Voisin de Caters
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The Voisin "de Caters" is the plane of the first official flight by a Belgian in 1909 in Sint-Job-in-'t-Goor, with Baron Pierre de Caters at the controls.
The Voisin "de Caters" was built by French brothers Gabriel and Charles Voisin at their Boulogne Billancourt workshop (Paris, France). The Voisin biplane is the first French aircraft to perform a controlled flight. On January 13, 1908, Henry Farman on a Voisin accomplished a flight of 1 kilometer in closed loop at Issy-les-Moulineaux, gaining the Deutch-Ardeacon prize. It was a cellular biplane, i.e. a kind of kite motorized and assembled on wheels. Nearly 80 specimens of various versions were built from 1907 to 1912. [[Image:decaters11.jpg|thumb|right|
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[edit] Characteristics
- Wingspan: 10m20
- Length: 10m42
- Height: 2m85
- Cord: 2m
- Tare weight: 575 kg
- Laden weight: 880 kg
- Speed: 65 km/h
- Engine: (Voisin “de Caters”) standard ENV F 8 cylinders in V, water cooling 60HP
- Propeller: Voisin, diameter 2m40
[edit] The project
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In the seventies, the Museum exchanged the "Dabert" coming from the collection of Jean Salis. The "Dabert" is a flying replica of the Voisin biplane built in 1973 for the TV movie "The reapers of daisies" (Les faucheurs de marguerites in French) telling the exploits of the French aviation’s pioneers. Edouard Dabert, a pioneer born from the imagination of the scenario writers, was experimenting flight with Ferber, Blériot or Santos-Dumont. Dabert built his own aircraft. It is this machine which the Museum inherited.
To build the “Dabert”, the Salis team used the “Voisin de course” (Voisin racer) as a template. The “Dabert” was also flow during airshows at La Ferté. When arriving at the Brussels Museum, the Dabert was stored. Unfortunately, the replica slowly decayed.
After the success of the restoration of Battaille triplane, the Brussels Air Museum Restoration team considered the construction of a replica of one of the biplanes of the baron de Caters.
The goal is to reconstitute one of the Voisin biplanes with which Pierre de Caters carried out, in 1908 and 1909, first flights successful by a Belgian in Belgium. A first study makes it possible to check that the fuselage of Dabert can be used for this reconstitution. New wings must be built but an engine ENV, of the same type that that used by Caters, is available in the collections of the Museum.
A visit at the air museum at Le Bourget makes it possible to obtain invaluable information and to record dimensions of the Voisin Farman displayed at the Museum. Since 2001, the team is at work. The fuselage was cleaned and restored. The engine is also in restoration. The project should be finished for 2008, birthday of the first flight of Pierre de Caters.
The project is one of the high priority targets of the Brussels Air Museum Foundation.
The Dabert replica is based on the Voisin. However, the “Dabert” was equipped with ailerons to enhance maneuverability and to permit safe flight. Some parts, such as the fuselage, masts or foundry parts can be used to build the Voisin of Pierre de Caters. It will be necessary to build new wings, the tail and the booms joining the fuselage to the tail. Most of the woodwork will be performed by Etablissements Poncelet who already helped with the restoration of the wings of the Fieseler Storch of the museum.
