Engineer (Ir.) Johan Kluytmans

[Varese2002]

Originally Posted by Varese

Ir. Johan Kluytmans in Germany
Ir. Johan Kluytmans here in the monoplane he designed for the Flugapparate-Bauanstalt Deutschland in 1910.




The Flugapparate-Bauanstalt Deutschland was founded in january 1910. The director was Hugo Allers. Kluytmans was the chief designer (if there were more designers). Very few machines were made by the Flugapparate-Bauanstalt. In the last months of 1911 the firm was disbanded.

Kluytmans designed in 1910 a Monoplane powered by a 25 hp Anzani. The fuselage was an advanced construction, consisting of a steel tube. Clearly can be seen in the photograph the oblique placement of the landing wheels.



A second monoplane was built also with the Anzani engine. The fuselage had a triangular structure. It crashed on its first flight in 1910.

A copy of a Farman biplane was built in 1911 to fly in the German BZ-Flug piloted by Leutnant a.D Ellery von Gorrissen (Pilotenscheinnummer 4). In the end the machine did not start in the competition.

Originally Posted by Rod Filan

The Dutch inventor Kluytmans presented his first aeroplane, a Wright-type biplane, designed and built by himself and bankrolled by de Marçay, at Reims in 1909. It is doubtful this twin-pusher biplane was successful and no record of flight is documented.

The Kluytmans biplane - with traces here and there of the Wrights - can be clearly seen in the picture of Rod as startnumber 18 in the Reims first international air meeting of 1909.

There is a close up picture of the command post and the passenger seat



I have not found a list of all the contestants in Reims 1909 but their total number must be in the neighbourhood of 35. At most 10 to 15 machines will have actually flown in Reims.
The Kluytmans was surely not in for the flyers. Better not when looking at the rather flimsy landing gear (nose- and tailwheel). In the close-up picture you see at the right hand of the pilot the engine flat on the wing (shades of the Wright flyer ?) surrounded by a sort of screen, presumably to stay clear of the castor-oil of the rotary engine.
I could not find a reference that de Marçay financed the machine. Also Opdycke gives the machine (with the same picture) with no reference to de Marçay. It is a draw, no evidence to be seen.

Kluytmans evaporated without leaving a trace after his engineering work in Germany late in 1911. Of course with super human perseverance more could be found, but this is it now.

Kees [aka Varese]