Voisin Eagle Christmas Ornament (enlarge for details)
Merry Art Deco Christmas featuring La Cocotte Voisin (stylized eagle) Hood Ornament, the very unique French Voisin mascot.
Gabriel Voisin, on 5 November 1906, established the Appareils d'Aviation Les Frères Voisin with his brother Charles [3] (English: Flying Machines of Voisin Brothers). The company, based in the Parisian suburb of Billancourt, was the first commercial aircraft factory in the world.[4] It created Europe's first manned, heavier-than-air powered aircraft capable of a sustained (1 km), circular, controlled flight, including take-off and landing, the Voisin-Farman I.
After Charles died in an automobile accident in 1912; the full official company name then became Société Anonyme des Aéroplanes G. Voisin[1][2][note 1] (English: Aeroplanes Voisin public limited company). During World War I, it was a major producer of military aircraft, notably the Voisin III. After the war Gabriel Voisin abandoned the aviation industry, and set up a company to design and produce luxury automobiles, called Avions Voisin.
In 1919 he started producing cars using Knight-type sleeve valve engines. Former student of the Fine Arts School of Lyon and enthusiast for all things mechanical since his childhood, Voisin's uncompromisingly individual designs made extensive use of light alloys, especially aluminum. One of the company's most striking early designs was the Laboratoire Grand Prix car of 1923; one of the first cars ever to use monocoque chassis construction,[2] and utilising small radiator-mounted propeller to drive the cooling pump. The characteristic Voisin style of 'rational' coachwork he developed in conjunction with his collaborator André Noel. Noel prioritized lightness, central weight distribution, capacious luggage boxes and distinctively angular lines. The 1930s models with underslung chassis were strikingly low.
In the early 1930s, Gabriel Voisin could not pay all of his draftsmen any more and a young creative engineer named André Lefèbvre quit, recommended by Gabriel to Louis Renault. Lefèbvre finally entered Citroën where he led three particularly significant car projects: the Traction Avant, the 2CV and the DS, using a lot of Gabriel's lessons.
Engines
Sleeve valve Knight engines were used exclusively until some later models switched to Graham 3.5 litre engines. The Knight engines included: inline four; inline six; V8 (prototype); V12 - 7.2 liter, 1921 (prototype); inline twelve and a seven-cylinder radial (prototype).
I know you all needed this info for Xmas reading in front of the fire..............Merry Christmas
Voisin Eagle Christmas Ornament (enlarge for details)
Merry Art Deco Christmas featuring La Cocotte Voisin (stylized eagle) Hood Ornament, the very unique French Voisin mascot.
Gabriel Voisin, on 5 November 1906, established the Appareils d'Aviation Les Frères Voisin with his brother Charles [3] (English: Flying Machines of Voisin Brothers). The company, based in the Parisian suburb of Billancourt, was the first commercial aircraft factory in the world.[4] It created Europe's first manned, heavier-than-air powered aircraft capable of a sustained (1 km), circular, controlled flight, including take-off and landing, the Voisin-Farman I.
After Charles died in an automobile accident in 1912; the full official company name then became Société Anonyme des Aéroplanes G. Voisin[1][2][note 1] (English: Aeroplanes Voisin public limited company). During World War I, it was a major producer of military aircraft, notably the Voisin III. After the war Gabriel Voisin abandoned the aviation industry, and set up a company to design and produce luxury automobiles, called Avions Voisin.
In 1919 he started producing cars using Knight-type sleeve valve engines. Former student of the Fine Arts School of Lyon and enthusiast for all things mechanical since his childhood, Voisin's uncompromisingly individual designs made extensive use of light alloys, especially aluminum. One of the company's most striking early designs was the Laboratoire Grand Prix car of 1923; one of the first cars ever to use monocoque chassis construction,[2] and utilising small radiator-mounted propeller to drive the cooling pump. The characteristic Voisin style of 'rational' coachwork he developed in conjunction with his collaborator André Noel. Noel prioritized lightness, central weight distribution, capacious luggage boxes and distinctively angular lines. The 1930s models with underslung chassis were strikingly low.
In the early 1930s, Gabriel Voisin could not pay all of his draftsmen any more and a young creative engineer named André Lefèbvre quit, recommended by Gabriel to Louis Renault. Lefèbvre finally entered Citroën where he led three particularly significant car projects: the Traction Avant, the 2CV and the DS, using a lot of Gabriel's lessons.
Engines
Sleeve valve Knight engines were used exclusively until some later models switched to Graham 3.5 litre engines. The Knight engines included: inline four; inline six; V8 (prototype); V12 - 7.2 liter, 1921 (prototype); inline twelve and a seven-cylinder radial (prototype).
I know you all needed this info for Xmas reading in front of the fire..............Merry Christmas