On March 28, 1910, the world’s first seaplane, Fabre Hydravion, successfully took off & landed on water. 

“When in 1906 I had my certificate from the Paris School of Electricity, my parents came to ask the deputy director of this school the following question:

Is it reasonable to let this boy pursue his dream? He wants to fly. Is this a chimera or does the current state of science allow any achievement in this direction?   Fortunately for me the response was favorable and here is what my father told me: I am opening you a credit of 100,000 francs with my cashier who will keep your accounts: if I can help you with my experience, it is at your disposal, but if after spending this money you have not succeeded, you will wisely enter an electricity business as an engineer. “
Fabre in later years taking about his desire to fly.

Fabre Hydravion w Fabre at controls in 1909 tests Courtesy Pionniers : revue aéronautique trimestrielle des Vieilles tiges No. 12 April 15, 1967 pp. 18 Courtesy Musée Air France

Henri Fabre (1882-1984): Engineer 
Famous People (1986) series
February 24, 1986
La Poste
Designer: René Quillivic
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First Seaplane Flight – Henri Fabre
March 27, 2010
Designer: Jean-Paul Cousin 
Engraver: Jacky Larrivière 
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Technical Drawings and Fabre
First Flight of Henri Fabre’s Seaplane series
Designer: Jean Chesnot 
December 30, 1989

Henri Fabre’s innovative “canard”

Fabre at Monaco 1911 in front of his Hydroavion

Fabre was inspired by Otto Lilienthal’s pioneer work in flight.  He was deeply affected with Lilienthal’s death in 1896, triggering a deeper desire to understand the mechanics of flight:

“If Otto Lilienthal had been able to successfully complete 2000 gliding flights before dying, this accident, the young student thought, had probably been caused by a lack of stability in the machine used, which the great German precursor, despite his experience and his value as an engineer, had not been able to resolve satisfactorily.” 
A great Provençal Henri Fabre by Jean Dabry, Pionniers : revue aéronautique trimestrielle des Vieilles tiges No. 12 April 15, 1967 pp. 22 

Fabre pursued his engineering education at Jesuit College of Marseilles and in 1904, while auditing courses at École Supérieure d’Électrcité de Paris, that he met Ernest Archdeacon founding member of the Aero-Club de France, which further inspired Fabre to pursue his passion for flight. After his military service ended, he enrolled full time in the École Supérieure, graduating in June 1906.

Upon graduation, Fabre returned home to Marseille and set up his workshop and set about hiring Marius Burdin, who was an experienced aeroplane mechanic, and Léon Sebille, a naval architect. Fabre also purchased a glider from Gabriel Voisin, and a tugboat, “fitted out with generator, electric winches, dynamometers and recording anemometers, all the devices necessary for the experiments … with gliders and floats.” [ibid p. 23]

Fabre built his first seaplane in 1909, testing it extensively. This three motor, one propeller biplane failed, but gave Fabre invaluable information that led to his second design, an innovative monoplane with dual rudders for stability. By 1910, Fabre and his crew were ready to test the new “canard” type aircraft, unofficially named the Hydravion.

The first flight went off with little fanfare. 20 assistants, aviation pioneer Albert Bazin, and “bailiff Raphaël, from Martigues” were in attendance. The bailiff was there as an official witness to certify the flight. Fabre climbed into the cockpit and slowly took off, managing to fly 500 metres (1,600 ft) before landing safely. In total five successful flights took place that day.  

Fabre described his first flight in an interview in 1923:

I had never been in a plane, neither as a passenger nor as a pilot, so I could not rely on my reflexes, but my device was designed to be automatically stable and, with this perfectly calm weather, I should be able to fly without [using] the controls and was determined to first act only on the gases. With my hand on the intake lever, I let the device launch; the rear floats rose, I slowed down, and an adjustment of the dead center of the warping allowed me to modify the relative incidence of the two wings. I accelerated again this time the two rear floats rose at the same time, the device balancing on the front float, which itself ended up leaving the water I was in the air, perfectly stable, gliding on this sea of oil or buzzing a few meters above it in the sleeping atmosphere; the impression was the same. The throttle reduced, I soon saw the front float rest gently on the water, leaving a fine trace like that diamond on the window. Once again I took off, lengthening my eyes more and more, making wide turns in the air. Never any sudden movement, never a shock when landing. My device did not inspire the slightest suspicion in me, and when I returned on board, my spectators found that I had there a device of total rest whose movements, so gentle, inspired no worry.
L’Aéronautique”. No. 55, December 1923

Press announcement of Fabre’s successful flight

News Article  L’Aérophile April 15, 1910, p 172

Translation of above article:

The “Henri Fabre” hydroplane 

On March 28, 1910, in the Anse de la Mède, near Les Martigues, for the first time in the world, a flying machine was able, by its own means, to take off over the water, and come back down to the sea water at the end of its flight, and this without damage or incident.

 

We wanted the creation of such a mechanical flight machine, which would expand the field of action of aviation; we knew it was possible, we calculated the new applications and of the greatest interest quite a few researchers had tackled this problem. The honor of having solved it first goes to Mr. Henri Fabre, a young engineer of the greatest merit, who is not unknown to our readers and whose success we salute with particular sympathy.

 

The hydro-aeroplane (let’s adopt this not very euphonious, but accurate name), of which Mr. Henri Fabre was at the same time the inventor, the constructor and the pilot, deserves a detailed study which we hope to publish.

 

The tests on March 28 took place in the presence of Mr. Albert Bazin and around twenty witnesses. Mounted by Mr. Henri Fabre, the hydro-aeroplane, first tested as a simple hydroplane, reached a speed of 55 kilometres. on time. In flight tests, the device rose to 2 m. above the waves on courses of 400 to 500 m. In the port of La Mède where the last experiment took place, the device, after having flown at 3 m. water came gently down onto the sea near the shore. The rise and “landing” (in dead calm, it is true), were remarkably easy and elegant; speed of flight, not measured exactly, appeared considerable.

 

The tests will most likely continue without interruption and there is every reason to hope for truly deserved success for this new seabird.
From L’Aérophile April 15, 1910, p 172

Fabre in flight 1910, courtesy French Archives

 

First flight test in 1909, with Fabre acting as pilot. From Pionniers : revue aéronautique trimestrielle des Vieilles tiges No. 12 April 15, 1967 p. 18

Both Voisin and American Glenn Curtiss were impressed with the stability of Fabre’s design and reached out to discuss his work to further their own designs, which Fabre as happy to do.  Voisin excitedly declared Fabre’s design was “original creation”. Curtiss traveled to Paris in fall of 1910 to meet with Fabre and examine this new design that succeeded where he hadn’t. 

[Curtiss] came to visit Henri Fabre at the Salon de l’Aéronautique at the Grand Palais in Paris which was held from October 15 to November 2, 1910 and where the “Canard” was exhibited. Back in the United States, Glenn Curtiss, convinced that the French were going to take a lead in hydroaviation, urged the American Navy, until then reluctant, to help him in his experiments. 
A great Provençal Henri Fabre by Jean Dabry, Pionniers : revue aéronautique trimestrielle des Vieilles tiges No. 12 April 15, 1967 pp. 23 

 In little more than a year, Curtiss flew his first practical seaplane, incorporating some of Fabre’s ideas in his design.

 

AÉROSTATION, AVIATION.
N° 426,487
Hydro-airplane.
Mr. HENRI FABRE residing in France (Bouches-du-Rhône).
Requested May 4, 1910.
Issued May 5, 1911. Published July 7, 1911.

Within 2 years, hydro-aeroplanes, or seaplanes, developed so rapidly, distance and endurance races were held, proving the practicality of “canards”.  In April 1912 a race from Saint Malo to Isle of Jersey and back saw 10 competitors participte, with some of the biggest names in aircraft design involved – Nieuport, Paulhan, and Farman. 

 

 

(From top to bottom): One of the two Sanchez-Besa aircraft, the big favorites of the race pilots Jean Benoist (right) and Rugère (left). Le Donnet-Lévêque pilots André Beaumont. The Nieuport: pilot Ch. Weymann. The Robert Esnault-Pelterie: pilot Molla. Le Borel pilots Chambenois. Le Paulhan pilots Barra (right) and Mollien (left). inventor, the friendly Train. The Train which will be piloted by its Le Maurice Farman which will be ridden by Eugène Renaux. The Astra: Labouret driver. The Deperdussin pilot Busson.  From Vie en Grande Air August 24, 1912, pp 656-657

 

What’s in a design?

Henri Fabre’s Hydroavion on display at the Musée air & espace

Louis Lacoin patent No. 404,458 filed 1909