Henri Fabre

See also: Fabre

Henri Fabre (born with Marseilles (Rhone delta) the November 29th 1882 and deceased the June 29th 1984, at the 101 years age) is a French engineer and aviator. He is the inventor in 1910 of the Hydravion (initially named hydroplane, until 1913).

Biography

Resulting from the family of Marseilles ship-owners Cyprien-Fabre, after brilliant studies with the Faculty of Science of Marseilles then studies of Engineer to Paris, Henri Fabre was devoted during four years to the design, the tests and the realization of a Aéroplane provided with three Flotteur S, from where its first name. In the realization of this project it had as a mechanic Marius Burdin, former mechanic of the captain Ferdinand Ferber, and for draftsman, Leon Sebille, a Marseilles naval architect. The built apparatus, of type “duck”, had a Envergure 14  m, a length of 8,5  m, a weight of 380  kg. It was equipped with a Moteur Gnome Omega of 50  CH which actuated a propeller of 2,60  Mr.

March 28th 1910, in France, close to Martigues (Rhone delta), at the edge of the pond of Berre, vis-a-vis the village of Mède, Henri Fabre made take off his seaplane in front of a public many in which the aviator Louis Paulhan was. The apparatus traversed 800  meters above the pond and was posed on water: the first seaplane in the world had made a success of its flight and its sea landing. The success of this first world flight was officially noted by an usher of Martigues, Me Honore Raphel: this day, Henri Fabre, then old of 27  years, became the undeniable inventor, manufacturer and first pilot of this new flying machine, the Hydravion.

In 1911, this seaplane, controlled this Long-beaked time by Jean, flew to prestigious Concours of Motor Boats of Monaco. After the first flight, Henri Fabre undertook at once the marketing of his apparatus and built several specimens of them.

After the First World War, Henri Fabre ceased being devoted to the aeronautical engineering. Its activity remained that of an engineer, chief of a building firm of machines intended for industry in various sectors. Besides it continued to conceive other inventions, like its “boat-clac”, foldable boat on which it sailed and that it could put in its 2 CV.

One can see two specimens of this historical apparatus:

  • one thoroughly restored by a team of impassioned, is with the Aéroport Marignane (Mouths of the Rhone-13) near to the place where the first flight took place,
  • the other specimen is exposed to the Musée of the air and space of the Le Bourget (Seine-Saint-Denis).

Two monuments commemorate this event of March 28th, 1910:

  • the first, set up by the Chamber of commerce of Marseilles in 1935, is in the village of Mède, close to the edge of the pond of Berre, at the place where the hydroplane had taken off in 1910: it represents a duck in flight at the top of a column.
  • the other monument, inaugurated in 1965, is with Martigues (Rhone delta), vis-a-vis the water level of the sea landing.

See too

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