Roger Sommer (4 August 1877 in Pierrepont, France – 14 April 1965 at Sainte-Maxime) was a French aviator. Born to Alfred Sommer, a Belgian industrialist, Roger Sommer became involved with aviation from an early age. He broke the record for flight duration in 1909.
In 1911, Sommer experimented with the effect of different weights on various aircraft's abilities. In February 1911, he made a return journey from
Douzy to Romilly carrying five friends; two of the friends were perched on the skids of the aircraft.
He then went on to fly with seven, eight, and eventually twelve passengers by 24 March of the same year. At the heaviest weight of , he was able to fly just under .
After this, Sommer began working on aircraft construction. He constructed 182 aircraft, making him a pioneer in the field. Sommer was a friend of
Roland Garros. Sommer's company, named Sommer, is now a part of Sommer-Allibert.
Roger Sommer was the father of former
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
driver
Raymond
Raymond is a male given name of Germanic origin. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷá ...
, and François and Pierre Sommer.
Patents
1910 UK patent 13005(Elastic mountings / shock absorbers)
See also
*
Sommer 1910 biplane
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sommer, Roger
1877 births
1965 deaths
People from Meurthe-et-Moselle
French aviation record holders