Voisin brothers @·AIRCRAFTUBE

  • Gabriel Voisin<br>Charles Voisin<br>1906 Gabriel Voisin<br>Charles Voisin<br>1906
    Gabriel Voisin
    Charles Voisin
    1906
  • Grande semaine<br>Paulhan on Voisin<br>(Gnome engine) Grande semaine<br>Paulhan on Voisin<br>(Gnome engine)
    Grande semaine
    Paulhan on Voisin
    (Gnome engine)
  • Charles Voisin<br>Henri Farman<br>1907 Charles Voisin<br>Henri Farman<br>1907
    Charles Voisin
    Henri Farman
    1907
  • Voisin<br>Canard Voisin<br>Canard
    Voisin
    Canard
  • Icare<br>hydroaeroplane<br>1913 Icare<br>hydroaeroplane<br>1913
    Icare
    hydroaeroplane
    1913
  • Gabriel Voisin - Henry Farman - Conte Henri de la Vaulx Gabriel Voisin - Henry Farman - Conte Henri de la Vaulx
    Gabriel Voisin - Henry Farman - Conte Henri de la Vaulx
  • Voisin-Farman 1 - Aviation Grand Prix - 13 January 1908 Voisin-Farman 1 - Aviation Grand Prix - 13 January 1908
    Voisin-Farman 1 - Aviation Grand Prix - 13 January 1908
  • Charles Voisin<br>1882-1912 Charles Voisin<br>1882-1912
    Charles Voisin
    1882-1912
  • Gabriel Voisin<br>1880-1973 Gabriel Voisin<br>1880-1973
    Gabriel Voisin
    1880-1973
  • Grande semaine - 17 de Rue on a Voisin biplane Grande semaine - 17 de Rue on a Voisin biplane
    Grande semaine - 17 de Rue on a Voisin biplane
  • Henri Farman<br>Gabriel Voisin Henri Farman<br>Gabriel Voisin
    Henri Farman
    Gabriel Voisin
  • Baron de Caters on a Voisin-Farman - 1909 Baron de Caters on a Voisin-Farman - 1909
    Baron de Caters on a Voisin-Farman - 1909
  • Farman Henri - 1st km in closed circuit (Issy-les-Moulineaux)<br>Antoinette engine - 13-01-1908 Farman Henri - 1st km in closed circuit (Issy-les-Moulineaux)<br>Antoinette engine - 13-01-1908
    Farman Henri - 1st km in closed circuit (Issy-les-Moulineaux)
    Antoinette engine - 13-01-1908
  • Voisin Triplane Voisin Triplane
    Voisin Triplane
  • Gabriel Voisin<br>Charles Voisin<br>1906 Gabriel Voisin<br>Charles Voisin<br>1906
    Gabriel Voisin
    Charles Voisin
    1906
  • Voisin Canard - June 1912 Voisin Canard - June 1912
    Voisin Canard - June 1912
  • Voisin-Brabazon "Bird of Passage" - 1909 Voisin-Brabazon "Bird of Passage" - 1909
    Voisin-Brabazon "Bird of Passage" - 1909
  • Voisin two seater - 1910 Voisin two seater - 1910
    Voisin two seater - 1910
  • Logo Logo
    Logo
  • Avions Voisin C3 - 1919 Avions Voisin C3 - 1919
    Avions Voisin C3 - 1919
  • Avions Voisin C25 Aerodyne 1934 - Paris Retromobile Avions Voisin C25 Aerodyne 1934 - Paris Retromobile
    Avions Voisin C25 Aerodyne 1934 - Paris Retromobile
  • Voisin-Farman N°1 Voisin-Farman N°1
    Voisin-Farman N°1
  • Voisin biplane - 1910 Voisin biplane - 1910
    Voisin biplane - 1910
  • Voisin Type de course - 1910 Voisin Type de course - 1910
    Voisin Type de course - 1910
  • Voisin-Goupy N°1 Voisin-Goupy N°1
    Voisin-Goupy N°1
  • Camp de Châlons Camp de Châlons
    Camp de Châlons
  • Voisin-Brabazon Voisin-Brabazon
    Voisin-Brabazon
  • Post Post
    Post

The Voisin brothers

Gabriel Voisin

Belleville-sur-Saône, Feb 5, 1880 – † Ozenay, Dec 25, 1973

Gabriel Voisin was an aviation pioneer and the creator of Europe's first manned, engine-powered, heavier-than-air aircraft capable of a sustained (1 km), circular, controlled flight, including take-off and landing, made by Henry Farman on January 13, 1908 near Paris, France. During World War I the company founded by Voisin became a major producer of military aircraft, notably the Voisin III. Subsequently he switched to the design and production of luxury automobiles under the name Avions Voisin.Early life

Gabriel Voisin was born at Belleville-sur-Saône, France, and his brother Charles Voisin, two years younger than him, was his main childhood companion. When his father abandoned the family, his mother, Amélie, took her sons home to Neuville-sur-Saône, where they settled near her father's factory.

Their grandfather, Charles Forestier, took charge of the boys' education with military rigor. The boys also went for expeditions along the river, went fishing, and built numerous contraptions. When his grandfather died, Gabriel was sent to school in Lyon and Paris where he learned industrial design, a field in which Voisin claims to have been exceptionally gifted. He often returned home, and by the end of the century the brothers had built, among other things, a rifle, a steam boat and an automobile.

Early flying experiments

After completing his studies at the Ecole des Beaux Arts de Lyon in 1899, he joined an architectural firm in Paris. While in Paris he saw the Clément Ader Avion III, which was displayed at the Paris International Exposition of 1900. This awakened an interest in the problems of powered flight. After nine months of military service, in February 1904, he attended a lecture given by Captain Ferdinand Ferber, one of the leading figures in French aviation circles at the time. After the lecture Voisin approached Ferber and was given an introduction to Ernest Archdeacon, the leading promoter and financial supporter of early French aviation, and Archdeacon hired him to test fly the Wright-type glider that he had had built. The tests took place at Berck-sur-Mer in April 1904, and some short flights of around 20 m (66 ft) were achieved. Archdeacon then commissioned Voisin to build another glider of similar design, but differing in having a fixed horizontal stabiliser behind the wings, in addition to its front-mounted elevator. This was tested at Issy-les-Moulineaux on 26 March 1905 by towing it into the air using Archdeacon's automobile. Fortunately, the test was unmanned, the pilot's place being taken by 50 kg (110 lb) of ballast, since the aircraft suffered a structural failure and crashed. It was not rebuilt.

Voisin then designed and built a glider equipped with floats for Archdeacon. This aircraft marks the first use of Hargrave cells, used both for the empennage and the wings. Voisin successfully flew it on 8 June 1905, having been towed into the air behind a motor boat on the river Seine between the Billancourt and Sèvres bridges, managing a flight of about 600 m (2,000 ft). While working on this aircraft Voisin had been approached by Louis Blériot, who asked him to build him a similar machine, later known as the Bleriot II. This differed principally in having a smaller span lower wing, resulting in the outer 'side-curtains' between upper and lower wings being angled outwards. After this first flight Bleriot suggested to Voisin that they form a partnership to build aircraft, and so Voisin ended his association with Archdeacon's syndicate. Voisin attempted flights in both aircraft on 18 July 1905. Although the weather was unsuitable, with a strong crosswind, Voisin decided to attempt to fly the aircraft since it was difficult to obtain the necessary permission to use the river. He made a short flight in his own glider and then attempted a flight in Bleriot's. This took off quickly, but Voisin could not control it and it crashed into the river. Voisin was trapped inside and was lucky to escape drowning. Louis Blériot's cine footage of this experiment survives in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.

The next aircraft built by Voisin for Blériot during 1906, the Bleriot III, was a tandem biplane powered by an Antoinette engine driving two tractor propellers with the wings formed into a closed ellipse as seen from the front: according to Voisin's account, Blériot had originally wanted the lifting surfaces to be circular in front elevation, having experimented with models of this form, and the adoption of their eventual form was the result of a compromise between the two men. This aircraft was unsuccessful, as was its subsequent modification (the Blériot IV) in which the forward wing was replaced by a conventional biplane arrangement and a second engine added. Experiments were made first with floats and then with a wheeled undercarriage, and the aircraft was wrecked in a taxying accident at Bagatelle on the morning of 12 November 1906. Later that day, also at Bagatelle, Alberto Santos-Dumont succeeded in flying his 14-bis canard biplane for a distance of over 100 metres. After the failure of this machine Voisin and Blériot dissolved their partnership, and Voisin set up a company with his brother Charles Voisin to design and manufacture aircraft.

Commercial airplane production: Voisin Frères

Appareils d'Aviation Les Frères Voisin was the world's first commercial airplane factory. At this time aspiring European aviators were in fierce competition to be the first to achieve powered heavier-than-air flights. Until Wilbur Wright's demonstrations at Le Mans (France) in August 1908 many people did not believe the claims of the Wright brothers to have achieved sustained flights: for instance, that the Wrights' Flyer III had flown 24 miles (38.9 km) in 39 minutes 23 seconds on October 5, 1905.

Santos-Dumont's flights in the 14-bis, in November 1906, were Europe's first officially observed and verified heavier-than-air powered flights. Despite its fame, all that the 14-bis could achieve was a short flight on a straight line. It had no potential beyond that and it was quickly abandoned.

Two almost identical pusher biplane machines, with Antoinette engines, were built by the Voisin brothers for two early aviation pioneers: the first for Léon Delagrange in March 1907, and the second for his friend and rival Henry Farman in October 1907. The second one became known as the Voisin-Farman I, and was flown by Farman to win Archdeacon's Grand Prix d'Aviation for making the first one-kilometre closed-circuit flight on January 13, 1908. Both Farman and Delagrange won great fame with these aircraft, competing with each other for aviation records. The Voisins' machines became widely known as Europe's first successful aircraft.

Later Farman modified and improved the Voisin pusher biplane considerably. He eventually ended his cooperation with the Voisin brothers, following a disagreement, and started manufacturing his own designs which became very successful.

The Voisin brothers continued the expansion of their factory resulting for example in the Canard Voisin of 1911.

After the death of brother Charles: Aéroplanes G. Voisin

Gabriel Voisin was greatly affected by the death of his brother Charles in 1912 in an automobile accident near Belleville-sur-Saône, but he continued the expansion of the Boulogne-Billancourt factory, under the changed name Société Anonyme des Aéroplanes G. Voisin.

After 1912, the factory shifted its manufacturing and sales towards supplying the French military. When World War I broke out in 1914, Gabriel Voisin immediately volunteered for service with French air corps. The Voisin III, a two-seater pusher biplane with a 120 hp Salmson radial engine, was extensively used for bombing and observation missions during World War I. It had a light steel frame and thus could be stationed outdoors. The Voisin III was built in large numbers (about 1,000) between 1914 and 1916 and sold not only to the French air services but also to other allies, including Russia. The Type VIII (about 1,100 built) and Type X (about 900 built) were delivered in 1917 and 1918. Those last to appear Voisin military aircraft were almost identical in appearance to the Voisin III, although they were heavier and featured twice as powerful Peugeot and Renault engines. They also had a longer range and carried almost twice the bomb load of their predecessor. A complete and original Voisin Type VIII bomber aircraft is preserved in excellent condition at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington,D.C. It is the oldest preserved bomber aircraft in the world.

Switch to car production: Avions Voisin

Gabriel Voisin abandoned aviation, citing the trauma of the military use of his more advanced airplanes (the Voisin III) during the war in addition to the then embryonic demand for civilian aircraft. From then until 1958, he concentrated his efforts on making automobiles under the brand of Avions Voisin. His early cars were some of the finest luxury vehicles in the world, with unique technical details. Many of them won in competition. However, the luxury car market shrank in the 1930s because of depressed economic conditions followed in June 1940 by the invasion of France by Nazi Germany forcing him to close down his factory. "In 1939, a certain Hitler unleashed the regrettable chain of events that French people are all too familiar with." - Gabriel Voisin. After 1945, he turned his attention to designing a minimalist car for the masses, the Biscooter, thousands of which were produced under licence in Spain during the 1950s as the Biscúter. Today, his pre-war luxury automobiles have become highly prized by collectors, both in Europe and in the USA.

In the 1920s, the company also proposed a 'Motor-Fly' which was a bicycle with an small auxiliary 2-stroke engine added to the back wheel, and also produced pre-fabricated houses that could be built in 3 days ('votre maison en trois jours - your house in 3 days'). These were available with a floor area of 35, 75 or 105 square meters, and were constructed around a metall framework. Some of these houses still exist, but none in their original condition. The houses carry the logo 'Avion Voisin Issy', just like the other products from the factory.

Further biography

In 1909, Gabriel Voisin was made a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor, and along with Blériot was awarded the Prix Osiris, awarded by the Institut de France.

In the same year Voisin married Adrienne-Lola Bernet; they had one daughter, Janine.

In 1960, he retired in his country house, "La Cadolle" at Le Villars, near Tournus on the banks of the Saône river, where he wrote his memoirs. A few years later, in 1965, he was made a Commander of the Legion d'Honneur. He died in 1973 in Ozenay, Saône-et-Loire at the age of 93 and was buried at Le Villars.

Charles Voisin

Lyon, 12 Jul 1882 - † Belleville-sur-Saône, 26 Sep 1912

Charles joined his brother in 1906 and the Appareils d'Aviation Les Frères Voisin ("Voisin Brothers' Flying Machines") was formed. Their first successful plane was built in 1907. This machine, a pusher biplane powered by an Antoinette engine, was built for Léon Delagrange and was tested by Charles in February–April before being handed over to him. The first powered flight was made on 16 March 1907, when Charles flew for 10 metres at Neuilly-Bagatelle.

Voisins' aircraft became a significant advance in the aviation history. Record breaking flier Henri Farman flew a Voisin pusher biplane in most of his early flights, notably so when he became first in Europe to successfully complete a 1 km closed circuit at Issy-les-Moulineaux on January 13, 1908. Charles Voisin was present on the ground during this historic flight.

Charles Voisin was killed in an automobile accident on 26 September 1912 near Belleville-sur-Saône. The early woman aviator Baroness de Laroche was injured in the same accident.

Société Anonyme des Aéroplanes G. Voisin

Voisin was a French aircraft manufacturing company, one of the first in the world. It was established in 1906 by Gabriel Voisin and his brother Charles, and was continued by Gabriel after Charles died in an automobile accident in 1912; the full official company name then became Société Anonyme des Aéroplanes G. Voisin (English: Aeroplanes Voisin public limited company). It created Europe's first manned, heavier-than-air powered aircraft capable of a sustained (1 km), circular, controlled flight, including take-off and landing, the Voisin-Farman I.

During World War I, it was a major producer of military aircraft, notably the Voisin III. After the war Gabriel Voisin abandoned the aviation industry, and set up a company to design and produce luxury automobiles, called Avions Voisin.

Background

Gabriel Voisin had been employed by Ernest Archdeacon to work on the construction of gliders and then entered into partnership with Louis Blériot, to form the company Ateliers d' Aviation Edouard Surcouf, Blériot et Voisin in 1905. Gabriel Voisin bought out Blériot and on 5 November 1906 established the Appareils d'Aviation Les Frères Voisin with his brother Charles (English: Flying Machines of Voisin Brothers). The company, based in the Parisian suburb of Billancourt, was the first commercial aircraft factory in the world.

Early history

Like many early aircraft companies, Voisin were prepared to build machines to the designs of customers, this work supporting their own design experiments. The company's first customers were a M. Florencie, who commissioned them to build an ornithopter he had designed, and Henri Kapferer, for whom they built a pusher configuration biplane of their own design. The latter was underpowered, having a Buchet engine of only 20 hp (15 kW), and it failed to fly. However, Kapferer introduced them to Léon Delagrange, for whom they built a similar machine, powered by a 50 hp (37 kW) Antoinette engine. This was first successfully flown by Charles Voisin on 30 March 1907, achieving a straight-line flight of 60 m (200 ft). In turn Delagrange introduced them to Henri Farman, who ordered an identical aircraft. These two aircraft are often referred to by their owners' names as the Voisin-Delagrange No.1 and the Voisin-Farman No.1, and were the foundation of the company's success. On 13 January 1908 Farman used his aircraft to win the "Grand Prix de l'aviation" offered by Ernest Archdeacon and Henry Deutsch de la Meurthe for the first closed-circuit flight of over a kilometre. Since the achievements of the Wright Brothers were widely disbelieved at the time, this was seen as a major breakthrough in the conquest of the air, and brought Voisin Frères many orders for similar aircraft; around sixty were built.

Designs of 1907-1914

  • 1907 Voisin 1907 biplane.
  • 1909 Voisin Tractor (Only one built).
  • 1910 Voisin Type de Course.
  • 1910 Voisin Type Militaire.
  • 1910 Type Bordeaux.
  • 1911 Voisin Canard : Initially flown as a landplane but later fitted with floats. Examples were sold to the French Navy and to Russia.
  • 1911 Type Tourism.
  • 1912 Type Monaco : Smaller version of the Canard floatplane. Two built to take part in the 1912 Monaco Aero Meeting.
  • 1912 Voisin Icare Aero-Yacht : Flying boat built for Henry Deutsch de la Meurthe.
  • 1912 Voisin Type L or Voisin Type I : Developed for the French Army's 1912 trials. It performed successfully, and some seventy were built in France, and a small number in Russia.
  • 1914 Type LA or Voisin Type III.

Voisin designs in World War I

Production of the Type III increased with the outbreak of the First World War. The Voisin III was followed by improved Type LB and Type LBS, or Voisin IV and Voisin V aircraft. The larger Type LC, Voisin VII, followed in 1916, but was not a success and only a hundred were built.

Soon after the outbreak of the First World War, it became apparent that the French aviation industry could not produce aircraft in sufficient numbers to meet military requirements. Manufacturers from various other fields became aviation subcontractors, and later license-builders. The earliest such partnership was between Louis Breguet and Michelin. Gabriel Voisin was late to this field, although his designs were produced in quantity by Russian licensees. By 1918, Voisin was involved with the Voisin-Lafresnaye company, a major constructor of airframes, and the Voisin-Lefebvre company, a major builder of aircraft engines.

Following the Voisin VII came the more powerful, and more successful, Type LAP and Type LBP, known as the Voisin VIII. This was the French army's main night bomber in 1916–1917, with over one thousand built. The Voisin IX, or Type LC, was an unsuccessful design for a reconnaissance aeroplane, which lost out to the superior Salmson 2 and Breguet 14. The Voisin X, Type LAR and Type LBR, was the Voisin VIII with a more reliable Renault engine in place of the previous Peugeot design. Deliveries were much delayed, but some nine hundred were built by the end of the war.

The last significant Voisin design, the Voisin XII, was successful in trials in 1918, but with the end of the war, no production was ordered. Unlike previous Voisins, the Voisin XII was a large, twin-tractor-engined biplane night bomber, rather more elegant than previous, boxy Voisins.

Voisin X ambulance variant

In 1918, a Voisin X (No. 3500) was used to create the Voisin 'Aerochir' ('Ambulance'). The aircraft was capable of flying a surgeon, together with an operating table and support equipment, including an x-ray machine and autoclave, into the battlefield. Eight hundred pounds (360 kg) of equipment could be carried in under-wing panniers.

Post World War I

After 1918, Gabriel Voisin abandoned the aviation industry in favor of automobile construction under the brand Avions Voisin.

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This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article Voisin of Wikipedia ( authors )
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    The "Data" tab is reserved for list of features and specifications.

    Right menus

    On a smartphone, the lack of space is growing and this menu is moved to the bottom of the page to give priority to videos and pictures.

    The top right icons are links to videos posted by third parties (on their own responsabilities) or by ourselves. The link below these icons will take you to the channel of the one who posted the video. Feel free to suggest other videos if you think they are of some interest (Use the BLOG button or the "Contact" link).