AviationGeeks.com - Robert Esnault-Pelterie

Born: November 8^th, 1881

Died: December 6^th, 1957

Place of Birth: Paris, France

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Education: plant biology, physics, chemistry, engineering at the University of Paris

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Personal life

Robert Esnault-Pelterie was the son of a well-off textile cotton industrialist and earned his education at the University of Paris. He studied plant biology, physics, chemistry and engineering. He graduated in 1902. Esnault-Pelterie Sapeurs-Telegraphistes Mont-Valerien Paris and became an Officer in the France army.

Esnault-Pelterie had a crash in 1908 that ended his career as a pilot. He was flying his plane for a short trial flight and when he was attempting to descend the aircraft, but he didn´t reduce his engine power so the aircraft crashed into the ground at full speed. Esnault-Pelterie was wearing a seatbelt, but was still thrown against the fuel tank, braking one of its steel support beam. He was found unconscious, by a nearby farmer who witnessed the crash. He was suffering from shock and severe cut on his right hip. Esnault-Pelterie only flew as a passenger after the crash.

Pelterie was one of the founding member of the Paris Air Show, one of the biggest air shows in the world and the first exhibition to be devoted entirely to aviation.

Aircraft designs

Esnault-Pelterie first “design” was actually a copy of the Wright brothers biplane. But he never fully understood the flight controls of the Wright brothers aircrafts so he designed his own flight controls for his version of the aircraft. Some of the designed he added to his version of the Wright brothers aircraft have become a standard in aircrafts today. The modern aileron is an example of Esnault-Pelterie´s design.

Esnault-Pelterie started experimenting with towed flight in 1906 and made a 500 meter (1640 feet) in September that year. On October 22, 1907, he flew 150 meters (492 feet) in his first powered flight.

The first aircraft that Esnault-Pelterie built was the R.E.P I, which was the first closed fuselage aircraft ever built. The closed fuselage eliminated any drag from cables and wires for the flight controls. The Pelterie I was a monoplane with movable rudders and elevator and was powered by a 30 horsepower air-cooled, seven cylinder engine. The R.E.P. was the first aircraft to use a

In 1908, Pelterie began experimenting with the R.E.P. II. He flew the R.E.P. II 300, 500, and 1,200 meters (3,937 feet), which was then a world record in distance and height.