a two-seater two-bay pusher configuration biplane with an elevator (aircraft) mounted on the upcurved front of the nacelle and rear-mounted empennage carried on two pairs of booms carrying the tail surfaces.[1] The first aircraft flown, built for Henri Rougier, had a single rudder above the stabiliser and a fixed fin below: some later examples differed slightly. The structure made extensive use of metal: the nacelle was constructed of circular and elliptical section nickel-steel tubing,[2] the interplane struts were steel and the wings had steel spars and wooden ribs.[3] Importantly, it differed from the earlier Voisin aircraft in having provision for lateral control in the form of ailerons, which allowed Voisin to dispense with the "side-curtains" between the wings characteristic of his earlier aircraft. Rougier's aircraft had biplane mid-gap ailerons mounted on the front outer pair of interplane struts. The undercarriage consisted of a pair of mainwheels under the wings, a large nosewheel carried between a pair of inverted V-struts under the front of the nacelle and a small tailwheel mounted on the bottom of the fin. It was powered by a 50 hp E.N.V. water-cooled V8.[1]
The first example was flown by Rougier on the 13 April 1910.[4] A second aircraft built for René Métrot differed in having monoplane ailerons, two rudders and an uncovered nacelle.[5] Others were built for various customers, differing in the engine fitted: these included the 37 kW (50 hp) Gnome and the 4-cylinder Gobron. Six were flown at the second Reims Grande Semaine d'Aviation, but without any success in any of the competitions.[6]
Specifications
[edit]General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Capacity: 1 passenger
- Length: 9 m (29 ft 6 in)
- Wingspan: 9 m (29 ft 6 in)
- Wing area: 33 m2 (360 sq ft)
- Gross weight: 350 kg (772 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × E.N.V. Type A V-8 water cooled piston engine. , 37 kW (50 hp)
- Propellers: 2-bladed Voisin, 2.50 m (8 ft 2 in) diameter
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b c "New Racing Voisin Biplane". Flight: 293. 16 April 1910.
- ^ "Les Nouveax Appareils "Voisin"". L'Aérophile (in French): 98. January 1911. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
- ^ F. Handley Page (16 July 1910). "Novel Machins at Rheims". Flight: 553.
- ^ "Rougier Tests His New Voisin". Flight: 315. 23 April 1910.
- ^ "Au Jour le Jour:Un Peu Plutot". l'Aérophile (in French): 242. 1 June 1910.
- ^ "Voisin". L'Aérophile (in French): 318. 15 July 1910.
References
[edit]Opdycke, Leonard E. French Aeroplanes Before the Great War Atglen, PA: Schiffer, 1999 ISBN 0 7643 0752 5