LS in French, signed “G. Eiffel,” two pages on two adjoining sheets, 8 x 10.25, January 21, 1904. Letter to the president of the Commission Scientifique de l'Aero Club, concerning his submission for a "projet d'Aerodrome a la Tour Eiffel," an aerodrome at the Eiffel Tower, intended to safely allow experiments for heavier-than-air flying machines. Includes a 12-page booklet documenting the proposal, entitled "Projet d'Aerodrome a La Tour Eiffel," bearing a stamped Eiffel signature on the first free end page, containing several plates diagramming the proposed mechanisms: an aircraft would be attached to a transport cable fixed at the bottom of the tower and be released, gaining speed during its descent, and lifting off at the finish. Also includes an original vintage 7 x 5 photograph of the interior of Eiffel's wind tunnel laboratory. In very good to fine condition.
Though best known for his eponymous tower, Eiffel made significant contributions to the scientific study of aerodynamics, and held a strong interest in early aviation. Early on, he conducted 'drop tests' of various objects from the Eiffel tower's 377-foot high second platform, and in 1909 expanded his research by building a wind tunnel at its base, where he used fans driven by electric motors to study air resistance in connection with aviation. Known as the 'Eiffel-type' wind tunnel, the designs he developed are still in use today.
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