GABRIEL VOISIN 1880-1973

Gabriel Voisin Collection Roger-Viollet, photo H. Manuel Nouvelle Histoire Mondiale de l'Aviation, Edmond Petit Courtesy of HARGRAVE, the PIONEERS

 

Gabriel & Charles Voisin Library of Congress Collection, 1-26-11

 

Gabriele Voisin "Gabriel Voisin"

Luigi Blériot Louis Blériot

From L'ILLUSTRAZIONE ITALIANA (THE ITALIAN ILLUSTRATION) an Italian weekly magazine of June 27 1909. Italian Gli aviatori Gabriele Voisin e Luigi Bleriot a cui fu assegnato dall'Istituto di Francia il premio Osiris di 100000 franchi. English The aviators Gabriel Voisin and Louis Bleriot were awarded the Osiris Prize of 100,000 francs by the Institute of France Courtesy of Giovanni Giorgetti, 6-17-07

 

ONLINE RESOURCES      If you search for "Gabriel Voisin", using the Google search engine, (7-6-07), you will find about 36,600 links! Among the most helpful is the following.

HARGRAVE the PIONEERS      You will find a most comprehensive and detailed biography of the Voisin brothers on the HARGRAVE website. Their story is illustrated with an incredibly rich selection of 60 photographs and is probably the definitive work on their careers.      Using the Google search engine with the phrase "Gabriel Voisin" +aviation, you will still find about 1,010 links. Some are very brief, others a bit more detailed, many with photographs, Many are in French, but can be translated directly from the search engine.

 

Voisin biplane glider (type Chanute) Collection of Jean-Pierre Lauwers

 

1907 Voisin biplane glider (type Chanute) Collection of Jean-Pierre Lauwers

 

THE VERY EARLIEST EARLY BIRDS by Ernest Jones      March 16, 1907---Charles Voisin made his first power flight. He and his brother Gabriel were among the pioneers in flight (1904) experimentation and had had long experience at gliding. They had established a factory for the production of gliders and experimental machines for themselves and others.      Having constructed a power machine for Leon Delagrange, Charles Voisin undertook to demonstrate it and began grasscutting on February 28, 1907, at Bagatelle. On March 16 it flew 10m.      March 30, 1907---Flights of 20 and 60m. The machine was a biplane pusher, biplane elevator forward on outriggers, box tail aft on outriggers, rudder inside tail and Antonoinette 50 h.p. engine.      April 8, 1907---50m at Bagatelle; on the thirteenth, 34m. The machine was delivered to Delagrange, but he did not fly it until later. Charles Voisin did not fly again.

 

Aldo Weilschott     Il costruttore Voisin.

From L'ILLUSTRAZIONE ITALIANA (THE ITALIAN ILLUSTRATION) an Italian weekly magazine of June 14 1908. Italian Aldo Weilschott e il costruttore Voisin English Aldo Weilschott and the builder Voisin      In the book PIONIERI DELL'AVIAZIONE IN ITALIA (Pioneers of Aviation in Italy) the name is written Aldo Weillschott.      Aldo Weilschott was a menber of an Italian committee which on March 1908 went to Mourmelon-le-Grand (France) to offer Léon Delagrange to fly in Rome and Milan. Delagrange's plane was a Voisin Courtesy of Giovanni Giorgetti, 6-17-07

 

ONLINE RESOURCES Flying Machines, 1909 Special Collections Wright State University Libraries This outstanding website includes 25 brief biographies of aviators of the period, including Gabriel Voisin, and their associated postcards. Full size images of the postcards are available and are beautiful. To access the introduction, just click on: 1909 I think you will want to browse the entire exhibit, page by page. I found it to be a very valuable addition to the online community.

 

Gabriel Voisin died in 1973.   Editor's Note: If you have any information on this pioneer aviator please contact me. E-mail to Ralph Cooper

 

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