The Winged Craft is the name Jean Marie Le Bris gave to his first flying machine, ahead of the figure's page of the patent he deposited March 9th 1857 and entitled: For an aerial car.
This patent is the only authentic document relative to the extraordinary exploit of December 1856. For the first time in history a man aboard a flying machine heavier than air, took off from a beach, reached an altitude of about 300 feet and landed with only minor damage.
Up to year 2000, this patent had been largerly underestimated by the historians, too succinct for some, and too naïvely written for others.
At that time, after a minute examination of this patent, an engineers team was persuaded of the contrary : not only was the document complete and precise as to the structure of the airship, but it also explained the totally innovating flying control system and showed that Le Bris had imagined to propulse his machine by means of flapping wings as birds do.
Read more about the winged craft The reconstitution of the Albatros was also made from irrefutable documents, particularly from four photos which are supposed to be the first in the world of a machine heavier than air.
But we have neither found any plan nor even any drawing of that second machine, Le Bris unfortunately not having patented it.
In 1867, Le Bris himself announces in a local newspaper : " The bird will have the shape of an albatross, except for the tail which will be longer ". It will be a genuine glider, with a span of 18 meters . This time, the wings are shrouded from above and can't flap. But their performant profile made of cambered and flexible battens can be easily deformed.
A tackle like those used in.the sailing vessels of his time to hoist the gaffs of the fore and aft sails, can act both on the incidence and the camber of 8 out of 9 battens of the same wing, thus modifying its lifting power with great sensitivity.
Read more about the Albatros