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Aviation History
1911
1911 - 0205.PDF
MARCH 11, 1911. [^JGHT] RENAUX WINS THE MICHELIN PUY DE DOME PRIZE. AFTER being open for just on three years, the ^4,000 prize offered by M. Michelin for a passenger flight from Paris 10 the top of the Puy de Dome has been won. The conditions imposed called for considerable daring, and M. Michelin himself, as noted in recent issues of FLIGHT, seems to have come to the conclusion that they might lead to an aviator taking unnecessary risks in order to secure the prize. Fortunately, however, as it has turned out, the winning flight has been made almost without incident. For some time M. Eugene Renaux has been practising on a Maurice Farman biplane at Buc, with a view to annexing the reward. On Tuesday morning, condiiions being specially favourable, he determined to take his chance. Accompanied by M. Senouque, M. Uenaux made his start from Buc at five minutes to nine, making direct for St. Cloud, the official starting point. Having there crossed the imaginary starting line, he headed south, and passing over Issy continued on by way of Montargis and Cosne to Nevers, where a stop of a quarter of an hour was made at the Peuplier aero drome for replenishment. On restarting the aviators steered for Moulins and so on to St. Pouscain and Gannat. At 2h. 2 m. 20s., to be precise, the aeroplane landed on the restricted ALTHOUGH the first serious attempt to fly from Nice to Corsica did not teiminate successfully, inasmuch as the aviator did not actually reach his destination, Lieut. Bague's grand and plucky flight from Nice to the Island of Gorgona, near Leghorn, is an event of great historical moment. Thn journey over the sea of 140 miles was, it must be noted, actually more than the distance between the two points which he set out to bridge. Without making any special preparations in regard to boats to rescue him in case ol trouble, &.<:., Lieut. Bague, at 8 a.m. on Sunday morning last, took his departure from Nice on his Gnome-Bleriot machine with the intention of reaching Ajaccio, in Corsica, and thereby securing the prize offered for a flight from Nice to that town, a distance of ioo miles. Very shortly after leaving Mice, however, he lost his bearings, and, in the hope of striking the coast again, he kept bearing to the left, as indicated in the little sketch map which we publish. In this way he missed his desti nation entirely, and on sighting the Island of Corgona at about noon determined to land and find out where he was. The Island does not present any desirable landing points, and although he endeavoured to make a choice, the one which the officer eventually selected resulted in the chassis of his machine being badly damaged in the landing. No harm fortunately came to him, and the repairs will not take a great time to put right locally. Hitherto the record for an overseas flight was McCurdy's 100 miles from Key West to Havana, made on January 30th. Breguet Breaks Two Passenger Biplane Records. ANOTHER passenger speed record was broken on Monday by M. Breguet, who, at Douai, on a R.E.P. engined Breguet biplane, carrying two passengers besides himself, succeeded in covering 100 kiloms. in ih. 15m. I7fs. the speed being 70/2 kiloms an hour. The 50 kiloms. were completed in 38 mins. 37* sees., which beats the old record of 52 mins. 56A sees, made by Mamet on his Bleriot, at Rheiais. The passengers accompanying M. Louis Breguet were Lieut. Peralda and M. Boland, and the combined weight of the three persons was 225 kilogs. Passenger Speed Record Beaten. USING a monoplane of his own design, fitted with a 50-h.p. ® $ Another Aerodrome in Algeria. FOR some time a flying school has been in active operation in the neighbourhood of Algiers, but now a branch of the Bonnet Labranche School has been established at Oran. It was opened by the Governor on the last day of February, in the presence of the Mayor of Oran and many other local civil and militarv notabilities. Unfortunately a violent wind precluded any attempt at flight being made by M. Bonnet Labranche, but he was able to make up for this on subsequent days and the instruction of various pupils is now in full swing. e plateau at the top of the Puy de Dome, 1,600 metres (4,813 feet) p high, having first circled round the Cathedral Tower at Clermont- i Ferrand, in accordance with the requirements of the regu- a lations. All traffic and business in the town was stopped as the t aeroplane approached near its goal, and ilie spectators waited 3 with breathless excitement until the landing had been safely effected e when unrestricted enthusiasm was indulged in. The aeroplane was s timed to cross the ground of the Aero Club of France at gh. 12m. 34s., 1 so that it will be seen that the time for the trip of 350 kiloms. was Y 5h. 20m. 46s., while the maximum time allowed under the regulations- 3 was 6 hours. It is interesting to note some of the times at which v various points were passed. For instance, the aviators were sighted r at luvisy at 9.28, Montargis, where the machine caught'up and passed ; an express train, at 10.18, Gien at 10.58, while Nevers was reached r at 11.53- ; The restart took place at I2h. 7m. 37s., and Moulins was passedat 1.20. It will be remembered that only two previousattempts 1 have been made to win this prize, one by Weymann, who lost his t way, and the other by the brothers Morane, who met with a serious 1 accident. Sketch map showing the course of Lieut. Bague's remarkable overseas flight on Sunday last from Nice to Gorgona Island —about 140 miles as the crow flies—where he landed, after losing his bearings in the mist, instead of at Corsica. Gnome engine, Nieuport accomplished a splendid performance on Monday by handsomely beating the passenger speed record. Accompanied by his friend, Paul Leprince, he succeeded in flying, at Mourmelon, 100 kiloms. in 58 mins. 10 sees, and 150 kiloms. in lh. 28m. 37jS., while in the hour ioi'25 kiloms. were traversed. The new records are as follows :— l;ils. to 20 30 40 50 ® in. ... 5 ... 11 ... 17 ... 23 ... 29 ® s. 5*1 54-: 53s 571 3»* kils. 60 70 80 go IOO III. ... 35 ... 41 ... 47 - 53 ... 58 s. 331 30* 26£ 18 10 kils. no 120 130 . 140 150 . h. m. • « 5 1 11 . 1 16 . 1 22 . 1 28 s. 12) tf 5";; -is.. 371 Aeroplanes in Madagascar. THE two aeroplanes which M. Pequie. Governor-Genera of Madagascar, asked the Ligue Nationale Aerienne to purchase for him have now been taken over by Capt. Giambi and they will be despatched to Tananarivo on the 25th inst. Raoult, who has undergone a course of instruction in the manipulation of them, will also go out with them to act as pilot and to start a school for which one of the machines will be used, while the other it is proposed shall carry the mails between Tananarivo and Fianarantsoa. ® ® ® ® A 140 MILES OVER-SEA FLIGHT. ® ® ® ® TWO NEW PASSENGER-CARRYING RECORDS. 207
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