History of Airplanes

Henri Farman on this machine established the world’s record for duration of flight, when on December 18th, 1910, he flew continuously for almost eight hours and a half. This achievement was made possible by the great weight-lifting capacity of this type, enabling him to carry almost 450 pounds of fuel in an enormous tank.

The “type militaire” was remarkable for its great size, the innovative enclosed body, the dihedral angle of the planes, and its three direction rudders. This airplane was very steady, slow, and capable of making trips that would have taxed many  automobile and trains of the day.

A slightly smaller type also attained great success. Weyman made his flight from Paris to Clermont, 420 kilometers, in seven hours, on a Farman biplane. Wynmalen made the round trip between Paris and Brussels with a passenger far quicker than the fastest express train, and in many ways with greater security. Height records, distance records, five-passenger-carrying records, and a great variety of special prizes have been maded and won by this type and types similar to it. The slow speed did not at all indicate that the type was inefficient, but made it far safer and far more serviceable, especially in military work, where hovering over one spot was of great importance.  It seemed at the time that airplanes capable of flying from sunrise to sunset without ever touching terra firma offered almost unlimited possibilities for use in commerce, in war, and in recreation.

Top Speed: 34.5 m.p.h.

Engine: 50 horse-power, 7-cylinder Gnome

Wingspan: 49 feet

Weight: 1,300 pounds

Specifications from “Monoplanes and Biplanes,” by Grover Loening, 1911

The Frame

The details of the framework and the general character of the main cell, outriggers, rear cell, etc., are similar to the other Farman types; steel tubing, however is more generally used. A new departure is the introduction of a covered central body, containing the seats, the tanks, etc., and shaped to a stream line form, very much as on the Maurice Farman. The outer panels of the upper plane are hinged and held in place by an inclined movable steel tube strut enabling these parts to be folded down when not in use. This disposition was first installed on the smaller Farman of Fischer.

The Main Wings

As on many of the Farman biplanes of 1910, the lower plane is made shorter than the upper. The spread on the upper plane is 49 1/4 feet and that of the lower 36 feet. The total area is 540 square feet. which makes this the same size as the Cody. The entering edge of the upper plane is horizontal, but the trailing edge is curved up from the center, thus giving to the upper plane an incident angle which gradually decreases from the center to the ends. This is supposed to increase stability and lift. The entire lower surface is set at a dihedral angle which is rather large.

The Control System.-The rudders and controlling system are the same as on the other type-a front elevation rudder combined with the movable trailing flap on the upper surface of the rear cell, and ailerons on the outer ends of the upper main surface. Three direction rudders instead of two are installed. Some of the earlier “types militaires” were equipped with an aileron on each end of the lower panel and two above, making six in all.

The motion power is the usual seven-cylinder 50 horse-power Gnome plant, with an Eole propeller.

Weight Speed, Loading and Aspect Ratio.- The total weight is from 1,300 to 1,850 pounds. The speed is almost 34 1/2 miles an hour; 37 pounds are lifted per horse-power, and 3.4 pounds per square foot of surface. The aspect ratio is 6.8 to 1.