Sommer 1910 biplane
Sommer 1910 Biplane | |
---|---|
Role | Trainer, sports aircraft |
National origin | France |
Manufacturer | Roger Sommer |
Designer | Roger Sommer |
First flight | 1910 |
The Sommer 1910 Biplane was an early French aircraft designed by Roger Sommer. It was a pusher configuration biplane resembling the successful Farman III, and was built in large numbers for the time. One was owned by Charles Rolls.
Background
Roger Sommer had previously built an aircraft of his own design in 1908, achieving a few short straight-line flights in early 1909. This was housed at
Design and development
The design of the Sommer biplane was derived from that of the Farman III, the aircraft being a
Operational history
The prototype was first flown by Sommer on 4 January 1910 at Mouzon, when he managed three flights of over 4 km (2.5 mi)[2] This first machine was sold to a M. Viateaux within two weeks, and by the end of February he had built a replacement and established a flying school at Mouzon. A large number of examples were built: by spring 1910 Sommer had sixty aircraft on order.[3] Sommer had established flying school at Douzy using his machines.
One example was bought by Charles Rolls, and was exhibited on the Royal Aero Societys stand at the 1910 Aero Show at Olympia [4]
The Humber-Sommer biplane
A small number of license-built copies of the Sommer biplane were built in
The letters bore an official frank "First Aerial Post, U.P. Exhibition, Allahabad, 1911", the text surrounding a drawing of the aircraft. [7]Specifications
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Capacity: 1
- Length: 12.5 m (41 ft 0 in)
- Wingspan: 10.36 m (34 ft 0 in)
- Wing area: 36 m2 (390 sq ft)
- Powerplant: 1 × Gnome Omega 7-cylinder rotary air-cooled, 37 kW (50 hp)
Notes
- ^ M. Roger Sommer's Record Flight International 14 August 1909
- ^ M. Sommer Flying Again Flight International 15 January 1910
- ^ Opdycke 1999 p.242
- ^ The Sommer Biplane Flight International 19 March 1910
- ^ Lewis 1962 p.321
- ^ The First Aerial Post Flight 18 March 1911
- ^ Kapil Bhargava. "Beginning of Aviation in India" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-27.
References
- Lewis, Peter. British Aircraft 1809-1914. London: Putnam, 1962
- Opdycke, Leonard E. French Aeroplanes before the Great War. Atglen, PA: Schiffer, 1990
- The Aero Manual 1910 (reprint) Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles, 1972 ISBN 0 7153 5512 0pp. 162–3
External links
- The Sommer Biplane Flight International 23 April 1910