Flight, December 1921

The Paris Aero Show - 1921

NIEUPORT-ASTRA ET COMPAGNIE GENERALE TRANSAERIENNE
50, Boulevard Gallieni, Issy-les-Moulineaux

   The second machine is the Nieuport-Delage monoplane racer, on which Kirsch won the Coupe Deutsch. It was on a similar machine that Sadi Lecointe crashed in that race, and looking at the diminutive wings, bearing in mind the terrific landing speed which they must necessitate, one cannot help marvelling that Sadi escaped with his life. However, we had the pleasure of a short chat with him on the stand, and he is apparently none the worse for his terrible experience. Two small scars are all that now testify to his "spill," and he has lost none of his sang froid, nor is his smile any less winning. Sadi is one of the most charming fellows one knows, and it is to be hoped that his proverbial good luck will never desert him.
   The "Sesquiplan" is exhibited in the manner beloved by French constructors, i e., represented as being on a banked turn, and very effective it is. The machine, somehow, reminds one of the late Commander Porte going round the pylons at Hendon on the famous old Deperdussin "Thunderbug," scraping the inner wing tip along the top of the grass. The machine has already been illustrated in FLIGHT, and is a monoplane with a small pair of thin wings, braced by a single strut on each side. The fuselage is of monocoque construction, and is, if possible, of even smaller cross-sectional area than that of the "29C1." Looking at the cockpit coaming, one wonders how Sadi managed to get into the machine without the aid of a shoehorn, let alone getting out of the machine in the crash. It may be conceded that streamlining has been carried to its limit in the "Sesquiplan," and that a further reduction in resistance can scarcely be imagined. The wings are as small as it is reasonably safe to make them, and the landing speed must be about 100 m.p.h. It is to be regretted that the Hanriot did not compete in the race, as it would have been extremely interesting to see which machine is the faster. The Nieuport has a much smaller fuselage and thin wings with strut bracing, while the Hanriot has rather a "fat" body, and thick high-lift wings without external bracing. The engine is the same in both cases - i.e., 300 h.p. Hispano-Suiza.