Country of origin:

France

Description:

Single-seat biplane trainer

Power Plant:

One 37 kw (50 hp) Gnome Omega seven-cylinder rotary air-cooled engine

Specifications:

History:

The Farman III, which has also been referred to as the Henri Farman 1909 or 1910 Biplane in order to distinguish it from aircraft built by his brother Maurice, was one of a series of aircraft designed and developed by Henri Farman in France from 1909, the design being copied in a number of features by other designers. Similar aircraft were the Bristol Boxkite, the Wright Biplane and the Short S.27.

The first aircraft was completed and flown in February 1909 and is said to have been developed from the Voisin Biplane, which was built in 1907.

Both of the Farman brothers were interested in aviation. Both Henri and his brother Maurice built aircraft, Maurice’s aircraft being similar in appearance but having a pilot’s nacelle and using a Renault engine. In 1912 the Farman brothers commenced a collaboration in the development of aircraft.

Henri’s 1907 aircraft made a number of flights and development continued, it becoming known as the Farman I. In 1908 it was re-covered with a new type of fabric and side curtains and became known as the Farman I-bis. Around that time the Wright brothers demonstrated in France one of their aircraft at Le Mans in August 1908 and parts of their design were copied, Farman fitting ailerons to his aircraft.

The Voisin brothers then built an aircraft known as the Farman II, which incorporated some modifications, which was sold to J T C Moore-Brabazon and exported to the United Kingdom where it became known as the ‘Bird of Passage’.

This aircraft was then followed by the Farman III, which was also a biplane with the engine installed behind the pilot, which had equal-span wings, a forward elevator and a biplane tail surface which was attached to twin booms. This aircraft had ailerons on both the upper and lower wings and had a new design undercarriage, the wheels being replaced by two skids with wheels and a bungee cord with radius rods.

Construction was all-wood, Ash being the main type, and metal parts were manufactured from aluminium. The wings and tail were fabric covered and the aircraft was first demonstrated at Reims in August 1909. Further modifications had been made by this time and, although it was initially fitted with a 37 kw (50 hp) four-cylinder in-line liquid-cooled Vivinus engine, this was replaced by the Gnome Omega rotary unit.

The Farman III was shown to the public at the Grande Semaine d’Aviation event at Reims.

The aircraft was placed in low-rate production with a variety of engines, including an ENV liquid-cooled V-8 unit. Thereafter it became known as the ‘Farman Type’ and was sold in some numbers.Other types became known by this appellation.

The type was also built in Germany by Albatros Flugzeugwerke at Johannistal, this variant being known as the Albatros F.2.

Examples were used for racing in 1910 with the wingspan being reduced to 8.5 m (27 ft 11 in) and, to increase performance, a monoplane tail was fitted. A modified example was entered in the 1910 Michelin Cup long-distance competition.

On 1 August 1909 an example flown by Roger Sommer set an endurance record of 1 hour 50 minutes, this being broken by him and increased to 2 hours 27 minutes 15 seconds a short time later. This record was again broken on 27 August when a Farman at Reims flew a distance of 180 km (110 miles) in 3 hours 5 minutes.

Further examples were sold to operators in the United Kingdom, two being flown at Blackpool in September 1909 by Henri Farman and Louis Paulhan; and in October that year an example was shown to the public at Brooklands. In 1910 Paulhan took his aircraft to the United States where he set an altitude record of 1,258 m (4,126 ft) on 12 January that year. In April that year he won the London to Manchester air race.

Four examples were supplied to the Greek military where they were used between 1912 and 1917, these receiving the names ‘Daedalus’, ‘Eagle’, ‘Condor’ and ‘Falcon’. The first of these (‘Daedalus’) was flown on 13 May 1912 by Dimitrios Kamberos and at one stage it was converted to hydroplane configuration. Two were operated during the first Balkan War over Thessaloniki and Macedonia, and the type was also used by the First Greek School of Military Aviation in Thessaloniki.

One example was operated in the United Kingdom as G-EASO by Daimler Hire Ltd but this was destroyed in a crash on 3 October 1910 when operating at Milan in Italy, the aircraft colliding with an Antoinette, the pilot Captain Bertram Dickson and his passenger Rene Thomas surviving but Thomas Cleaves in the Antoinette being killed.

No original example has survived but one replica has been placed on display at a museum at Berlin’s Gatow airport. Another was registered for a period in the United States as N9169X before being placed on display at the Owls Head Transportation Museum in Maine. Built by that organisation, it was a full-scale replica and has been obtained by The Australian Vintage Aviation Society (TAVAS) at Caboolture, QLD, the aircraft being shipped from New York and arriving in Queensland on 8 January 2018, being assembled and placed on display. The aircraft has been registered VH-FRN4 (c/n 1 – ex N9168X) to Andrew Carter of Wavell Heights, QLD and is only expected to be flown when conditions are ideal.

The first flight by a heavier than air aeroplane in Hong Kong was a Farman III piloted by Charles van den Born on 18 March 1911. A replica of this aircraft was built and registered as N7496Y in the United States by Vintage Aviation Services of Marion, Texas. It was conveyed to the Chep Hap Kok Airport where it was flown on 27 April 1998 by Roger Freeman. It was re-registered as B-HMB and later placed on display at the Hong Kong International Airport.