Pioneers

Guyot et Verdier 1911 biplane

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In 1911, in Juvisy in Essonne, construction of a 4th biplane started but with monocoque metal fuselage on wheels with shock absorbers, the hull joining the front cell to the aft stabilizer adjustable, a rear stabilizer in two parts to allow the development of the rudder with a crutch for ground braking. Combination of ailerons with controls on joystick, 60 hp E.N.V motor, Regy tractor propeller, foot rudder control, upper plane span of 8 meters, and lower plane 7 meters.

Louis Verdier carried out the development and flight tests in presence of an officer from the military aeronautical laboratory of Chalais-Meudon in view of the use of this two-seater by the army.

In view of the results obtained, including the solidity of the aircraft, well built, good flight behavior, possibility of landing on very short terrain due to the solidity of its landing gear, a very soft suspension and good braking at
ground, the Guyot-Verdier airplane registered before January 1, 1911 in the 1st major military aviation competition in Reims in la Marne, which began on October 1, 1911.

42 manufacturers take part in this competition, registering around 70 machines. Unfortunately, the Guyot-Verdier aircraft does not meet the qualifications, the required conditions are too stringent.

On Sunday, October 29, 1911, Louis made a demonstration flight of in front of 4000 to 6000 spectators, in the field Berthonnerie Air Force (2 km from La Souterraine), flying for 35 minutes, completing a 35 km circuit where it reaches an altitude of 500 meters. He is carried in triumph in the streets of the city and a wine of honor is offered.

Then follow other flights and aerial celebrations, in November 1911, January 12, 1912, April 28, 1912 in Azérables in Creuse.

In 1912, Louis received his pilot’s license n° 526, from the aeronautical sports commission.

In 1913, Louis Verdier wrote:
“Despite all these facts and qualities as well as many steps taken by our gentlemen, Deputies and Senators of Creuse and Haute-Vienne, the La Souterraine aviation factory has never obtained any order of a military service from the French State, nor any financial aid, all this aviation equipment has been studied, built and developed to no avail, for it was not the few parties and exhibitions that were able to cover all these study and construction costs for these aircraft prototypes. I give up building and flying these planes, I leave the provinces and return to the Paris region”

Louis entered the Sanchez-Beza Establishments as a pilot, then as a test pilot and engine developer at the Salmson aviation factories in Billancourt and, with mechanics, replaces engines on seaplanes in Saint-Raphaël (Var), Bizerte (Tunisia), Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), Toulon (Var).

Guyot et Verdier 1910 biplane

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Henri Guyot and Louis Verdier undertake, still at La Souterraine, the construction of a third biplane, two-seater, at Chauvière, 80 horsepower engine and pusher propeller, unequal span wings.

The front cell and the rear fixed plane are joined by V-shaped ash spars and to reduce resistance in flight, the masts and metal parts are profiled. The span of the upper plane is 17.50 meters and the span of the lower plane 15 meters, bearing surfaces with beak entry into the air profiled to avoid resistance to the advancement of the aircraft, the engine mounted on a fuselage which is fixed on the lower plane of the aircraft which constitutes the cockpit. The cell is mounted on skid with 4 shock absorbers metal fixed on two wheels on each runner. The wheels are mounted on balloon tires with bead rims, brakes on wheels and brake stand on the ground.

The first official flight, piloted by Louis, took place on April 24, 1910 at Le Dorat on the flat racecourse. It was completely fenced which facilitated the control of entries because the event was paying. It’s a rectangle of 50 meters by 60 meters, the aircraft can take off in all directions.

Louis passed his A.C.F. (Aéro-Club de France) on July 1, 1911 on this Guyot-Verdier aircraft. His pilot’s license civil bears the n° 538. The license n°1 was obtained in 1909 by Louis Blériot.

Guyot et Verdier

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Ludovic Georges Louis Verdier was born on November 19, 1882 in Frenelles, Boisemont, Eure, France. Louis was discharged from military service in 1903. He took an interest in the emerging aviation and, in Roncherolles studies several prototypes. He began in 1903 to build his first helicopter but was stopped by a lack suitable engine, although he himself made an attempt by grouping two motorcycle engines together.

In 1904, Louis moved to Paris, he rented an office and workshop in rue Vercingétorix to build his first monoplane. He was authorized to use the Issy-les-Moulineaux training ground in the Hauts-de-Seine, provided it takes place on Sundays and public holidays.

In 1905, he resumed the study of a helicopter with a traction propeller and a lift propeller, then the study of a monoplane.

Faced with the futility of his efforts, Louis leaves his Parisian studio to get along with an industrialist at La Souterraine in the Creuse, Henri Guyot who has already filed a patent for a helicopter.

The Guyot-Verdier tandem is studying a propeller-driven tractor biplane, “Antoinette” type with adjustable pitch with 50 horsepower, quadrangular fuselage, aft fixed plane with angle variable and adjustable incidence. Front and rear stabilizers combined, rear rudder, wingspan of the aircraft 12 meters, length 10 meters, cell mounted on a landing gear metal, with shock absorbers and steerable wheels for landing and ground towing.

The tests of this “creusois” aircraft are carried out in Haute-Vienne, on the Dorat aerodrome, installed by Henri Guyot and Louis Verdier, on the racecourse made available to airmen by Mr. de La Guériviére.

The same pair built another propeller-driven biplane with a 60 horsepower engine. A biplane with the span of the upper planes 15 meters, span of the lower planes 12 meters, the cell front and rear stabilizer were joined by V-shaped ash beams and to reduce resistance to forward movement by flight in the atmosphere, the guying masts, the levers of controls were streamlined, the front cell mounted on landing pads and shock-absorbing wheels with skids braking on the ground under the fixed rear plane, the incidence of the rear plane being adjustable without touching the rear skids, the rudder steering being fixed at the rear of the rear stabilizer, the ailerons manually controlled by a joystick, the spacing of the pads landing area of 3.50 meters, 4 shock absorbers per skid mounted on dual wheels, constructed with drop-base rims for the fitting of balloon tires.

In 1913, Louis Verdier wrote:
“Despite all these facts and qualities as well as many steps taken by our gentlemen, Deputies and Senators of Creuse and Haute-Vienne, the La Souterraine aviation factory has never obtained any order of a military service from the French State, nor any financial aid, all this aviation equipment has been studied, built and developed to no avail, for it was not the few parties and exhibitions that were able to cover all these study and construction costs for these aircraft prototypes. I give up building and flying these planes, I leave the provinces and return to the Paris region”

Louis entered the Sanchez-Beza Establishments as a pilot, then as a test pilot and engine developer at the Salmson aviation factories in Billancourt and, with mechanics, replaces engines on seaplanes in Saint-Raphaël (Var), Bizerte (Tunisia), Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), Toulon (Var).

1914, the war breaks out, Louis helps Caudron to move his aviation factory and he returned to Farman as a pilot and instructor.

In 1940, the Farman and Louis factory moved to Angoulême in Charente. When they return to Billancourt, a month later,the enemy planes had done a sad job, the factory was bombed from all sides, everything had to be rebuilt. In March and September 1943, the home of Louis and his wife was partially destroyed by bombing.

In 1950, at the age of 68, Louis decided to give up aviation.

Louis Verdier, domiciled at 18 rue de Clamart in Boulogne-Billancourt, died at the age of 74, on January 29, 1957 at the hospital in Paris in the 15th arrondissement. He rests in the cemetery of the commune of Boulogne-Billancourt.

Guyard No.2 1911

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In April 1912, a second Guyard monoplane made its appearance and was tested at Issy (France). A totally different design, this monoplane was well-built. The undercarriage was built on a pair of arched wooden struct and a crossbar, plus a pair of neat short forward skids.

Engine: Anzani 5-cyl 50 hp
Wingspan: 11m / 35’5″
Wing area: 18 sq.m / 29’6″
Length: 8 m
Weight: 225 kg
Speed: 100 kph

Guillon and Clouzy 1907 biplane

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Standing on three bicycle wheels and with wings twenty feet across, Mr. Guillon’s “airship” had a 20 hp engine drive the propeller, which was five feet long and made of aluminium. The total weight of the machine was 300 lb., and with Mr. Guillon on board, reclining in a sloping position of 45 degrees at the back, the weight was 420 lb. When tested at Epsom Downs, Surrey, UK, on 11 April 1907, the aeroplane started away at a good twenty miles an hour, but Mr. Guillon could not get the engine to work satisfactorily, and the machine failed to rise from the ground. Furthermore, the rudder did not seem to act properly, darting this way and that. The aeroplane kept the crowd of some fifty persons constantly running to keep out of danger. Six unsuccessful trials were made, then the axle was found to be bent, and the experiment came to an end.