L.Opdyke French Aeroplanes Before the Great War (Schiffer)
Deleted by request of (c)Schiffer Publishing
A big triplane was shown in March 1911 at the Concours Militaire, where it achieved no success at all. Although resembling the earlier biplanes, it was quite different in construction. It was a 4-seater designed with the assistance of Antoine Odier, and was built mainly of metal. The 2 spars in each wing were made of 3 tapered tubes screwed together, and the ribs were metal blades protected from corrosion. Assembly was done with collars, clamping bands, and bolted brackets: no welding was used. The machine rested on 2 double pairs of wheels, each double pair with a long skid between them, tipped by another pair of small wheels. The wingtips were fan-shaped with 8 hinged ribs which served as ailerons. 2 semicircular rudders flanked the tailplane, whose trailing edge was linked to the forward elevator. The pilot and 3 passengers sat side by side in 2 rows in the aluminum nacelle which was referred to as "the wooden shoe" because of its shape. The controls consisted of a rudder bar and a vertical lever hanging from the upper wing.
(Span: 13.8 m; length: 10.2 m; wing area: 63 sqm; empty weight: 711 kg; gross weight: 1050 kg; Gnome (at the Concours); a 60 hp air-cooled V8 was subsequently fitted)
The fate of Paulhan's machines a voler is not clear. The triplane flew first at St Cyr where Paulhan had his school and his hangar; the biplane is likely to have been used there as a trainer. But the triplane was still in use in 1912 and was reported sold to a Marchenay School at Juvisy, to be flown by Camille Guillaume de Mauriac. But photographs showing it in flight or even with the motor running are very rare. Paulhan then sponsored the construction of Victor Tatin's Aerotorpille.
During World War I Paulhan was assigned to service in the Balkans, where he was credited with 2 victories in air combat.