NICOLAS KINET 1877-1910

Nicolas Kinet, 1910 Collection of Jean-Pierre Lauwers

Nicolas Kinet Collection of musée de l'armée à Bruxelles. from Marcel Jacobs, 10-21-08

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES By email from Dave Lam, 1-25-03      Nicolas was born at Liege on April 24, 1877. Interestingly, he passed his tests for a Belgian License in France, as did the other Kinet. No French License, but somehow they took the tests in France and got a Belgian license, according to my sources. Also, more discrepancies-- my notes say he died at Stockel, Belgium on August 3, 1910 when he crashed his H. Farman.

 

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES from Jean-Pierre Lauwers      Nicolas Kinet was granted License No. 10 on May 31, 1910. from Le Printemps de L'Aviation Belge

 

NICOLAS KINET Collection of Dave Lam, 2-20-05

 

"BELGIAN AVIATOR SERIOUSLY HURT Daily Journal and Tribune, Knoxville, Tennessee: July 11, 1910, Transcribed by Bob Davis - 9-25-03      "Daniel Kinet, the Belgian aviator, was seriously hurt today while making a flight. The rudder of his machine broke when he was at a considerable height and the aeroplane turned over several times, dropping like a stone in a wheat field. It is thought that Kinet is fatally injured.      Kinet is among the best known of the foreign aviators. He holds the world's record for an aeroplane flight with a passenger, which he made at Mourmalon on May 15 last, when he remained in the air for two hours and fifty-one minutes."      Historical Note: Early aviation experts before the Wright's used a rudder called the elevator, the 'rudder' or 'vertical rudder'. Since this surface (elevator) pivots at the rear of the firm surface in front of it like the rudder of a boat, it had the same name. I believe it was Kinet's elevator which failed and that would cause the machine to tumble since the downward force on the tail was lost. Bob Davis

ONLINE RESOURCES - I      Using the Google, (9-28-03), search engine on "Nicolas Kinet", you will find about 32 links. The one immediately below is a good place to start. Most of the others, in French, offers only brief references to him. Machine-translations are generally available from Babel Fish.

A SHORT HISTORY OF AVIATION IN BELGIUM      This page, which is on the website of BAHA, the Belgian Aviation History Association, is rich in details referring to the pioneer Belgian aviators, including Nicolas Kinet. It offers a resumé of the history of aviation in Belgium from 1794 to 1996. Included in the story is the following paragraph which mentions Nicholas Kinet.        "In 1910, the Aero-Club of Belgium organised a flying week in Brussels at the Stokkel Hippodrome. Eleven Belgian pilots were listed on the program : Pierre de Caters, Jan Olieslagers, Charles Van den Born, Joseph Christiaens, Jules Tyck, Jules de Laminne, Nicolas Kinet, Alphonse de Ridder, Leon Verstraeten, Joseph d'Hespel, and Alfred Lanser.      Olieslagers established a new world record flying at a height of 1,524 metres."        You can go directly to the page which relates to Nicolas by clicking on the title above. If time permits, you should visit the homepage so as to become acquainted with the many other features on the site. You can access it by clicking on the name of the site, above.

Nicolas Kinet crashed and died on August 3, , 1910. Email from Dave Lam, 1-25-03   Editor's Note: If you have any information on this pioneer aviator please contact me. E-mail to Ralph Cooper

 

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