"Keith Willshaw" wrote in message
...

Hard , it was wrecked.

To quote Ader himself

'The "Avion" obeyed, recovered a little, and remained for some seconds
headed towards its intended course, but it could not struggle against the
wind; instead of going back, on the contrary it drifted farther and
farther
away. And ill-luck had it that the drift took the direction towards part
of
the School of Musketry, which was guarded by posts and barriers.
Frightened
at the prospect of breaking ourselves against these obstacles, surprised
at
seeing the earth getting farther away from under the "Avion," and very
much
impressed by seeing it rushing sideways at a sickening speed,
instinctively
we stopped everything. What passed through our thoughts at this moment
which
threatened a tragic turn would be difficult to set down. All at once came
a
great shock, splintering, a heavy concussion: we had landed.'

Many years ago I saw a film that consisted entirely of unsuccessful
flights--folks jumping off barn roofs with flapping wings, taking off
in crates that collapsed, etc. About half of them left the ground in a
powered heavier-than-air machine, but none of them flew. Perhaps Mr.
Ader was among them?


The French military, who witnessed the flight, were not impressed
and stated that while the aircraft made several short hops it
did not achieve controlled flight and they withdrew funding.

Mr Ader's machine seems to have been capable of developing
enough lift to fly but lacked efficient controls.


I was referring to Ader's earlier "Eole" of 1890, not the "Avion".