Léo Valentin
Leo Valentin (1919 - May 21, 1956) was a French adventurer, who attempted to achieve human flight using bird-like wings. Léo Valentin is widely considered to be the most famous "birdman" of all time.[1]
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[edit] Biography
Leo Valentin was born in France, and he always had keen interest in airplanes. He read avidly about airplanes and gliders. His ultimate dream was to be able to fly like the birds. At the outbreak of the Second World War he planned to become a fighter pilot, but opted to train as a paratrooper. He participated as a paratrooper during World War II.
After the war he directed his attention toward his lifelong ambition. At Villacoublay airfield, near Paris, Valentin attempted his first "wing jump" using wings made of canvas, but he failed to achieve any forward speed. He then tried rigid wings to prevent the wings from collapsing. During May 1954, with the help of a set of rigid wooden wings, he finally managed some kind of stability with the initial spiral. Valentin later claimed that he managed to fly for 3 miles using his wooden wings. [2]
[edit] Death
On May 21, 1956 Valentin was at an air show in Liverpool, using wings similar to the wooden ones that had brought him success in the past. However, the stunt went wrong right away.[3] When exiting the plane, one of his wings made contact and a piece broke away. He attempted to land safely using a parachute, but that also failed.[4][5]Valentin died.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ HickokSports.com - History - Sport Parachuting
- ^ Quincy 99 Bird-Man Seminar
- ^ "30 Dumb Inventions", LIFE magazine, 2009
- ^ Lion at Heart
- ^ "Bird Like Flyer Plunges To Death". Associated Press. May 21, 1956. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=W3UuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OoAFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2734,3049469&dq=l%C3%A9o+valentin&hl=en. Retrieved 2010-12-06. "Leo Valentin, the Frenchman who tried to fly like a bird, was killed today trying to glide from a plane at 9,000 feet. ..."
[edit] External links
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