Vintage Wings - Paulhan-Tatin "Aero Torpedo" - 1911

*** Vintage Wings ***

Paulhan-Tatin "Aero Torpedo" - 1911

Victor Tatin's Aéro-Torpille created great interest during the 1911 Salon de l’Aéronautique at the Grand Palais in Paris due to its novel and streamlined appearance. Great care had been taken in the effort to eliminate drag, and the design had been tested on Gustave Eiffel's wind tunnel.
It was a handsome development of Victor Tatin's previous machine. The fuselage was now spindle-shaped ("spindle" in French is "fuseau," hence the word "fuselage"). The wings were again trapezoidal, set on the top of the fuselage, with Tatin elliptical dihedral.
The main peculiarity about the machine was that the propeller, an 8ft. Regy Freres, was disposed at the extreme rear end of the main body, and was driven by means of a tubular steel shift by a Gnome engine of 50-h.p. enclosed in the fuselage. Unlike other aircraft of the time, the Aéro-Torpille’s fuselage had a circular cross-section, with the pilot sat in front of the engine and, indeed, ahead of the high-mounted wing.
The undercarriage, unusual as well, had two wheels attached at the bottom of two inverted hickory wooden arches, the axle running between them.
The refined aerodynamic showed its benefits when, attaining a speed of 93 mph, the Aéro-Torpille was the fastest aeroplane at the French military trials of 1911.
However, the aircraft proved to be difficult to handle and was not developed further, being sold in march to the Italian aviator Signor Bosse.

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