First flight through the Lake of Geneva
« Early 1910 we finished this device N° 4, which had almost the same characteristics as the previous one, better designed and better built, it already seemed to give good results. »
« A lot of competitions and Prizes were created. On July 11, 1910, we subscribed to the Perrot Duval Prize of 5’000 CHF for the first crossing of the lake from Montreux to Geneva. To this end we bought a Gnome rotary engine, 50 hp. We prepared this raid with the greatest care because we intended to win the 5'000 CHF, which would greatly ease our constructions. On July 12, Armand Dufaux, who piloted the engine, completed a practice flight of 31 minutes, 30 seconds, covering 36 km and driving ten times around the airfield of Viry at 10 meters high. »
« We had to experience everything by ourselves and to learn how to fly, at a time when there was no talk of licence for pilots. »
Armand and Henri Dufaux , extract from a letter dated January 30, 1941
Our project is to carry out a reverse engineering process on the original Dufaux 4, in order to obtain the necessary information to build a replica being able to fly. This replica of the Dufaux 4 (the «fauX DufauX») will then make a commemorative flight of the crossing of the lake Geneva (the reissue of the Perrot Duval Prize), at a date as close as possible to Saturday, 28 August 2010, the centenary of this historic event. The project, fully designed and planned by the staff of hepta.aero, is called «le fauX DufauX, Perrot Duval Prize 1910-2010».