Ernest Archdeacon (Paris 1863 - Versailles 1950), was a prominent French lawyer of Irish descent who was associated with pioneering all forms of aviation in France before the First World War. He made his first balloon flight at the age of 20. He built a copy of the Wright No. 3 glider but had only limited success. He partnered Gabriel Voisin to develop and sell many early aircraft.[1]
His lasting contribution to aviation is the Aéro-Club de France, the oldest aero-club in the world, which he co-founded in 1898 before powered flight.[2]
On 29 May 1908, Archdeacon became the first aeroplane passenger in Europe when he was piloted by Henry Farman at Issy-les-Moulineaux.[3]
Early life
Archdeacon was born and raised in Paris, and studied law for a career at the Bar. His passionate interest in science lead him to also study ballooning and aviation, and in 1884, aged 20, he made his first balloon flight.
The Aero Club of France
On October 20, 1898, in partnership with the oil magnate Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe. Archdeacon founded the Aéro-Club de France, which is still the official authority of the organization of sport aviation in France. Other founding members include the engineer Gustave Eiffel, the Marquis de Fonvielle, Count Henri de la Vaux and Count Henri de la Valette to make bail. The first president of the Aero Club in 1900, was the Marquis Jules-Albert de Dion.
Sponsor of Aviation
In April 1900, the Aero Club de France announced the 'Deutsch de la Meurthe' prize of one hundred thousand francs for 'the first flying machine' to complete the round trip from St. Cloud to the Eiffel Tower and back in less than thirty minutes. In September 1901, Alberto Santos-Dumont did the trip with his airship in 30 minutes and 42 seconds.
After hearing about the Wright brothers from Octave Chanute, Archdeacon decided to further encourage the development of powered flight in France. Thus the January 1904 edition of La Vie au Grand Air magazine carried an article entitled "A new sport - Soaring" (Un nouveau sport – Le vol plané) by François Peyrey. It reported that in 1903 the aviator Captain Ferber, of the 17th Alpine Battery, had written to Archdeacon demanding "Do not let 'the aeroplane' be achieved in America first." Archdeacon responded by donating 3000 francs to the Archdeacon committee of the Aero Club de France, to sponsor aviation competitions.[4]
In 1903 Archdeacon commissioned a copy of the Wright Flyer (glider) from Monsieur Dargent at the military aircraft workshop (ballons and airships) at Chalais-Meudon[5] It was a biplane using an ash frame hung with silk and guyed with piano wire. It was described in La Vie au Grand Air:
- "The two wings, slightly convex from front to back, have a wingspan of Vorlage:M to ft, a width of Vorlage:M to ft and are separated vertically by Vorlage:M to ft. Total area: 22 square meters. .... It has two rudders: the horizontal rudder at the front for the vertical direction and preparing landing by gradually decreasing the speed; and the vertical rudder at the back for getting the direction in the horizontal plane (steering). The aéroplane is very robust despite weighing only 34 kilograms.[6]
The first experiments with the Wright Flyer were conducted in April 1904 on the dunes at Merlimont near Berck-sur-Mer, which were 20 to 25 meters high. The experimenters were Gabriel Voisin, a young and daring Lyonnais who was devoted to "heavier than air flight", and the well known airman Captain L. F. Ferber (1862-1909 aka Ferdinand Ferber & Monsieur de Rue)[7][8]
There was not much success at Berck-sur-Mer, so they fitted floats and successfully tested the glider on the River Seine at Boulogne-Billancourt using a boat to tow it between the bridges of Saint-Cloud and Sevres (a little over 1, 5 kilometers).[1]
Archdeacon and the 'Aero Club of France' then launched a prize for the first flight of more than twenty-five yards by a 'heavier than air' craft. It was won by Alberto Santos-Dumont on November 12, 1906 at Bagatelle, using the 14bis biplane built in Boulogne-Billancourt by Gabriel Voisin. [1]
In October 1904, Ernest Archdeacon raised the value of the Deutsch de la Meurthe-Archdeacon prize to 50,000 francs and offered it for the first 'heavier than air' flight around a one kilometre closed circuit. This represented about 20 times the annual earnings of a Parisian professional worker.[9] It was won by Henri Farman on January 13, 1908 at Issy-les-Moulineaux.
In March 1905, at the Issy-les-Moulineaux parade ground, Archdeacon used a 60 horsepower motor to tow a sand-ballasted 'Wright' type aeroplane along a slide. It rose like a kite to about 30 metres before crashing.[10]
Archdeacon Aeromotocyclette
In 1906 Archdeacon tested a 'propeller on a motorcycle', the Aéromotocyclette Anzani and achieved a timed speed of 79.5 kilometres per hour at Achères-la-Forêt. This 'Aéromotocyclette', based on a 'Buchet' motorcycle, was equipped with a 6 horsepower Anzani engine driving a propeller mounted on a Vorlage:M to ft steel tube.[11][12][13]
First Aeroplane passenger
On 29 May 1908, Ernest Archdeacon became the first aeroplane passenger in Europe when he was piloted by Henry Farman in a Voisin-Farman I (which became the Henri Farman 1bis) at Issy-les-Moulineaux. [3]
See also
References
External links
- The Pioneers - An Anthology Ernest Archdeacon (1863 - 1950)
- OzeBook, Catalogue of Motorcycles, 1903 Buchet
- ↑ a b c Earnest Deacon at French Wiki
- ↑ Hargrave - The Pioneers, Profile of Ernest Archdeacon
- ↑ a b Ctie-Monash, Hargrave, Archdeacon pioneer passenger
- ↑ 'La Vie au Grand Air, No. 280, January 21, 1904
- ↑ Ville de Meudon, Aviation, Archdeacon and Wright No 3
- ↑ La Vie au Grand Air, No. 285, February 25, 1904
- ↑ The outdoor life, No. 293, April 21, 1904.
- ↑ Early Aviators, Profile and image of Capitaine L.F.Ferber
- ↑ Chadeau Emmanuel, The aviation industry in France 1900-1950, Bleriot to Dassault, Paris, Fayard, 1987
- ↑ La Vie au Grand Air, No. 342, March 30, 1905
- ↑ Collective, Great Features Illustration - The Epic Aviation - History of a Century 1843-1944, Sefag and Illustration, 1987
- ↑ La Vie au Grand Air, No. 418, dated September 22, 1906
- ↑ OzeBook, Catalogue of Motorcycles, 1903 Buchet