The pioneering French-made Farman III – based on an aircraft made by the Voisin brothers – took off on its first flight in April 1909. Inspired by design principles employed in the Wright Flyer, Henri Farman meticulously thought out the new aircraft and decided to add ailerons – a completely new feature at the time – which endowed the aircraft with exceptional flight stability. In August of that same year, Farman personally piloted his flying machine to a Grand Prix win at Reims for the longest flight, with a distance of 180 km.
This aircraft laid the foundations for the Farman Brothers aircraft company, which would later become such a significant factor in the industry. The successful Farman III influenced many design engineers both in France and abroad, such as Ernst Heinkels, whose first aircraft was heavily inspired by the Farman biplane. A number of foreign aircraft companies also soon began to make their own Farman III clones, like the Albatros airplane works in Germany; in fact, the first aircraft to be utilised by the German military was an Albatros adaptation of the Farman III.
Technical data - Farman III (1909 standard version):
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Length: |
12.00m |
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Height: |
3.50 m |
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Wingspan: |
10.00 m |
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Max. speed: |
60 km/h |
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Propulsion: |
Single Gnome rotary engine with 37 kW (50 hp) power |
