Félix du Temple de la Croix

Félix du Temple de la Croix (1823–1890) (usually simply called Félix du Temple) was a French naval officer and an inventor, born into an ancient Normandy family. He developed some of the first flying machines: he is credited with the first successful flight of a powered aircraft of any sort, a powered model plane, in 1857,"Felix Du Temple and his brother Louis, France, fly a model monoplane whose propellers are driven by a small steam engine. It takes off under its own power, flies a short distance, and glides to a safe landing. It is the first successful flight of a powered aircraft of any sort." [http://www.first-to-fly.com/History/History%20of%20Airplane/powering.htm] ] and is sometimes credited with the first manned powered flight in history onboard his Monoplane in 1874, [ Some quotes on the first powered flight in history, achieved by Félix du Temple:
*"The first takeoff of a powered, fixed-wing aircraft with a man aboard took place in 1874 at Brest, France. The steam-engine-powered plane, designed by a French naval officer, Félix du Temple, rose a few feet when it was launched down a hill." [http://oglobo.globo.com/online/blogs/arquivos/2003-12-09_09h28_Santos_Dumont_reconhecido_-_pagina(1).htm The New York Times, 2003]
*"The Wrights were not even the first to leave the ground in a powered plane. That honor apparently went to a French sailor whose name has been lost to history. In 1874, Félix du Temple, a French naval officer, watched the steam-powered plane he devised speed down a ski-jump-like ramp and sputter through the air with the guileless young sailor at the helm." Paul Hoffman, author of Wings of Madness, writing in [http://www.historynewsnetwork.com/articles/866.html#wright12-17-03 The New York Times Dec. 17, 2003 article]
*"In 1874, French naval officer Félix Du Temple successfully launched a bat-like plane with a steam engine. Rising a few feet off the ground, it was the first launch of a manned, powered fixed-wing aircraft." in [http://wright.ccc.edu/FirstFlight/ahistory.asp Wright College]
*"Felix Du Temple built a steam-powered monoplane that managed to rise a few feet off the ground-the first powered fixed-wing aircraft that carried a passenger, albeit down a slope." [http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/aviation/ideaflight.htm US National Park Service]
*"First powered flight to make even a brief hop", according to the [http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Prehistory/mid-19th_century/PH3G7.htm U.S. Centennial of flight commission]
*"It was more of a "hop" than a real flight, but some historians give du Temple credit for the first powered flight." in [http://www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/du_temple.html The pioneers, an anthology] and [http://wings.avkids.com/Book/History/instructor/power-01.html The National Business Aviation Association]
*"It is said the craft managed to make a brief hop a few feet off the ground after being rolled down an inclined slope, gliding a short distance, and landing safely. If this account is true, Félix du Temple did succeed in launching the first manned, powered, fixed-wing, heavier-than-air flight, but the propulsion system was too weak to sustain the flight and the control system was ineffective." in [http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/history/q0172.shtml Aerospaceweb.org] ] twenty-nine years before the 1903 flight of the Wright brothers.He was a contemporary of Jean-Marie Le Bris, another French flight pioneer who was active in the same region of France.

Military life

Félix du Temple entered the French Navy Academy (École Navale) in 1838. He participated in most of the conflicts during the Second French Empire, especially the Crimean War, the French intervention in Italy against Austria, and the French intervention in Mexico.

At the age of 41, he returned to France, became a captain (Capitaine de Frégate), and joined the Loire Army (Armée de la Loire). A partisan of the Comte de Chambord and a legitimist (an "Ultra-Royalist"), he was forced to quit the Navy in 1876.

Flying machine patent

Félix du Temple accomplished the first successful flight of a powered aircraft of any sort, a model plane that was able to take-off under its own power, in 1857. ["In 1857 or 1858 the Du Temple model took off under its own steam", The Road to Kitty Hawk - Page 54 by Valerie Moolman] There are however competing claims for the first "assisted" powered flight, with John Stringfellow's experiments in 1848. ["First to Fly" By Thomas C Parramore, p.46 [http://books.google.com/books?id=zrpb67qFXUIC&pg=PT63&dq=1857+Temple+flight&lr=&sig=ACfU3U0s2bWJVVIn6IEYDXat5SKBPh93UA] ]

Félix du Temple patented the designs for his aerial machine in 1857, ["Inventing Flight" By John David Anderson p.41 [http://books.google.com/books?id=IYnl_XPggZYC&pg=PA41&dq=1857+Temple+flight&sig=ACfU3U2YJQELcAf5YCFvjxl3Zd6hdF-c2g] ] ["First to Fly" By Thomas C Parramore, p.46 [http://books.google.com/books?id=zrpb67qFXUIC&pg=PT63&dq=1857+Temple+flight&lr=&sig=ACfU3U0s2bWJVVIn6IEYDXat5SKBPh93UA] ] which incorporated a retractable wheel landing gear, a propeller, a 6 hp engine and a dihedral wing design, under the title "Locomotion aérienne par imitation du vol des oiseaux" ("Aerial locomotion by imitation of the flight of birds"). He built several large models together with his brother Luis. One of them, weighing 700 grams, was able to fly, first using a clockwork mechanism as an engine, and then using a miniature steam engine. The two brothers managed to make the models take off under their their own power, fly a short distance and land safely.

As they tried to build a unit capable of carrying a man, they realized that steam engines lacked power and were too heavy. They developed in 1867 an original "hot air" engine design, which did not prove satisfactory. They also experimented with the new internal combustion gas engine design developed by Lenoir, but which also lacked the necessary power.

Du Temple continued his research and finally succeeded in creating a very compact, high-speed circulation steam engine for which he applied for a patent on 28 April 1876. The engine used very small pipes packed together "to obtain the highest possible contact surface for the smallest possible volume" [The patent describes "une demande pour une chaudière à vapeur à circulation rapide donnant la plus grande surface de chauffe possible sous le plus petit volume et le moindre poids."]

:"When he began with the aid of his brother, M. Louis du Temple, to experiment on a large scale, the inadequacy of all motors then known became apparent. They first tried steam at very high pressures, then a hot-air engine, and finally built and patented, in 1876 a very light steam boiler weighing from 39 to 44 lb. to the horse power, which appears to have been the prototype of some of the light boilers which have since been constructed. It consisted in a series of very thin tubes less than 1/8 inches in internal diameter, through which water circulated very rapidly, and was flashed into steam by the surrounding flame." Octave Chanute, Aeroplanes : Part III, August 1892

The "Monoplane"

In 1874, the two brothers built the "Monoplane", a large plane made of aluminium in Brest, France, with a wingspan of 13 meters and a weight of only 80 kilograms (without the pilot). Several trials were made with the plane, and it is generally recognized that it achieved lift off under its own power after a ski-jump run, glided for a short time and returned safely to the ground, possibly making it the first successful powered flight in history, depending on the definition — since the flight was only a short distance and a short time.

The plane was displayed at the 1878 World Fair (Exposition Universelle (1878)) in Paris.

The original steam engine which had been developed by Félix du Temple was later commercialized by him from a company he established in Cherbourg, "Générateur Du Temple S.A." and became highly successful. The design was adopted by the French Navy for the propulsion of the first French torpedo boats:

: "Officers and engineers have now made up their opinion regarding Du Temple's steam engine. Everybody proclaims the superiority of its qualities… orders are pouring in from our commercial harbours and from the French government." Revue Maritime 1888 ("L’opinion est faite aujourd’hui sur la chaudière Du Temple parmi les officiers et les ingénieurs. Tout le monde proclame ses qualités supérieures… les commandes affluent de nos ports de commerce et de la part du gouvernement français".) [ [http://www.mairie-tourlaville.fr/fr/tourisme/tourisme_et_patrimoine/dossiers_en_consultation/fichiers/felix_du_temple.pdf) French document] ]

Industrial legacy

Following his death in 1890, his successors took over the management of the company. "Générateur Du Temple S.A.", acquired the Lesénéchal company in 1905, and by 1918 had several hundred employees when it was absorbed by the shipbuilding company Société Normande de Construction Navale.

Quote

External links

* [http://www.flyingmachines.org/dutm.html Flying machines]
* [http://www.cas.astate.edu/draganjac/du_Temple.html Pioneers and innovators]

Notes

ee also

*List of early flying machines
*First flying machine
*Timeline of aviation - 19th century
*History of aviation