Mystery Farman III / Boxkite derivitive

JDK · 4 July 2015, 04:48 AM

Help! Can you identify this interesting mystery type? It's a member of the Maurice-Farman III / Boxkite family, with the front is pure Boxkite, but the tail arrangement is quite different (longerons running to a single rudder and monoplane tail).

Posted by the Provincial Archives of Alberta, who are keen to find out more about it if they can.

Looking at the other images in the album (the Robert McKenzie fonds, PR1991.0305/22) there are a number of images taken in the UK and probably France during W.W.I, as well as some in Canada, so the location could be either side of the Atlantic.

If you follow the link, the image can be enlarged, but (frustratingly) not quite enough to read all the text. Seems to be: --- Aerod---- ---- No.-

Flight training by Provincial Archives of Alberta, on Flickr

Rbailey · 4 July 2015, 07:39 AM

I read ACAD with the next letter possibly an O, and the number looks like 3.

Aquilius · 4 July 2015, 09:07 AM

Hi James,

that really is an interesting machine. A typical Farman-type pusher as they were built in 1910 or 1911, by chance in 1912 but unlikely later.
By surrounding and time it does not fit to any other picture shown in that album.

So far I couldn't figure out a model with a similar tailplane.
Just I believe that is an European biplane.

The big letters might be ACADEMIA/ACADEMIE/ACADAMY
or even something like AERODROME.

It apparently is not an aircraft of the "AKADEMIE FÜR AVIATIK" from Munich, Germany. Not only that this was written with "K", but that did not had such a machine. Probably better to look for an English model.

Cheers

Aquilius

Tork1945 · 5 July 2015, 01:32 AM

I noticed this interesting picture of this rare type too and was able to identify it but .... as I frequent the Breguet Pre-1914 Challenge in this forum I want to reserve the solution for that Challenge.

The 'problem' is that I will have to solve one to come up with this one.

Tork1945

CjBobrow · 5 July 2015, 07:55 AM

Woe to the rest of us mortals... I looked through a few works (British Aircraft Before The Great War & French Aeroplanes Before The Great War) late last night similar but nothing definitive so I applaud your find...

Its the tail that makes it uniquely different I wonder how well it flew and why the modification...

JDK · 7 July 2015, 05:14 PM

Thanks for the comments! I'm not interested in the Breguet challenge, though it's great for those that are. If you've identified this aircraft, Tork1945, the Alberta archives, as well as I, are interested in what it is so they can identify it on their website. So if you have ID'd it, please share with sources. Thank you.

Tork1945 · 30 July 2015, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDK

Thanks for the comments! I'm not interested in the Breguet challenge, though it's great for those that are. If you've identified this aircraft, Tork1945, the Alberta archives, as well as I, are interested in what it is so they can identify it on their website. So if you have ID'd it, please share with sources. Thank you.

Time has come ... The Breguet Challenge with this particular picture has started.

http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/sh...02&postcount=1

Surely I had to wait publishing the identity of this biplane otherwise the clever digital boffins would have unearthed it quite easily. Of course if I know something about an unknown machine on pictures I always try to report on it, as I already did with a few pictures of the Alberta Archives

Tork1945

JDK · 30 July 2015, 11:21 PM

Thanks, I look forward to the solution!