BIOGRAPHY

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

 

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.

 

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

 

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

 

ONLINE RESOURCES      If you search for "Charles Voisin", using the Google search engine, (7-6-07), you will find about 676 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 "Charles Voisin" +aviation, you will still find about 405 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.

 

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