Here’s a reissue that should appeal to history and aviation buffs alike. And with good reason: these pages tell the story of a true aviation legend.
Farman, now that’s a name that sounds like a true pioneer of the air. Yet the man was a real jack of all trades, first involved in cycling, auto racing, then aviation, where he would truly excel, both as a pilot and as a manufacturer – all with family.
Henry Farman was born in Paris in 1874 to English parents and made a name for himself in the 1890s by becoming a champion cyclist, then in the early 1900s racing automobiles on the roads. In 1907, he became an aviation legend, setting a speed record at the controls of an aircraft designed by the Voisin brothers – 57 km/h – in Issy-les-Moulineaux, in the suburbs of Paris. Several records followed, and major ones at that, including distance, duration, and altitude. A Farman aviation school was even founded in 1909 in Chartres, on the site of today’s Air Base 122.
Then came World War I, where Farman aircraft made their mark, particularly in aerial reconnaissance. In the aftermath of the Great War, he and his brothers Dick and Maurice set up an aircraft manufacturing company (the factory then being located in Boulogne-Billancourt), due to the proven success of Farman aircraft, largely designed by Maurice. Planes, boats, cars… Henry Farman never stopped producing, innovating, and diversifying until his death in 1958, before settling down for eternity in Passy Cemetery in Paris, where he lies just a few yards from another legendary aviation family – that of Marcel Dassault.
Book. “Henry Farman et l’aviation.” Author: Jacques Sahel. Editions Grasset. EAN: 9782246830702.
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