Pioneers......contd

Henri Farman

Another well known pioneer of aviation was Henri Farman.  He learnt to fly in 1907 and was one of the first customers of the Voisin Brothers who had just started their aircraft construction buiness at that time.  He ordered a copy of the plane they had built for Leon Delgrange.  Farman used this Voisin 1907 biplane to set numerous records for both distance and duration.   In 1908 he established two important records in France.  At Issy he won the Deutsche-Archdeacon prize of 50,000 francs by making a circular flight of  a mile at a height of 25 feet.  Later that year he flew 17 miles across the country from Bouy to Rheims in 20 minutes, at a record average speed of 47 mph.  These flights were made in a modified Voisin biplane.  In 1909, he opened a flying school in Chalons-sur-Marne.  Later that year he made another record breaking flight of 180 kilometers at Rheims in just over 3 hours.  And, in November a 232 kilometer flight in 4 four hours 17 minutes.

By the end of 1909 he had a fallout with Voisin and he founded a successful and innovative aircraft factory with his brothers Maurice & Richard.  Their airplane Farman III became an instant success. 

The Farman biplane can be seen on this stamp issued by Japan in 1960 to commemorate 50th anniversary of Aviation in Japan.  A Farman biplane was flown in Tokyo in 1910 by Capt. Yoshitoki Tokugawa.  In the forground is the silhoutte of a Douglas DC-8.

Their 1914 model was used extensively for artillery observation and reconnaissance during World War I. The Farman Aircraft  company's  Goliath  was the first long-distance passenger airliner, beginning regular Paris-London flights on 8 February 1919.

The Farman F.60 Goliath and Farman H.F.III can be seen on this stamp issued by Monaco to mark the birth centenary of Henri Farman.  The maximum card  shows the Farman Goliath along with a picture of Farman.

A stamp issued by Comoro Islands showing the Farman biplane and picture of Farman

Farman F.60 Goliath at the top with a Bleriot XI.

A Farman H.F.16 can been seen with a Boeing 737 on this French stamp issued in 1992 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of First Mail Flight from Nancy to Luneville.

The Farman 60 Goliath can be seen on this stamp issued by Cuba in 2010.

Stamp issued by Afars & Issas showing portrait of Farman and the Farman bis 1.  Issued in 1974 to mark his birth centenary.

Stamp issued by Rwanda showing Farman and his Voisin No.1 bis.

Souvenir Sheet issued by France in 2010 with stamp of Farman and drawings of the Voisin biplane flown by him