Berger-Gardey

   Between 1904-1907 there was a lot of gliding experimentation throughout France; among the oddest of the machines was a glider built at Lyon by Berger, and tested by 19-year-old Gardey, who proceeded to break a leg after taking off down a steep 45° ramp while slung underneath his glider. The glider is said to have flown for 20 m. It was in the form of a flat rectangle c 2 m long and 3 m wide, with 4 little paddle-shaped flaps at each tip. A photograph under the same name - perhaps the same designer? - shows a model of what might be a powered version of this same glider; it stood on 4 small wheels, with a curious arched shape set between the flat forward and rearward surfaces.