Ferber

   Captain Ferdinand Ferber was 36 when he read a report about Otto Lilienthal in the Illustrierte Zeitung, and realized the need of perfecting controlled gliding flight before going on with powered machines. His work falls into 3 periods: his first 4 designs were kite gliders, the last 2 of which were meant to carry a pilot - No 4 was a Lilienthal copy. Nos 5 and 6 reflected his discovery of the Wrights' work, and were Wright-type gliders; Nos 7, 8, and its twin No 9 were of more conventional tractor biplane design, but more primitive than contemporary designs.

   No 1: Ferber built this one in 1899 and tested the full-scale version in Rue, a Swiss village where his family had an estate. It was lozenge-shaped, longer than wide, and was thought to descend too steeply.

   (Length: 8 m; wing area: 25 sqm; weight: 30 kg)

   No 2: In 1899 he was admitted to the Aero Club of France, and built a second glider flown at Fontainebleau as a kite towed by a horse. It was also lozenge-shaped, but shorter than No 1, and proved unstable.

   (Span: 6 m; wing area: 15 sqm; weight: 20 kg)

   No 3: Developed from No 2, this glider was roughly triangular, with upturned tips for stability; it was tried at St Etienne de Tinee, but was unable to carry a man, much to Ferber's disappointment.

   (Span: 7 m; wing area: 15 sqm; weight: 30 kg)

   No 4: In 1901 Ferber got in touch with Gustav Lilienthal, brother of Otto, and Octave Chanute, and then built a Lilienthal-type glider with straight leading - and curved trailing-edges. It was tested in 1901, flown with a pilot from a 5-meter scaffolding in Nice and again in the Alps at Bueil: it landed 15 m from the scaffolding, barely slowing the fall.

   (Span: 8 m; wing area: 15 sqm; weight: 30 kg)