| Klaatu83, e-mail, 31.08.2016 03:02 The Weymann-Lepère WEL-80 was built to satisfy a 1928 French specification for a fast, long-range reconnaissance aircraft. It was first flown in 1931, and two examples were built. However, the French Air Force chose the ANF Les Mureaux 111 instead.
The designer of the Weymann-Lepère WEL-80 was one of the least-remembered, yet most intriguing, figures in early aviation, and deserves a few words. One of the few Black aviation pioneers, Charles Terres Weymann was born in 1889 in Port au Prince, Haiti, the son of an American father and a Haitian mother. He was an early airplane racing pilot, a successful businessman, served as a test pilot for Nieuport during WW-I, and was awarded the rank of Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. During WW-I he designed and built one of the first all-metal airplanes. After the war he had a successful "coach building" business, manufacturing bodies for luxury automobiles. reply |
