Portrait of Henri FARMAN with frame

French aviator and industrialist, born and died in paris. Farman's first aircraft was ordered in 1907 from the voisin brothers, newly installed in billancourt: biplane with antoinette engine and rudder at the rear; elevator at the front, operated by the pilot seated at the edge of the lower wing. On this aircraft, farman will perform the first flight of 1, 000 meters, in closed circuit, for which a price of 50, 000 francs was offered, since 1904, by the aero-club of france. The event took place on january 13, 1908, above the manoeuvring field of issy-les-moulineaux: round trip between two landmarks 500 meters from each other in one minute and twenty-eight seconds. The period of "leaps" is over. A few months later, on october 30, farman made the first aeroplane trip. From bouy (near châlons-sur-marne), where it has settled, it will fly in one go to saint-léonard (near reims), covering the 27 kilometers, at an altitude of 25 meters, in twenty minutes. In 1909, with his brother maurice (1877-1964), farman undertook to build, in bouy, his own aircraft: biplanes equipped with a gnome engine, warping of the wings replaced by a device of four ailerons, modified balancer. A first triplane was also made. From the observation aircraft (the "chicken cage", 1915) to the bombers used during the second world war, farman was to make a large contribution to the equipment of the air force.

Ref. : WJVSPJP7