Georges Legagneux

Georges Legagneux (1882-1914) was a French pioneer aviator, the first person to fly higher than 10,000 feet and the first to fly a plane in Austria, Sweden and Russia.

Legagneux in 1908 with his Ferber IX

Legagneux flew his Voisin biplane in Vienna on 23 April 1909. This was the first airplane flight in Austria ever.[1] His flight on 29 July 1909 in Stockholm also marked the first flight in Sweden.[1] On 15 September 1909, Legagneux flew his plane from Khodynka Field, near Moscow. The five short flights he produced were according to some sources the first ever airplane flights in Russia, although other sources note a flight in Odessa (currently in Ukraine) on 25 July 1909 by a certain Van Der Schrouff.[1] He flew again on the 19th, and then traveled to Odessa and Saint Petersburg for further demonstrations.[2]

On 19 April 1910 he received French aviator license #55.[1]

He participated in the Angers-Saumur race of 6 June 1910. This was the first aircraft race between two cities, with seven competitors, and was watched by 200,000 spectators. Legagneux flew a Sommer 1910 biplane, and was one of only three contestants to take off. He finished second in 36 minutes 45 seconds, some 5 minutes behind winner Robert Martinet.[1]

On 9 December 1910 he broke the altitude record set by Ralph Johnstone on 27 October 1910. Johnstone had reached 8471 feet, but starting from Pau Legagneux reached an altitude of 10,499 feet in his Blériot plane.[3]

Legagneux reclaimed the world altitude record in December 1913 when he reached 6120 metres in a Nieuport.[4]

Notes

Serrano Villard, Henry (2002). Contact!: The Story of the Early Aviators. Courier. p. 98. ISBN 9780486423272.
Palmer, Scott W. (2006). Dictatorship of the Air: Aviation Culture and the Fate of Modern Russia. Cambridge University. p. 18. ISBN 9780521859578.
Goldstone, Lawrence (2014). Birdmen: The Wright Brothers, Glenn Curtiss, and the Battle to Control the Skies. Random House. ISBN 9780345538048.
Hallion, Richard (2003). Taking Flight: Inventing the Aerial Age, from Antiquity Through the First World War. USA: Oxford University Press. p. 327. ISBN 9780195160352. georges legagneux.

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[Serrano-1] Serrano Villard, Henry (2002). Contact!: The Story of the Early Aviators. Courier. p. 98. ISBN 9780486423272.

[Palmer-2] Palmer, Scott W. (2006). Dictatorship of the Air: Aviation Culture and the Fate of Modern Russia. Cambridge University. p. 18. ISBN 9780521859578.

[Goldstone-3] Goldstone, Lawrence (2014). Birdmen: The Wright Brothers, Glenn Curtiss, and the Battle to Control the Skies. Random House. ISBN 9780345538048.

[Hallion-4] Hallion, Richard (2003). Taking Flight: Inventing the Aerial Age, from Antiquity Through the First World War. USA: Oxford University Press. p. 327. ISBN 9780195160352. georges legagneux.