M.Goodall, A.Tagg British Aircraft before the Great War (Schiffer)
Deleted by request of (c)Schiffer Publishing
JEZZI No.1 biplane (P.G. Leo Jezzi, Shawfield Park, Bromley, Kent)
Construction of this machine was begun in 1909 in conjunction with Arthur Cooper, and it was moved to Eastchurch for assembly in January 1910, where successful flights were made by the following August. Aviation was a spare time occupation for Jezzi, who was employed in the City of London.
The machine was similar in layout to the Wright biplane, having twin pusher propellers driven by chains from the engine, which was mounted on the lower center section with the pilot seated in front. A small propeller for cooling was driven from the front of the engine. The three bay wings had warping sections, which extended beyond the chord, and were separated from the main wing by a gap at the inboard end. Fixed fins were built onto the rear outboard interplane struts, which were wide and of streamlined section.
The tail booms, of light tubular construction, carried a fixed, high mounted tailplane with twin rudders below. The front structure of heavier tubular members incorporated twin skids and carried a biplane elevator, with twin rudders between them, coupled to work with those at the back. The undercarriage consisted of two main wheels below the center section.
The biplane, although performing well, was capable of improvement and was converted to a twin tractor type; it flew in this form for the first time on 12 November 1910. The engine had been moved forward and reversed with the pilot repositioned behind. The front elevator and rudder, together with their supporting structure, were removed and a rear mounted elevator was fitted. The balance of the machine having changed, it now rested on a skid behind the tail booms.
Power: 35hp JAP eight-cylinder, air-cooled vee driving twin propellers by chain
P.Lewis British Aircraft 1809-1914 (Putnam)
Jezzi 1910 Biplane
Early in 1909 P. G. Leo Jezzi, a City business man with a spare-time passion for aeronautics and mechanics, started to construct his first aeroplane. He was ridiculed by his acquaintances, but was assisted by an old school friend, Arthur Cooper, in building it in a shed at Shawfield Park, Bromley, Kent. An eight-cylinder 35 h.p. J.A.P. engine drove a pair of propellers between the trailing-edges of the wings by chains, an additional small propeller being mounted in front of the engine for cooling. The wings were warped for lateral control. The machine was completed in December, 1909, and was taken to Eastchurch in January, 1910, where, after several months of trial-and-error testing, it finally flew well on 10th August, 1910. In the following October the machine was converted into the tractor type when, to improve the cooling, the engine and its pair of main propellers were moved forward. The third smaller propeller was retained to help with the cooling, and the pilot was installed behind the engine. On 31st December, 1910, Leo Jezzi gained his Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate No. 44 with it at Eastchurch. The following year the machine was dismantled and the engine was used in Jezzi's new tractor biplane then being built.
