Louis Béchereau

Louis Béchereau was a French aviation pioneer, born 25 July 1880 and died in Paris on 18 March 1970. He was a contemporary (among others)Clément Ader, Gabriel Voisin, Wilbur Wright Henri Farman and Louis Blériot. In 1902, Béchereau joined a machine shop in Bezons where he participated in the prototype car designed by Clément Ader. With a nephew of Clement Ader in 1903 he created "Construction Company of Aerial Devices." Armand Deperdussin had entrusted the realization of a plane in 1909 Production Company of Deperdussin Airplanes, with Béchereau as a technical consultant. Béchereau conceived from the outset devices called "monocoque", the spindle-shaped body very aerodynamic. This feature allows them to achieve performance previously unthinkable. Its revolutionary design allowed the Deperdussin to win several awards, including the famous Gordon Bennett Aviation Cup in 1912.

Deperdussin Racing Aircraft (1913)

"On April 6, 1913, Marcel Prevost became the first winner of the Schneider Cup. As early as 1912, French designer Bechereau had drawn up the basic plans of the externally braced Deperdussin monoplane, with which Prevost won the Gordon Bennett Cup race from September 27 to 29, 1913. The plane was distinguished by an aerodynamic styling so far ahead of its time that the United States, Great Britain, and Germany withdrew their entries from the Gordon Bennett race. The superiority demonstrated by the Deperdussin seaplane in winning the Schneider Cup doubtless contributed to their decisions."

(source: Conquerors of the Air, The Evolution of Aircraft, 1968, Heiner Emde and Carlo Demand)

For more information, see The Schneider Trophy - 1st Edition April 16, 1913

1923 Schneider Cup winner

The winner of the 1923 Schneider Cup was D. Rittenhouse of the U.S. in a Navy Curtiss CR-3 The average speed was 177.38 mph. The location of the race was Cowes, England.

Schneider Cup established in 1912

On December 5, 1912 at an Aero Club de France banquet to award the Gordon Bennett Prize, Jacques Schneider, son of an industrialist, announced that he was founding a new contest. He established an annual race for seaplanes with a prize of 1,000 pounds and a trophy for the winner. The conditions of the race called for a level of precision that added to the race's appeal and would drawn thousands of spectators to the event. The qualifying tests included the following:

• Each contestant had to move over the water in rough seas beyond he starting line under its own power; 
• start and land after executing a loop; 
• move on the water under its own power at a minimum velocity of 12 mph over a half-mile stretch between buoys;
• repeat the above procedure; 
• then start and land once again. 

The machine also had to stay moored for six hours to prove that it was seaworthy.

The first Schneider Cup race took place in Monte Carlo on April 6, 1913 and a Morane-Saulnier, two Nieuports, and a Deperdussin qualified out of the 24 entries.

(source: Conquerors of the Air, The Evolution of Aircraft, 1968, Heiner Emde and Carlo Demand)

Paper airplane aerodynamics

Interesting and very clear description of paper airplane aerodynamics by John Collins. Collins currently holds the world record for longest flight of a paper airplane.

Curtiss F6C-1 Hawk - 1926 Schneider Cup Race

This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID npc2007016207

The U.S. Navy Schneider Cup team was photographed on August 19, 1926 in front of the Curtiss F6C-1 Hawk. The pilot was Lt.  William Tomlinson (later Rear Admiral, 2nd from left). The Curtiss hawk was powered by a 507 HP Curtiss D12-A engine and achieved a speed of 220.406 km/h during the race but made only the 4th of 4 contenders participating.

Virtual Tour of the National Museum of the US Air Force

A Virtual Tour of the National Museum of the US Air Force (photo by U.S. Air Force)

The National Museum of the US Air Force is a large repository of U.S. military aircraft. Having been there a couple of times, I can attest that this virtual tour is, of course, no substitute for an actual visit, but it comes close and is nicely executed. More information on the Virtual Tour, or click on the link about to go to the tour itself.