Alphonse Pénaud
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model airplane by Alphonse Pénaud , 1871
Alphonse Pénaud (1850–1880), was a 19th century French pioneer of aviation, inventor of the rubber powered model airplane Planophore and founder of the aviation industry. He built and sold ornithopters as well as propeller-driven models, and with Paul Gauchot designed an amphibious monoplane with retractable undercarriage. He died by suicide.
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, the Wright brothers cited these toys as an early inspiration for their interest in flight.
[edit] References
- Aviation, The Pioneer Years, edited by Ben Mackworth-Praed, Studio Editions, Ltd., London, 1990
