The Balloon Factory, under the direction of Mervyn O’Gorman, was authorized only to repair a crashed experimental 60 h.p. E.N.V. Bleriot monoplane. In seeking authorization to carry out repair work, he asked that it cover reconstruction as well, and when this was granted the Factory at last had the all clear they wanted to exercise the ideas of their own designers. So far as the Bleriot was concerned, all that remained of it by the time that Green and de Havilland had finished with it was the 60 h.p. E.N.V. engine. By the time the “repair” work was finished it had turned into a tail first biplane classified S.E.1 – the “S” standing for Santos Dumont, in deference to the inventor of the tail first formula. (As the S.E.1 was the only tail first type built by the Factory, the letters S.E. were later taken to mean Scout Experimental.).
Known originally as the Royal Aircraft Factory, Farnborough, under the direction of Mervyn O’Gorman, was authorized only to repair a crashed experimental 60 h.p. E.N.V. Bleriot monoplane. By the time the “repair” work was finished it had turned into a tail first biplane classified S.E.1 – the “S” standing for Santos Dumont, in deference to the inventor of the tail first formula. (As the S.E.1 was the only tail first type built by the Factory, the letters S.E. were later taken to mean Scout Experimental.) Faced with a fait accompli, the War Office wound up the Balloon Section R.E. on April 1st, 1911, and replaced it by the Air Battalion; three weeks later they renamed the Balloon Factory the Army Aircraft Factory. One of the Factory’s first jobs was to “repair” the Duke of Westminster’s Voisin pusher biplane, which emerged as the B.E.1 (Bleriot Experimental No. 1) tractor biplane, designed by F. M. Green and “D.H.”
At the same time, it was decided to inaugurate the designations R.E. (Reconnaissance Experimental, two seat tractor biplane), T.E. (Tatin Experimental monoplane with pusher propeller at tail), and B.S. (Bleriot single seat Scout) for future use.
Was involved in dirigible construction and repair before First World War. It was renamed Royal Aircraft Establishment during the war and initiated biplane designs for the Royal Flying Corps, including the B.E.2 and F.E.2 series, F.E.8, R.E.8, and finally the S.E.5 fighter.
The 1910 “Mosquito”, a minimalist high-wing monoplane with flat airfoil and 4×4-looking fuselage was built by Roger Roy of Thouars, France. It was powered by a V-2 engine, probably a Buchet. Little is known of this machine, which doesn’t look very airworthy and probably never flew.
Hans Röver in 1912 built the Röver Monoplane with circular body covered with glue-laminated fabric for what Ernst Röver, his father, was granted German Patent Nr. 271112.
This monoplane was entered into meets in Johannisthal twice that year, with only minor success.
In 1913 Hans Röver rented a shed at Johannisthal, built a second monoplane, and trained pilots until August 1, 1914. Afterwards he flew for the navy and did not return from a reconnaissance mission in 1917.
Hans Röver (1890-1917), the son of an organ builder, received his technical training from Hans Grade in Bork. There he also earned his flying licence (Nr.56 on February 3, 1911). Leaving with a Grade Monoplane he flew at a few competitions with the goal to earn enough money to build his own aircraft. This was realised in 1912 – the Röver Monoplane
In 1913 Hans Röver rented a shed at Johannisthal, built a second monoplane, and trained pilots until August 1, 1914. Afterwards he flew for the navy and did not return from a reconnaissance mission in 1917.
Rousson’s blimp, a crank-driven zeppelin known as Zeppy, is 16-meters-long with a 5-meter diameter, and a maximum speed of 20 kph. The craft’s forward momentum and steering come from a pair of 10-foot movable propellers turned by a recumbent bike hanging from the ship’s belly and pedalled.
Rousson, a 39-year-old Frenchman, attempted to cross The English Channel in a pedal-powered airship on 28 September 2008. He was forced to deflate his blimp and continue to France in a boat after a shift in winds made it impossible for him to progress, no matter how hard he pedalled.
“We were about three-quarters of the way across but the wind was flowing in the wrong direction for me to make it across,” he said. “I’m not disappointed. I feel happy because it had nothing to do with any technical failure, it was purely the wind that got in the way of this achievement.”
The failure is strike two for Rousson, whose June attempt to cross the Channel was also foiled by winds. This time around, he waited more than a week for the right conditions, but was doomed by a light breeze that picked up while he was in flight. “What feels breathlessly still to most people feels like a storm when you’re trying to fly a pedal-powered airship,” he says.
Rousson’s singular focus on flight also seems to be taking over his life. “All of my money has gone into this,” he says. I’m in quite a bit of debt.” He was also dumped by his girlfriend; presumably he loves his blimp more than he loves her.
20th Century Fox purchased the film rights of Jack D Hunter’s “The Blue Max” and the film was to be a multi-million dollar production, and the stars were to be the full sized reproductions of World War I fighters constructed for the film- two Pfalz D.III biplanes, two Fokker Dr.I triplanes, two S.E.5a scouts and three Fokker D.VII biplanes.
The reproductions had to be built in a hurry to meet the time frame for shooting and were constructed in different locations. At Dinard airport in France, Claude Rousseau constructed three Fokker D.VII fighters (F-BNDF to F-BNDH) in six months. At the time it was stated that the machines were constructed to original plans and dimensions. The two former Federated Fruit Dragon Rapides, G-AKJS and G-ANZP, left Liverpool destined to become part donors for the three Fokker D.VII. The limited choice of engines led to the Gypsy Queen being also installed in the D.VII reproductions. The Gypsy Queen is a six cylinder in-line inverted air-cooled direct-drive engine, as a result the prop emerges through what would be the radiator shell of a true D.VII. Since the Fokkers’ original Mercedes weighed almost twice as much, they required some 200 pounds of nose-ballast for balance. Rousseau Aviation named the reproduction the D.VII-65. They were painted in lozenze camouflage pattern colours.
Rousseau delivered its D.VIIs by actually flying them from France to the set in Exeter-Dublin, Ireland, during August 1965, their German crosses and lozenge camouflage no doubt raising eyebrows below.
The replicas were: F-BNDF, EI-APT painted as 6796/18
Became N902AC / ZK-FOD With The Vintage Aviator, New Zealand
F-BNDG, EI-APU painted as 8520/18
Became N903AC Rendered un-airworthy in a landing accident At Stampe & Vertongen Museum, Antwerp International Airport, Belgium
F-BNDH, EI-APV
Later N904AC On display at Southern Museum of Flight, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
They later appeared in “Darling Lili”.
One Fokker D.VII now belong to New Zealand film director Peter Jackson’s 1914–18 Trust, kept in fully airworthy condition.
