AVIATION PIONEERS

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Clément Ader 1841-1925 Wealthy French electrical engineer Clement Ader made the first piloted powered takeoff in history, at Armainvilliers, France, in October 1890. He achieved this feat in his first airplane - the bat-winged, steam-powered Eole. Although he covered a distance of only 165 ft (50 meters), this was enough for the French Army to encourage further experiments. Ader designed three craft, the Eole, the Avion II, and the Avion III. The Avion II was never completed. The Eole made a short flight, but luckily was unable to sustain itself, as the craft had no tail and no method of lateral control: a recipe for disaster. Ader built the Avion III in 1897. It was tested late that year, but never flew. The design is obviously patterned after a bat. Like a bat, the wings of the Avion III could be folded for storage and transportation. Like the Eole, the Avion III lacked any means for controlling the craft in flight. The Avion III is shown on the right. This plane employed two steam engines to drive tractor propellers. This particular project was aborted after two failed tests in front of military witnesses in 1897. Later on, when work began on Avion IV, the French Army had already lost interest in flying machines, and they terminated his contract the following year.