- Alphonse Pénaud
Alphonse Pénaud (
May 31 ,1850 –October 22 ,1880 ), was a 19th-century French pioneer ofaviation , inventor of the rubber poweredmodel airplane "Planophore" and founder of the aviation industry.Pénaud was born in
Paris into a family of sailors. His father was an admiral. Because of health problems, he was not able to attend the Naval School. At 20, he began studying aviation and joined the "Société aéronautique de France". He became vice-president of the society in 1876 and participated in the publication of the journal "L'Aéronaute".He built and sold
ornithopter s as well aspropeller -driven models, and with Paul Gauchot designed an amphibious monoplane with retractable undercarriage. He died bysuicide .In 1878 Milton Wright gave his two younger sons, Wilbur and Orville, a toy "helicopter" which was based on a design of Pénaud and the earlier British aviation scientist
Sir George Cayley . In their adult years, theWright brothers cited these toys as an early inspiration for their interest in flight.References
*"Aviation, The Pioneer Years", edited by Ben Mackworth-Praed, Studio Editions, Ltd., London, 1990
* [http://www.universalis.fr/encyclopedie/T060096/PENAUD_A.htm Article on Pénaud in the Encyclopédie Universalis]
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