L.Opdyke French Aeroplanes Before the Great War (Schiffer)

Журнал Flight

Flight, March 20, 1909.

Goupy Flyer.

   THE Goupy flyer, with which trials are being made at Buc, was, as our readers are aware, constructed at the Bleriot factory. Its span is only 6 metres, and its surface only 26 sq. metres. Unlike "Bleriot No. 11," which is also peculiar for its short span, this machine has, as we mentioned last week, two main supporting planes, and although the upper one is placed a little in advance of the lower one, the machine is what is properly understood as a biplane. It is fitted with a 25-h.p. R.E.P. engine, and is mounted on three wheels. The weight without the aviator is 209 kilogs., and with the pilot on board and in running order, does not exceed 290 kilogs.


Flight, July 16, 1910

NOVEL MACHINES AT RHEIMS.
BY HANDLEY PAGE.


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   Of the biplanes, the Savary, Goupy and Breguet have several new features.
   The Goupy biplane has already been illustrated and described, its chief feature being that the top plane is not vertically above the lower one, but in advance of it. The tail is constructed on the same lines. The ends of the main planes are hinged like those of a Bleriot elevator tail, and these are used instead of warping the planes themselves.
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Flight, December 3, 1910

AEROPLANE SILHOUETTES FROM THE PARIS SHOW.

THE GOUPY BIPLANE.

   FRENCH-BUILT biplane, with elevators on main planes and tail planes. Planes double-surfaced throughout. The upper planes are placed slightly further forward than the lower.
   General dimensions. - Bearing surface, 22 square metres; length overall, 7 metres; width, 6 metres.
   Seating capacity. - If two-seater, one behind the other.
   Engine. - Gnome air-cooled rotary: 7 cylinders, of 50-h.p. Propeller and motor, to which it is bolted, are placed in front of the main planes. Any engine is fitted, according to personal desire.
   Propeller. - To choice. Chauviere frequently used. 2.50 metres; diameter, 1.'25 metres pitch; normal revolutions, 800.
   Wheels and skids. - Two wheels mounted in somewhat similar fashion to the well-known Bleriot type. Two short skids, curving upwards towards the front, are placed before the wheels.
   Tail. - Biplane tail with single rudder placed centrally behind the two planes. Elevators are attached to the outside edges of both planes, and work in conjunction with those on the main planes. On some machines a fixed empennage is fitted in front of the tail.
   Lateral stability. - By tips fitted to the outside edges of both upper and lower main planes. Both sets work simultaneously. If the machine is falling to the right, the right tips are raised and the left tips depressed to regain balance, and vice versa. Similarly the tail planes have tips, which, however, only act as elevators, but in unison with those on the main planes.
   Weight. - With Gnome motor, 250 kilogs.
   Speed. - 70 to 85 kiloms. an hour.
   System of control. - By means of a wheel mounted on a column in front of the pilot. Rotation of the wheel to the right or left steers the machine in those directions. A movement of the entire column to the right raises the left wing-tips, and a movement to the left the right tips. A backward movement of the column raises the tips on the main planes, and depresses those on the tail, thus effecting elevation. A forward movement has the reverse effect.
   Price. - Without motor or propeller, 12,000 frs. With 50-h.p. Gnome motor and propeller of any known make, 25,000 frs.


Flight, February 4, 1911

FOREIGN AVIATION NEWS.

Vedrine High Flying.

ON the 26th ult., at Juvisy, Vedrine was practising high flying with his Goupy machine, and during one attempt he succeeded in getting to an altitude of 1,000 metres in 10 minutes. On Sunday he was also up to a height of goo metres, flying over Juvisy and Savigny.

Juvisy to Issy and Back.

TAKING advantage of the calm weather, Vedrine, on the 24th ult, left Juvisy at 3 o'clock in the afternoon and landed at Issy-les-Moulineaux twenty-one minutes later, having circled the Eiffel Tower on his way. After a rest of three-quarters of an hour he once more mounted his machine and set out on the return journey, landing safely in front of the Goupy shed at Juvisy after a flight of 25 mins.


Flight, January 6, 1912.

PARIS AERO SHOW.

Goupy.

   ALTHOUGH in its general appearance the Goupy biplane, as exhibited at the Salon, differs little from the machine with which readers of FLIGHT are familiar, through its appearance at the last Doncaster meeting, one or two important changes have been made, with the result that it now no longer bears such a close resemblance to the Bleriot. Besides adopting a monoplane tail in place of the biplane unit previously employed, the operation of the controls is no longer brought about from a single vertical column, but has, in this latest machine, been divided, the steering to right and left being operated from a pivoted foot-lever. The essentially Bleriot-type of landing-gear has also disappeared in favour of a Sommer-type wheel-and-skid combination.

Principal dimensions :-
Length 23 ft.
Span 23 ft.
Area 242 sq. ft.
Weight 550 lbs.
Speed 55 m.p.h.
Engine 50-h.p. Gnome
Price L1,120.