Sommer 1910 biplane
| Sommer 1910 Biplane | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Role | Trainer, sports aircraft |
| National origin | France |
| Manufacturer | Roger Sommer |
| Designer | Roger Sommer |
| First flight | 1910 |
The Sommer 1910 Biplane was an early French aircraft designed by Roger Sommer. It was a pusher configuration biplane resembling the successful Farman III, and was built in large numbers for the time. One was owned by Charles Rolls.
Roger Sommer had previously built an aircraft of his own design in 1908, achieving a few short straight-line flights in early 1909. This was housed at Châlons, where Sommer had a hangar between those occupied by Gabriel Voisin and Henri Farman. In May 1909 Sommer bought a Farman III aircraft, and on 7 August 1909 he gained fame in this by breaking the endurance record held by Wilbur Wright, making a flight lasting 2 hr 27 min 15 sec. Later that year he made a successful appearance at the Doncaster flight meeting, winning the prize for the greatest distance flown during the meeting. Meanwhile, he had started building an aircraft of his own design at Mouzon in the Ardennes, where his family had a felt-making business.
The design of the Sommer biplane was derived from that of the Farman III, the aircraft being a pusher configuration equal-span biplane powered by a 50 hp (37 kW) Gnome Omega. Lateral control was effected by D-shaped ailerons on the upper wing. A single elevator was mounted in front of the wings: behind the wings wire-braced wooden booms carried a horizontal surface which was operated independently of the front elevator and was used to adjust the aircraft's trim rather than for control purposes. Early examples has a single large rudder mounted below this: this was later changed to four smaller rudders, two above it and two below, and subsequently changed again to one above and one below . The twin skids of the undercarriage were extended forwards to form part of the supporting structure for the elevator, and a single pair of wheels were mounted on an axle between the skids. A two-seat "Military" version with an extended upper wing was produced later.
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