Leyat, Automobiles Leyat was a French automobile manufacturer, established in 1919 in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
by
Marcel Leyat.
The ''Hélica'' was known as 'The plane without wings'. The passengers sat behind each other like in an aircraft, which was driven by a giant propeller powered by an Scorpion engine. The body of the vehicle was made of
plywood
Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...
.
The factory was on the
Quai de Grenelle
''Quay of Grenelle'' (French: ''Quai de Grenelle'') is a 1950 French crime drama film directed by Emil-Edwin Reinert and starring Henri Vidal, Maria Mauban and Françoise Arnoul.Goble p.275 It was shot at the Billancourt Studios in Paris. The film ...
in the
15th arrondissement
15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 and preceding 16.
Mathematics
15 is:
* A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and .
* A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky number, a pernicious num ...
.
Marcel Leyat
Marcel Leyat (March 26, 1885 (Die, Drôme) - December 3, 1986) was an engineer, inventor, aviation pioneer, and aeronautical and automobile manufacturer. He graduated from the
École Centrale Paris in 1907. From 1908, he worked for the
Société Astra
''Société Astra des Constructions Aéronautiques'' was a major French manufacturer of balloons, airships, and aeroplanes in the early 20th century. It was founded in 1908 in aviation, 1908 when Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe purchased Édouard Surco ...
and built a biplane glider called the ''Quand Quelle'' (''When, which'').
[L'Hélica Marcel Layat](_blank)
archives en ligne evue de presse, biographie, actualités d'époque In 1909 he targeted "the first powered crossing of the English Channel", but
Louis Blériot
Louis Charles Joseph Blériot ( , also , ; 1 July 1872 – 1 August 1936) was a French aviator, inventor, and engineer. He developed the first practical headlamp for cars and established a profitable business manufacturing them, using much of th ...
succeeded on July 21, three weeks before his
De Dion-Bouton 5 hp powered plane completed a flight of at elevation on August 15. In 1910, he built a propeller-driven biplane long and wide. He obtained the FAI pilot's license in 1911. During the First World War, he built several aircraft, including a "living wing" bomber. In all, he designed and built around thirty different aircraft up to World War II.
Description
The first model was called ''Hélica'', also known as 'The plane without wings'. The passengers sat behind each other as if they were in an aircraft. The vehicle was steered using the rear wheels and the car was not powered by an engine turning the wheels, but by a giant propeller powered by an Scorpion engine. The entire body of the vehicle was made of
plywood
Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...
, and weighed just 250 kg (550 lb), which made it dangerously fast.
Performance
In 1927, a Hélica reached the speed of at the
Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry circuit. Leyat continued to experiment with his Helica. He tried using propellers with two and four blades.
The Marcel LEYAT's Helica Various versions
''www.helica.info'', accessed 3 April 2021
Production
Between 1919 and 1925, Leyat sold 30 vehicles.
Vehicle models
* 1913: Helicocycle, 3 wheels, JAP engine, only one example
* 1915: Hélicocycle, 3 wheels, version 2, only one copy
* 1919: Hélica, 4 wheels, MAG engine, 6 examples
* 1921: Leyat propeller car, 4 wheels, ABC engine, 10 sedan cars, 3 sport cabriolet cars
* 1925: Rail/road draisine, intended for the director of mines in the Congo, 1 copy
* 1927: Record model, 3 wheels, ABC engine, 1 copy. On September 7, 1927, it reached a speed of 170 km/h on the Montlhéry
Montlhéry () is a Communes of France, commune in the Essonne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located from Paris.
History
Montlhéry lay on the strategically important road from Paris to Orléans. U ...
race track.
Gallery
File:1922 Leyat - Flickr - exfordy.jpg, 1922 Leyat at National Motor Museum, Beaulieu
File:1922 Leyat Hélica.jpg, . 1922 Leyat Hélica (Hampton Court Concours d'Elegance 2020)
File:La Voiture a Helice Leyat Classic-Days 2022 DSC 0094.jpg, Helice Leyat (Classic-Days 2022)
File:Hélica de Marcel Leyat, l'un des modèles.png, (''Vue d'ensemble de la voiture a Hélice Tractive. La direction se fait par l'essieu arriere, et le frienage s'opere sur les roues avant du vehicule.'')
General view of the car with Tractive Propeller. The steering is by the rear axle, and the breaking operates on the front wheels of the vehicle.
(''La science et la vie, Tome 18. n. 53. Octobre-Novembre 1920 - Article d'Édouard Beaugrand.'')
File:Leyat car - Epoqu'auto 2007.jpg, Helice Leyat (Epoqu'auto 2007)
File:Leyat car 1 - Epoqu'auto 2007.jpg, Helice Leyat (Epoqu'auto 2007)
References
Literature
* G. N. Georgano
George Nicolas "Nick" Georgano (29 February 1932 – 22 October 2017[Nick Georgano](_blank)
Alvis Archive Bl ...
: ''The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile.'' Volume 2: ''G–O.'' Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1.
* G. N. Georgano: ''Complete Automobile Encyclopedia. 1885 to Our Times.'' Courtille, Paris 1975.
External links
Leyat Helicycle at ''3wheelers.com''
{{Authority control
Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of France