Louis Paulhan

Louis Paulhan in 1909

Isidore Auguste Marie Louis Paulhan(French:[pɔlɑ̃];19 July 1883 – 10 February 1963),was a French aviator. He is known for winning the firstDaily Mailaviation prizefor the first flight between London and Manchester in 1910.

Biography

Louis Paulham aboard the Voisin biplane

Paulhan was born atPézenas,Hérault,and his heavier-than-air flying career began with making model aircraft. Stationed atSt Cyras a balloon pilot during his military service, in 1905 he won a competition for model aircraft design. Following his national service, he was employed by the balloon manufacturerÉdouard Surcoufas an engineer, working on the construction of thedirigibleLa Ville de Parisand making many flights as its mechanic during 1907.The same year he won a competition for model aircraft design in which the first prize was to be a full-size construction of the winning design.His design was so complex that instead he was given aVoisinairframe. With the help of family and friends, he obtained an engine and taught himself to fly in 1909. He was issued with French pilot licence No.10. (The first batch of 10 licences was issued in alphabetical order of surname.)

He quickly established himself as gifted pilot. He took part in many airshows, including one inLa Brayelle Airfield,Douai,in July 1909, where he set new records for altitude (150 metres (490 ft)) and duration (1h 07m), covering 47 kilometres (29 mi), and theGrande Semaine d'AviationinRheimswhere he crashed. InLyon,flying aFarman III,he broke three records: height (920 m), speed (20 km in 19 minutes) and weight, carrying a 73-kilogram (161 lb) passenger. He flew at theBlackpool Aviation Weekin October 1909, Britain's firstair show.

On 29 October 1909, Paulhan made the first official powered flight atBrooklands,Surrey,England, in his biplane made byFarman Aviation Works.This was also the first public flying display at Brooklands and some 20,000 spectators watched him fly to a height of 220 metres (720 ft). Local press reported that the land surrounded by the Brooklands Motor Racing Track was converted into anaerodromefor this event by a gang of men working day and night.

Touring America

Louis Paulhanat takeoff in aFarman IIIbiplane at the1910 Los Angeles International Air Meet at Dominguez Field

In January 1910, Paulhan was invited to America to take part in airshows and competitions, at theLos Angeles International Air Meet( 10–20 January).He arrived with twoBlériotmonoplanesand twoFarmanbiplanes. TheWright brothers,though not taking part in the event, were there with their lawyers to prevent Paulhan andGlenn Curtissfrom flying. The Wrights claimed that theaileronson their aircraft infringed patents. Paulhan flew anyway, winning all of the prizes and $19,000. He set up a new altitude record of 4,164 feet (1,269 m), beating his own previous record of 1,900 feet (580 m), and won the endurance prize with a flight lasting 1hr 49mn 40sec. He gaveWilliam Randolph Hearsthis first experience of flight. However, he seems to have let downWilliam Boeing,who had been enthused by the new invention of the aeroplane:

Paulhan and passenger Mrs. Dick Ferris at the Los Angeles Air Meet

While attending the first American Air Meet in Los Angeles, Boeing asked nearly every aviator for a ride, but no one said yes except Paulhan. For three days Boeing waited, but on the fourth day he discovered Paulhan had already left the meet. Possibly, one of the biggest missed opportunities in Paulhan's life was the ride he never gave Boeing.

From Los Angeles, Paulhan moved on to give exhibitions inSan FranciscoandSalt Lake City,Utah,where theDeseret Newsheadline announced that the "Air King is Here to Fly".He also appeared inNew Orleansand made the first aeroplane flight inTexas.

The Wright brothers' case led, on 17 February, to a Federal judge ordering Paulhan to pay $25,000 for every paid display. Furious, he cancelled his American tour and went toNew York Cityto challenge the Wright brothers by giving public demonstration flights for free. The dispute rumbled on and in March an agreement was reached whereby he could continue to give flying exhibitions in his Farman biplane on condition that he pay a $6,000 a week bond, pending the outcome of the case. The affair threatened the planned international aviation meet to be hosted by theAero Club of America,at which the competition for theGordon Bennett Trophywas to be held. According to Courtlandt Field Bishop, president of the Aero Club of America, all the leading foreign aviators had assured him that they would not appear in the country until the case was decided. If Paulhan won, they would compete; if he lost they did "not care to place themselves within the jurisdiction of American courts."Paulhan eventually left quietly for France.

TheWrights' patent casedragged on for many more years, involving Curtiss and many other pilots and manufacturers.

Back in Europe

Returning to Europe, Paulhan continued his flying exploits. In April 1910, he won theLondon to Manchester air race,taking the £10,000 prize offered for flying fromLondontoManchester,a distance of 195 miles (314 km). This prize had been offered in 1906 by theDaily Mailfor the first pilot to fly from London to Manchester within 24 hours. The flight had to start and finish within five miles of theDaily Mailoffice in each city, with no more than two landings en route. In 1906 this seemed an impossible feat – the best European fliers at that time could only stay aloft for seconds. Paulhan arrived in Manchester 12 hours after setting out from London, having spent 4 hours 12 minutes in the air, with an overnight stop atLichfield,117 miles from his starting point. He thus beat the British contender,Claude Grahame-White.There is ablue plaqueon a house in Paulhan Road,Burnage,Manchester, at the site of his winning landing.

In 1910, Paulhan was one of the first pilots to fly a seaplane, theHydraviondesigned byHenri Fabre,and won a £10,000 prize for the most flights made in the year. He also turned his attention to aircraft design, producing thePaulhan biplanein association with Fabre, a large triplane which was flown at the 1911 French military aircraft trials competition, and theAéro-Torpillein association withVictor Tatin.

In February 1912, he opened a seaplane flying school inVillefranche-sur-Merbefore moving toArcachon.

First World War

In theFirst World War,Paulhan was mobilised as a pilot with the rank of lieutenant on 15 September 1914, serving initially in northern France near toAmiens.He was transferred to the Serbian front in 1915,where he was not only the most experienced but also the oldest aviator. In Serbia, he commanded a squadron of 10Maurice Farmanaeroplanes. In flight he was sometimes accompanied by a machine gunner or, it seems, by a mechanic carrying out repairs in flight.The Serbian campaign was unsuccessful, but Paulhan is credited with the world's first "medevac"when he flew the seriously illMilan Stefanikto safety. Decorated with thecroix de guerre,he returned to France and flew no more missions, but returned to construction, notably of propellers, for the French military. After the war, he was made an Officer of theLégion d'honneur.

After 1918

Paulhan's monument inPézenas

Plaque to Paulhan in Rue Conti,Pézenas.

On demobilisation, Paulhan became a seaplane builder, building machines under licence from Curtiss. He worked at aircraft construction with engineer Pillard at theSociété Provençale de Constructions Aéronautiques,building in 1928 the first all-metalseaplanein France, theSPCA Paulhan-Pillard T3.He contributed to the manufacture ofDewoitineplanes. He abandoned aeronautics the day his only son, René (a test pilot), died (10 May 1937), at the presentation of theCaudron C.690fighter plane.Paulhan retired toSaint-Jean-de-Luz,which he rarely left before his death. In 1960, Paulhan was invited byAir Franceto be one of the passengers on its inaugural non-stop flight from Paris to Los Angeles.

In 1927, Paulhan was a co-founder of the company Société Continentale Parker (subsequentlyCoventya) in France together withRobert Deté,Enea BossiandPierre Prier.The purpose was to transfersurface treatmenttechnologies for the growing aerospace industry to Europe. They started with a licence from Parker Rust-Proof of Detroit (Parkerizingor phosphating) and in a later step with the distribution rights of Udylite Corp forspecialty chemicalsinelectroplating.The company's successor organizations, Chemetall GmbH andCoventyaGmbH, later became the European market leaders in surface treatment.

Paulhan died on 10 February 1963 atSaint-Jean-de-Luz.He is buried in his home town ofPézenaswhere a monument has been erected in commemoration; a wall plaque in Rue Conti in Pézenas also recalls his achievements.

See also

• List of firsts in aviation

External links

• Henri Farman,"En suivant Paulhan",La vie au grand air7 May 1910. A detailed contemporary account of the London-Manchester air race, with several photos(in French)
• The First U.S. Airshows--the Air Meets of 1910
• Film of Paulhan being congratulated after setting endurance records at Dominguez FieldonYouTube
• Paulhan in Salt Lake City
• Les hydro aéroplanes Paulhan-CurtissBiography, hydroplane development, photos(in French)