J.Davilla, A.Soltan French Aircraft of the First World War (Flying Machines)

Astoux-Vedrines

  The Astoux-Vedrines triplane was tested at the Belgian aerodrome of Etampes during the First World War. The Etampes field, which had previously been used by the Farman and Bleriot firms to evaluate aircraft, was used by the French to test fly a number of unusual designs. The plane was designed by Astoux and test-flown by Jules Vedrines and so has become known as the Astoux-Vedrines triplane.
  The aircraft had three wings of narrow chord with a single interplane strut on each side connecting all three wings. The wings were staggered so that the top wing was foremost and the bottom was at the extreme rear. An unusual aspect of the design was that the incidence of the wings could be varied in flight. A large spinner helped to give the fuselage a streamlined silhouette. A small fixed fin extended above and below the tail and a large rudder was attached to the fin. A tailskid extended from the lower fin. The engine was a 130-hp Clerget.
  Jules Vedrines decided to adopt a careful test program and would set the wing incidence on the ground before flying the aircraft. Another pilot, named Simon, destroyed the aircraft in a crash, possibly due to failure of the variable incidence wing. It does not seem that the triplane was rebuilt or that the design was developed further.


Astoux-Vedrines Triplane Experimental Aircraft with 130-hp Clerget
   One built