This is not, as the title on the picture says, a Bleriot 4. It a No. 7. The date is probably late 1907. The horizontal tail has not yet been fitted. The Antoinette 8 cylinder engine is covered in the nose. It drives a four bladed propeller.
The Bleriot 11 that crossed the English channel/La Manche in July 1909. It is in the Musee des Arts et Metiers in Paris.
Louis Blériot 1907-1909
(information here is mainly from the
newspaper Le Matin. Dates and page
numbers are shown at the beginning of each entry. Other sources are
specifically stated at the start of entries)
The aircraft referred to in October 1907 is
the Blériot 6. From November 1907 until the end of the year it is the Blériot
7.
L’Aérophile‘, 1 January 1908, p. 1, ‘Portraits d’Aviateurs Contemporains. Louis
Blériot
Issy-les-Moulineaux – an immense plain
converted into a quagmire by recent rains – a few figures lost in the fog – all
somewhat sinister – but a great bird emerges from the mist, with the roar of a
motor – Louis Blériot is trying out his seventh aeroplane.
Blériot has been experimenting with
aviation for seven years. From 1900 to 1903 he tried to fly a mechanical bird
with flapping wings. And as the gasoline motors of that time were too heavy, he
invented and built a very light carbonic acid motor. But with no result.
In 1904 Archdeacon gave courage to
aviators, Blériot turns to aeroplanes. The Blériot 2, was towed over the Seine
by a power boat and piloted by Gabriel Voisin. Then the Blériot 3, with
elliptical cells and two 25 hp Antoinette motors, was tried without success on
the d’Enghien lake. Then the Blériot 4, with quadrangular cells, broken at
Bagatelle on its first trial, piloted by Peyret in 1906.
Success comes in 1907 with the Blériot 5,
piloted by Blériot himself. It flies, but lacks stability. Then the Blériot 6,
which, with an Antoinette motor of 24 hp, and then 50 hp, takes off many times
and flies 184 metres. Destroyed by a fall from 25 metres, this is replaced by
the Blériot 7, which has made two flights of 500 metres at the highest speed
yet reached in an airplane.
Louis Blériot is
now close to decisive successes. He has high capacity as a technician and
engineer (as his successful manufacture of car headlamps since 1897 shows). He
has the intrepidity, sang-froid, and energy of a ‘sportsman’. His rare
qualities as a man are allied with the merits of an engineer. His stubbornness
is greater than his legendary bad luck. ‘Blériot’s day is therefore close’.
Blériot also
flied balloons. He took part, with Archdeacon, in a balloon competition on 18
June 1907, and on 20 November 1907 flew on the the Ville-de-Paris balloon with
the fine pilot and aeronaut Henry Kapferer.
Blériot was a
brilliant student at the École centrale. He was born at Cambrai on 1 July 1872.
………………………………………………..
Lucien Marchis et al, Vingt-cinq ans
d’Aéronautique française, 2 vols., Chambre Syndicale des Industries
Aéronautiques, Paris 1934.
p. 34
In 1907 Blériot tried his No. 5, a canard monoplane, with forward
horizontal and vertical control surfaces, a 24hp, 8 cylinder Antoinette engine,
a triangular fuselage, and wings that twisted at the pilot’s command. This was
the first aircraft that Blériot himself flew; his earlier aircraft had been
flown by employees.
p. 36
Then Blériot abandoned canards, and next built a Langley type of
aircraft, his No. 6. This used ailerons on the forward wings for turning (if
one was lowered and the other raised), and as elevators (if they were used both
up or both down). [The use of these ailerons as devices to produce turn may be
a backreading from 1934. They may have served to keep the wings level.] They
were ineffective as elevators because they were too close to the centre of
gravity. The No. 6 had some fine flights of 150-184 metres, at heights of 4 to
15 metres, at Issy, from 25 July to 17 September 1907. Then Blériot replaced
the motor with a more powerful 16 cylinder, 60 hp Antoinette. The added power
resulted in reduced elevator control. On 17 September he climbed to 15 metres
and then the aircraft dived sharply. Blériot tried to control the pitch by
moving his body forward (during the climb) and then back (in the dive). The
machine landed hard. Blériot suffered only ‘mild bruises’.
p. 38
The Blériot 7 (description from L’Aérophile
of November 1907, p. 318)
It had a steerable tailwheel linked to the
rudder control; a tractor propeller driven directly by an Antoinette 8
cylinder, 50 hp motor; a total weight of 425 kilograms; wing area of 25 square
metres (and loadings of 17 kg/square metre and 8 kg/hp). On 6 December 1907
Blériot flew 400 and 500 metres at 10-12 metres height. On 18 December the
aircraft was broken on landing.
……………………………………
3 April 1907
p.4
Blériot continues trials of his ‘aéroplane uniplan’, yesterday at
Bagatelle. Because of a ‘false manoeuvre’ the front of the aircraft lifted, and
the propeller hit the ground and was bent. Trials will continue next Thursday
or Friday. [This was probably the Blériot 5, a canard monoplane. If the front
of this lifted, the propeller, at the rear, might well have hit the ground.]
……………………………..
6 April 1907
p. 4
Blériot again yesterday tried his
‘aéroplane uniplan’ at Bagatelle, with some
success. The aircraft flew about 10 metres at a height of 50
centimetres. Then a gust of wind tilted the plane to one side. Slight repair is
needed. It began yesterday afternoon.
……………………………..
9 April 1907
p. 4 At Bagatelle yesterday the wind was strong
(6-7 metres/second), but Delagrange and Blériot took out their aircraft.
Blériot has modified his aircraft a little: the span of the forward elevator
(équilibreur’) has been increased a little, and the area of the rear rudder (‘gouvernail’)
has almost been doubled. The machine now has three pneumatic wheels instead of
two. About 10 a.m. Blériot took off, abruptly raising his elevator. But a gust
caused a wing to hit the ground, and he stopped the flight. There was no
damage. He will make another attempt today.
………………………………
20 April 1907
p. 4
Blériot again tried his aircraft at Bagatelle yesterday. It tilted to
one side because of a gust. There was slight damage.
……………………………..
7 July 1907
p. 5
Yesterday there were new trials of the Blériot aircraft at Bagatelle.
The machine was too heavy in the nose, and could not take off. Blériot will
modify it and try again soon.
…………………………….
La
Revue de l’Aviation, 15 July 1907 (No. 8, 2me
Année)
p.14.
Blériot has been pursuing for three years an aeroplane that will give
results.
He did some trials on the Lac d’Enghien
with a machine built according to the Chanute system. Then he made an aircraft
with a single plane, which served him badly. Then he built a machine on the
Langley pattern, with a fuselage and two wings on each side. Its engine
produced 20 hp. This machine was tried for the second time at
Issy-les-Moulineaux on the day before yesterday. In the evening it flew for 70
metres, reaching a dozen metres in height. Blériot cut the ignition and the
machine descended, striking the ground a little hard, so that the wheels were
slightly damaged. Blériot will continue trials the day after tomorrow. [It is
not clear exactly what days these are. The aircraft was the Blériot 6, which
first flew on 11 July 1907.]
………………………………..
17 July 1907
p. 4
[a separate column, not in sports section]
Blériot has had notable success. Starting
three years ago he has used ‘great scientific tenacity’ to find an aeroplane
that will give results. On Lac d’Enghien he tried with an aircraft on the
Chanute pattern; he continued with a ‘uni-plan’ [single wing machine] which
played a ‘bad trick’ [‘mauvais tour] on him; then came a Langley-type of
aircraft, with tandem wings and a 20 hp motor.
This last machine was tried for a second time at Issy on 15 July 1907.
Towards evening the aircraft flew some 70 metres at about 10 metres height
(after earlier attempts the same day). Blériot then cut the ignition. The
aircraft hit the ground hard enough to cause slight damage to the wheels.
Blériot intends to continue trials tomorrow.
[n.b. that at the start of this article
Santos-Dumont and Delagrange are presented as leaders in heavier than air
flight.]
……………………………
26 July 1907
p. 5
Blériot has flow again at Issy. The wind was strong. He flew close to
the ground – for 80 metres in the afternoon.
…………………………..
31 July 1907
p. 7
Yesterday Bleriot called a commission of the AéroClub de France to
supervise his trials at Issy. But morning rain and violent wind did not allow
the ‘indefatigable aviateur’ to take to the air.
…………………………..
1 August 1907
p. ?
Blériot today flew some 100 metres in his Langley-type machine at Issy.
Then a gust tilted it to the left, the left wheel touched the ground, and the
aircraft made a sharp circle for some seconds [a ground loop?]. There was
slight damage. This machine is very easy to control. In calm conditions it
should exceed Santos-Dumont’s 220 metres record. Blériot is building another
Langley-type machine, with some modifications from the current aircraft. It
will have a 50 hp motor.
…………………………….
2 August 1907
p. 5
The Blériot Libellule seems
the best aircraft now existing. Yesterday at Issy it flew 100 metres and landed
only because of an excessively sharp control movement by Blériot [‘un déplacement
trop brusque’]. Blériot controls the aircraft [in pitch] by moving himself
backwards and forwards, and [in roll] by moving from side to side. Thus he
shifts the centre of gravity. This requires much experience – of which
yesterday’s flight was a remarkable demonstration (though Blériot went too far
forward and the aircraft touched down, resulting in a bent wheel). Blériot will
now strengthen the framework on which the aircraft rests, and will replace the
lateral rudders [i.e. wingtip ailerons -- ‘gouverneurs latéraux’] used to
achieve perfect balance of the wings. He plans to fly again next week, after
these modifications. [This is the Blériot 6, called the Libellule. It had large wingtip ailerons, pivoted at about 1/3
chord (from the leading edge).]
…………………………….
7 August 1907
p.5
Yesterday afternoon the Blériot machine flew 265 metres, though a moment
of inattention by Blériot caused it to touch down on its wheels after 122
metres. But this was a demonstration of the notable prowess of this machine.
The wind was quite violent. Blériot flew at 2-8 metres height, though with a
maximum of 12 metres after the touch down. He shifted forward – too fast – to
bring it down, so that the axle broke and the blades of the propeller were
bent. Repairs will take 2-3 days. Blériot says he now feels safer flying than
at any time in his year of trials.
……………………………
10 August 1907
p. 6
Yesterday, in six attempts, Blériot’s aircraft took off only once.
…………………………..
14 August 1907
p. 5
Blériot is replacing the 24 hp motor of his Langley [type of aircraft]
with a 50 hp engine. He will continue trials this week.
………………………….
1 September 1907
p. 5
Blériot’s aircraft, now with a new 16 cylinder [sic] motor, was at Issy
yesterday. A large crowd got in the way of Blériot’s trials; so he was content
just to adjust the aircraft. But during these trials, the machine rose a few
centimetres from the ground for about 20 metres. There will be another trial
tomorrow morning. Present, among others, were Farman, Delagrange,
Santos-Dumont, Levavasseur [probably not previously mentioned in Le Matin], and Jacquelin [not
identified]. [If the new motor is an Antoinette – which Levavasseur’s presence
suggests – it would have had 8 cylinders, not 16.]
…………………………
12 September 1907
p. 4
Blériot’s Libellule flew 120
metres at Issy yesterday, after an interruption of trials for some days while
Blériot raised the framework [‘chassis’ – raised by lengthening the
undercarriage legs?] so that landing could be accomplished normally. Yesterday
the aircraft flew 60, 90, and 120 metres, landing safely without propeller
strikes or harm to the frame. If Blériot enlarges the rear surface a little he
should be able easily to beat the 220 metre record set by Santos-Dumont. [It is
striking that the record still stands almost a year after Santos Dumont’s
flight.]
………………………...
13 September 1907
p. 6
Blériot yesterday at Issy flew for 100 metres at a height of 10 metres.
Blériot leaned forward too far to bring the aircraft down again, resulting in a
heavy landing with damage to a wheel. [Shifting the centre of gravity to
control climb and dive is clearly a crude form of control.]
………………………..
18 September 1907
p. 4 ‘La Conquête de l’Air’
[an article on Blériot] Blériot is
tenacious, tireless and courageous in his research on heavier-than-air flight.
Yesterday at Issy he took off, climbed to
about 12 metres – and then his motor stopped, and the aircraft pitched down
fast. The reporter saw Blériot calmly brace himself on the fuselage, while at
the same time the aircraft dropped to the ground, raising around itself a cloud
of dust. The whole aircraft was completely broken, with the framing tubing and
the wheels twisted or smashed. Blériot was not hurt, but his glasses were
broken. (His glasses protected his eyes from the air.) He suffered only two
small wounds to his nose. Spectators (including Henry Farman, the Voisin
brothers, and Robert Esnault-Pelterie) gave him a well-deserved ovation.
Blériot’s explanation was that he had advanced the ignition to the take off
position, and then retarded it to stop climbing. But as normal flight resumed,
the engine stopped.
………………………..
12 October 1907, La Vie en Grand Air, No. 473
p. 251 by F. Peyrey, ‘Ceux qui s’envolent’
Blériot’s Libellule [this is the Blériot 6] has flown at Issy, at first
briefly, and then on 17 September making a flight of 184 metres at a
‘stupifying’ height. R. Esnault-Pelterie, following the machine across the
field in a car, estimated that it had taken off at 80 kph. It had no elevator
[‘gouverneur de profondeur’], and reached 18 metres, very nose up. Blériot had
only one recourse, which was to slow the motor by reducing fuel flow (the motor
has no carburetor or ignition advance and retard control). Possibly Blériot
closed the fuel valve too far. The motor stopped, the nose dropped, Blériot
managed to shift the center of gravity by moving his own weight, the aircraft
took on a horizontal attitude, though still falling, and hit the ground hard. A
cracking sound was heard, and a cloud of dust developed from which Blériot
emerged unhurt from the debris of his machine.
In one month Blériot will have built a new
aircraft, with an elevator – which is even more essential than the ‘gouverneurs
latéraux’ [ailerons?] giving lateral stability. An elevator can be provided
with the rudder.
The flight (of 184 metres) was not observed
by the AéroClub de France, so could not be recognized with one of the prizes
for 150 metre flights offered by the AéroClub – which has, however, on Ferber’s
recommendation given Blériot a medal for the flight. [A photograph of the
airplane on p. 251 shows that it has ailerons, rotating around a point at about
50% of the chord. Both are shown tilted up at the leading edge. The article
does not say how they are controlled or what their possible movements are.]
…………………………………………………
16 October 1907
p. 5
Blériot has a new aircraft, which is being assembled in his workshop at
Neuilly. It will be tested late next week. The ‘stubborn aviator’ (‘opiniâtre
aviateur’) has chosen a bird-like form for this machine. It has extensive (‘étendues’)
wings, and it is of the Langley type with large modifications. The fuselage has
a greater diameter at the nose than at the tail. There is one pair of wings,
set forward, with a span of 10.5 metres. In the tail are two moving planes, as
rudder and stabilizer [presumably one vertical and one horizontal]. The
propeller has four blades. It is in the nose. The 4 cylinder motor gives 50 hp.
The pilot is in the body of the fuselage, in the plane (‘plan’) of the wings.
Gasoline is in a pressurized tank. Ignition is by a magneto turning at 3,000
rpm. The total surface, of varnished paper, is 25 square metres. Blériot hopes
to reach 55-58 kph. The centre of
gravity in this machine will not be shifted by the pilot’s movement, but by the
surfaces in the tail. [Using these will not move the CG, but will alter the
pitch of the machine.]
…………………………………………………
6 November 1907, p.4.
Yesterday morning Blériot brought out his
new aircraft [Blériot 7] for the first time. The two rear planes are separately
controlled. The result was that the rear of the aircraft zigzagged [on the
ground] and a tailwheel fork broke. This machine has a rather alarming speed.
Blériot had to cut the ignition several times to avoid take off.
…………………………………
7 November, p.4.
Blériot again brought out his new aircraft.
It is now called the ‘Flying Fish’ [‘Poisson volant’]. On his second trial a
violent skid caused the axle of one wheel to break , and the collapse of the
frame (which is rather too light). Blériot is having a frame built with orientable
wheels. It will be ready in ten days.
…………………………………
16 November, p. 5
Blériot yesterday got into his monoplane.
The frame has been completely modified. But a leak in the reservoir [probably
fuel tank] halted the trial.
………………………………..
17 November, p.5.
Blériot continued trials of his airplane
yesterday at Issy. After a short flight the machine hit the ground hard, with
slight damage to the frame. It has been taken to Neuilly for repair.
………………………………..
23 November, p.5.
The Blériot ‘microplan’ taxis at full
speed. Blériot planned yesterday to complete for the AéroClub de France 150
metre award, but, as the wings were being filled [sic], a spring broke. It was
almost dark by the time repairs were made.
………………………………..
24 November, p.4.
Yesterday morning at Issy, on his first
trial, Blériot in his monoplane was hit by a violent gust near the Porte
d’Issy. This made the aircraft drift as it rolled, and the propeller ‘striking
the iron wire of the closure’ was seriously damaged. [Exactly what happened here
is unclear. What is the ‘closure’ – ‘clôture’?]
29 November, p.4.
Blériot, using a calm morning at Issy, made
a downwind trial of his machine, which left the ground (against his intentions)
and flew 50 metres. It was caught by a cross wind on landing and broke its rear
wheel.
………………………………….
30 November, p.4.
Though Issy was very wet, Blériot flew
about 100 metres, his machine showing good stability. Coming near a cavalry
squad, Blériot landed – a little brusquely, bending a tube in his frame.
…………………………………
2 December, p.4.
[title] ‘Aérostation’
At about 11 a.m. yesterday Blériot made
attempts at turns. The take off was easy. He flew some 80 metres, and then, on
a second flight, 100 metres. The third flight was of about 150 metres (10
metres height) . Blériot tried to turn,
but as he did so the aircraft abruptly nosed down, and one wing hit the ground
and broke. The propeller was also bent. Blériot [apparently] was unhurt, took
the machine to the hangar and repaired it.
…………………………………
7 December, p.4.
At Issy yesterday Blériot first flew 150
metres at 4 metres height, and turned through a semi-circle.
A second flight was of 500 metres, but came
down heavily from 12 metres. The frame, the propeller, and a wheel were
slightly damaged.
………………………………..
19 December, p.2.
‘Un aéroplane capote’ [rolls over]
In his long aviation career, Blériot has
often encountered annoying bad luck. But yesterday he suffered from happy bad
luck. His aircraft came to pieces, but he was unhurt.
In his monoplane Blériot was competing for
the 150 metre award. He had already flown some distance, when suddenly, because
of the breakage of bracing wires, ‘the two wings folded up like those of a
butterfly that is alighting’. The machine fell two metres into a pool of mud.
One wheel collapsed and became a brake, so that the aircraft pitched over onto
its nose, and the whole machine collapsed. But all this happened so gently that
Blériot was able to get out without harm. The machine had major damage to the
fuselage, frame, wheels, propeller, and wings. Blériot had flown 145 metres,
just missing the prize.
………………………………………
1908
1 January 1908, p.5.
Blériot’s new aircraft was tried yesterday
at Issy for the first time. [This is the Blériot 8].
The aircraft, like the preceding one, has a
long fuselage. It has two lift-producing wings [‘ailes portantes’] and a tail
[‘queue’ – a term not used before] which serves to balance and to steer. In the
nose is a two-bladed propeller. The aircraft differs from previous ones is
having higher wings and stronger bracing. Blériot (now the ‘sympathique
aviateur’) at first moved the aircraft slowly, though it left the ground for
brief hops. It seems the stability of the aircraft is better than in previous
machines.
…………………………………………..
12 February, p.5.
Blériot may possibly tomorrow resume trials
at Issy, with a new monoplane (of the type of last month’s).
…………………………………………..
28 March, p.6.
Blériot is building a brick hangar on the
land at Issy given to the AéroClub de France by the Ministry of War. This is
for two aircraft now at Neuilly. Trials of these aircraft are likely in the
first half of April.
…………………………………………..
22 April, p.6.
Blériot yesterday brought the monoplane
finished several weeks ago to the hangar [at Issy], now completed. The aircraft
is of the same type as the previous one, though twice as long. The wings have
greater incidence, offering greater lifting force. The propeller is of
aluminium, four bladed. The blades are flexible and tapered [‘effilées’].
Blériot says this machine will be slower and safer than the previous one.
………………………………………….
24 April, p.6.
Blériot tried the motor of his No. 7 [first use of these numbers in Le Matin]. A ‘tête de hélice’ (propeller
hub?) broke, delaying trials.
[The use of model numbers is confusing. The
Blériot 7 was the aircraft destroyed at the end of 1907.]
………………………………………….
27 May, p.5.
[List of aircraft now flying] – Blériot’s
is under repair (of the crankshaft); trials will resume next week.
…………………………………………
Lucien Marchis et al, Vingt-cinq ans d’Aéronautique
française, 2 vols., Chambre Syndicale des Industries Aéronautiques, Paris
1934.
p. 38
June 1908. Blériot 8. This was the same as the Blériot 7, but with
ailerons at the wingtips. [1. It is unclear whether these were intended for
stability or for turning. 2. The No. 8 was, in fact, nothing like the No. 7]
Blériot made remarkable flights in the No. 7 [or No. 8?] from 17 to 30 June
1908 in winds of 5-10 metres/second. On 6 July, trying for the Armengaud prize,
he flew for 8 minutes 23 seconds, turning in winds of 5-6 metres/second.
…………………………………………
29 June
The Blériot 8 wins the Armengaud prize with
a flight of over 8 minutes [Louis
Blériot and Edouard Ramond, La gloire des
ailes. L’aviation de Clément Ader à Costes, Editions de France, Paris 1927,
p.71]
…………………………………………
1 July 1908, L’Aérophile, p. 255. A. Nicoleau, ‘Less essais du Blériot VIII’
Blériot has begun trials of his No. 8
aeroplane. A photograph of this machine was in the Aérophile of 15 April 1908. Since then the machine has been
modified several times. The fuselage is 10 metres long, with quadrangular
section. On it are mounted, forward, two wings of 11.2 metres span; and in the
tail an elevator and a vertical rudder. The whole is covered with varnished
paper and supported by a metal frame. There are three wheels. The wing area is
22 square metres.
A notch in the rear of each wing is
occupied by an ‘aileron’ [sic, in
inverted commas], moveable around a horizontal axis. These help with transverse
balance and in turns. [Again the reference to Blériot’s use of ailerons for
turning, before Wilbur Wright demonstrated the effectiveness of wing warping
for that purpose. How ailerons contribute to turns is not explained here.]
Ailerons, at the will of the pilot, offer an additional resisting surface to
the air. The stabilizing surfaces in the tail consist of four small horizontal
planes, two of them fixed, and two moveable.
The machine is fitted with an Antoinette 50
hp, 8 cylinder, motor, placed inside the fuselage, as is the pilot. The motor
drives a propeller with four flexible blades, of 2.2 metres diameter and 1.3
metres pitch.
The first trials were on 17 June, at Issy.
Blériot crossed the field at 4 metres height despite a definite wind, flying
600 metres with very good stability. On 18 June he made twelve flights of
500-600 metres, at a height of 4 metres.
More trials followed on 22 June. After a
flight of 500 a wing tip hit the ground, but without serious damage. The next
day Blériot flew 600 metres despite a quite fresh wind.
On 29 June, he convoked representatives of
the aviation commission of the AéroClub de France for his attempt at taking a
prize for a 200 metre flight. After trials he made a 700 metre flight at 6 p.m.
at about 6 metres height. The official witnesses were Jules Armengaud jeune,
Archdeacon, Henri Farman, and François Peyrey. The second prize of 200 metres
was brilliantly won. Blériot has shown persevering ingenuity for eight years.
Blériot, along with R. Esnault-Pelterie, is
the champion of the monoplane. Aviation in 1908 is marked by a keen struggle
between flyers of monoplanes and those of ‘cellules’ [biplanes].
………………………………………
4 July, p.2.
‘L’Aéroplane monoplane est né’
All aviation successes have so far been
accomplished in ‘cellular’ [i.e. biplane] aircraft.
‘The monoplane was still crying [like a
baby?] when Farman succeeded in flying the closed circuit of one kilometer.’
Now, after breaking six or seven aircraft, Blériot has achieved good flight [in
a monoplane]. Monoplanes seem to have more problems of stability than biplanes.
With two wings and a tail engrenage (gearing?) at the rear of a long fuselage
Blériot will have only relative lateral stability. The aircraft is sensitive to
the wind. To reestablish the balance [‘équilibre’] of his machine (if disturbed
by the wind) and to be able to turn without danger, Blériot has placed on each
side, below the bearing surface, two ailerons. They have given excellent
results.
So yesterday at about 4 a.m. Blériot flew
around the field at Issy in 1 minute 35 seconds, and then made two complete
circuits (i.e. 3 kilometres) in 2 minutes 43 seconds, at an average height of 4
metres.The flight ended because of exhaustion of the carbonic acid providing
pressure in the fuel tank.
[A picture shows Blériot’s tractor
monoplane with a long uncovered fuselage aft of the cockpit, and hardly any
vertical tail or rudder (possibly only rudder). A fairly large tail wheel
projects about 2 of its diameters below the fuselage.]
…………………………………………….
7 July, p.6.
Blériot yesterday flew about 4 kilometres
in his monoplane, doing 3 laps of Issy at 3-8 metres height. He was stopped
only by a water leak (onto his feet). There was a 20 kph wind at the time.
……………………………………………
Scientific
American, 18 July 1908
p. 44
Louis Blériot has experimented over the past month with two ‘large
monoplanes’, built last winter. The first flights have indicated the success of
this, the most advanced form of high-speed monoplane. [This was, according to
the heading of this article, the Blériot 8 – of which there were apparently two
copies.]
The ‘body frame’ of this aircraft is 45.8
feet long, and is uncovered behind the wing. ‘The rear half of the monoplane,
at its outer end, has moveable planes for correcting transverse stability.’
[The meaning of this is unclear. The wings of this machine had ailerons at the
tips to control roll.]
The motor is a 50 hp Antoinette of 8
cylinders, driving a four bladed propeller.
On 23 June 1908, at Issy-les-Moulineaux
Blériot left the ground several times for short distances. The wind was rather
strong. Then on 29 June, with a larger ‘horizontal rudder’ [elevator,
presumably] Blériot made a flight of 600 metres (1,968 feet) before the
Aviation Committee of the AéroClub de France. He covered three times the
distance required ‘to win a medal’. The flight was made into wind for 47
seconds, at an over ground speed of 28 mph. This is ‘the first official record
to be made by a monoplane’. Then Blériot made a circular flight of nearly 1
kilometre with the same aircraft. ‘The remarkable success that Blériot had with
a Langley-type aeroplane last year causes one to believe that he will yet make
some excellent performances with his monoplane, and do much toward the
perfecting of this type of flying machine…’
…………………………………………..
L’Aérophile, 15 July 1908, pp. 273-274. A. Nicolleau, ‘Les progress de
l’aéroplane monoplane. Nouveaux succès de Louis Blériot.’
Blériot, continuing his remarkable
monoplane flights at Issy, on 2 July, at about 4.30 a.m., and then in the
evening, made several U shaped flights.
On 3 July, at dawn, he made his first
closed circuits. On the first attempt,
at 4.30 a.m., he did two complete circles. A little later he flew 2 ½ circles,
in 2 minutes 45 seconds.
On 4 July, increasingly master of his
machine, Blériot did better still. His earliest flight was halted by a fault in
his steering mechanism. This was soon repaired.
The second flight ended after three complete circuits as a result of
breakage of an ignition wire. The landing was a little hard, but did no damage.
At 5.30 a.m. came a magnificent flight.
Despite noticeable wind, and rough air created by the various objects
surrounding the field, Blériot made four circuits of the field at 6 to 7 metres height, in 3 minutes 4 seconds,
manoeuvering and turning in the wind with great mastery. He landed easily in front
of squadrons of cuirassiers who were arriving on the field for morning
exercises.
Blériot was confident of his flying, and
entered himself for the Armengaud jeune prize at Issy on 6 July.
On that day
there was therefore the spectacle of two different machines competing for the
same award. Delegates from the Junior Institution (an association of English
engineers), brought to the field that day by the Comte de La Vaulx, saw Blériot
fly, although they could not await Farman’s final flight.
In the
afternoon, despite a wind of 5-6 metres/second, Blériot flew easily, turning
sometimes above the trees around the field at 10-15 metres height. His flexible
propeller blades hissed. The monoplane reminded viewers of a bird. Blériot’s
flights lasted 3 minutes 9 2/5 seconds, and 8 minutes 24 seconds – this stopped
only because of loss of pressure in the fuel tank.
Some hours later
Farman flew for 20 minutes 20 seconds, and took the Armengaud prize. But
Blériot’s performance was none the less impressive, since it marked the arrival
of the first monoplane – invented, built, adjusted, and piloted by Blériot
[with much help from his staff]. The Blériot 8 manoeuvers with great ease. The
two ailerons, which serve as elevators [‘gouvernails de profondeur’], and whose
inverse use aids turning, seem to give as good results as those promised by the
Wrights through wing warping. [Another indication here that Blériot was using
ailerons to help in turns.] All directional controls on the aircraft are moved
from one lever. The aircraft’s span has been reduced to 8.5 metres. It has 22
square metres of wing surface. It weighs 480 kilograms – thus each square metre
of wing carries more than 21 kilograms of weight. This is the highest loading
yet achieved.
…………………………………………..
20 July, p.4.
A photograph of the Blériot monoplane in
flight at Issy, at an altitude of about 10 metres.
Blériot is
preparing to try for an altitude prize of 25 metres in this aircraft. He has
already reached 10 metres, as the photo show [it has a height scale on the
left]. Blériot is aiming for ½ hour in the air. He will probably, in a
specially equipped monoplane, try to cross the Pas de Calais. [This is the
first mention in Le Matin of his
cross Channel flight – which did not take place until a year later.]
…………………………………………..
24 July, p.2.
Yesterday at Issy Blériot encountered a
violent eddy, ‘descending from a high altitude’. His monoplane was at the time
at 4 metres height in a 45 degree turn. It was thrown to the ground by the
gust. The propeller and wings were twisted and broken. Blériot says he does not
want to experiment any longer in the ‘bowl’ [‘cuvette’] that is Issy. He needs
a larger space to get to 40-50 metres altitude. From that height an aircraft
can be levelled out.
………………………………………….
25 July, p.6.
Blériot comments on his recent accident.
You think you have the perfect aeroplane. But suddenly everything has to be
started again. French aviators are now in a sort of scientific match, in which
the errors of some benefit the others. Blériot, finding Issy too small, thinks
that Beauce will suit him. Steady currents of air can be found only at 40-50
metres height [and to reach that height he needs more space].
[Beauce is a region between the Seine and
the Loire rivers. Its major city is Chartres.]
…………………………………………
L’Aérophile, 1 August 1908, p. 308. ‘Les expériences de M. Blériot’
On 17 July Blériot, at Issy-les-Moulineaux,
restarted experiments with his No. 8 aircraft. Between 6 and 8 p.m., despite
the very wet state of the field, taking off several times, and making flights of
32 and 37 seconds. This was despite the quite strong wind. The last flight
finished rather roughly, with slight damage to the propeller.
After modifications made to the tail, the
aircraft had a tendency to pitch down.
On 21 July there were new trials. And on
the 23rd, after several tries in the morning, Blériot changed his
propeller, which was not giving satisfaction. At around 12.30 p.m. he took
flight again; but after reaching the extreme of the Issy terrain, the aircraft,
caught in turbulence, seemed to drop suddenly, with the tail at 45 degrees from
the horizontal. At the same time it banked sharply to starboard. As it was only
some 4 metres above ground, there was no space for recovery. The right wing
scraped the ground, and the aircraft overturned and fell to the ground. The
left wing was damaged, but Blériot was not hurt.
The Blériot 8 will possibly not be
repaired. But the Blériot 9 is finished
and is ready to start trials. The main characteristics of this aircraft are:
length 10 metres, fuselage of square section forward and triangular in the
tail; monoplanes, with movable wing tips (these replacing the ailerons of the
Blériot 8); a 65 hp, 16 cylinder Antoinette motor, driving a four bladed
propeller of 2.10 metres diameter and 1.30 metres pitch; a special radiator
consisting of a ‘leaf’ of zinc placed over a very large number of minute
reservoirs, with the whole weighing only 2 kilos per square metre of cooling
surface – for a total of 20-25 kilos, water included.
……………………………………
23 August, p. 2.
Blériot takes his aircraft out in
semi-darkness [in the early morning]. A public of 3 people is present. The
engine is at first rough, then clears. He takes off into a strong wind. Near
the puits, at about 2 metres height,
Blériot hit an eddy which pitched the aircraft up as it was turning. It then
fell to the ground lightly, on the right wing, breaking a wooden longeron at
the right tip. The aileron, however, was not damaged. The repair is made by 6
a.m.; but flying stops then.
General Dalstein had come to see the
flying, but saw nothing because of the ban on flight after 6 a.m. He said the
army had no objection to flying outside of manoeuvering times. The decision was
made by the administration civile.
…………………………………………
4 September, p.2.
Yesterday Blériot, in gusty conditions, had
a wing hit the ground. A wooden longeron broke. Tomorrow Blériot will be out,
with Delagrange, Legagneux, Mulécot and possibly Goupy (four aeroplanes and a
dirigible). The spectacle will be impressive if they all fly together.
…………………………………………
21 October: Blériot is reported to have
flown 7 kilometres over the Beauce plain, near Toury. [Louis Blériot and
Edouard Ramond, La gloire des ailes.
L’aviation de Clément Ader à Costes, Editions de France, Paris 1927, p.71]
…………………………………………
1 November, p.1.
‘Pour la première fois, sur son monoplane,
Blériot se promène en Beauce’
On 30 October Blériot suffered an accident
because the elevator [‘gouvernail’] had been connected backwards. The aircraft
[on take off?] pitched up [and then down?] and threatened to turn over and kill
the ‘oiseleur’ [birdman].
p.2. Blériot took the train to Paris, but
his two mechanics stayed at Toury [in the Eure-et-Loire department] and
repaired the aircraft to flying condition on 31 October. Responding to a
telegram, Blériot was back at Toury at 10.40 in 31 October. At about noon
Blériot flew a circuit over Semonville, a village, a wood, and Janville, and
then returned to the field. The flight took 4 minutes 5 seconds.
Then Blériot decided to challenge Henry
Farman’s record (of 30 October, from Mourmelon to Reims), which seems to have
stirred in him some ‘real jealousy’. So he ordered the fitting of a radiator to
his engine [apparently none before then] to allow him more time in the air. He
took off at 3.02 towards Arthenay [near Saumur], his planned turn point –
giving an out-and-return distance of 28 kilometres.
He had asked reporters from Le Matin to place small balloons to mark
the turn point; but they would not rise above the local bushes. Blériot flew at
75-85 kph, and returned to his hangar after reaching Arthenay. He had some
slight ignition problems. He then returned directly to Paris.
A map of this flight shows a first stop
[‘1er arrêt’] at Arthenay, and a second one 2/3 of the way down the return leg
[perhaps the result of the ignition problems?]
A photograph of the aircraft in flight
shows a machine resembling a Blériot 11, [it was in fact a Blériot 8] with tip
ailerons and a double horizontal tail – the lower plane at the extreme rear of
the fuselage and a higher plane, possibly 4 feet forward, on top of the upper
fuselage longerons. The fuselage is not covered behind the wing.
The plan of the route shows a single line
parallel to the Toury-Arthenay railway, passing very near Dambron, with the
hangar very near Poinville.
……………………………………….
The
Automotor Journal, 7 November 1908, p. 1454, ‘M.
Blériot also makes history’
Blériot made what can been seen as an
equally remarkable flight to Farman’s [across country, from Chalons To Reims]
in his monoplane. At 11.40 on Saturday Blériot took off from Toury towards
Senouville, then returning to his departure point. Later, at 2.50 p.m., he flew
to Artenay, a village some fourteen kilometres from his hangar. He there landed
and inspected his machine. He then returned to Toury, making a stop at
Sintilly. From Toury to Sintilly took 11 minutes, for 14 kilometres. Next he
will fly from Toury to Étampes and back.
……………………………………….
5 November, p.1.
Yesterday
Blériot crashed this monoplane [‘le périlleux monoplane’], destroying it. The
machine lacks stability. This lack is not compensated for by higher wing
loading.
Blériot had been
flying despite the irregularities of the motor (in the presence, for the first
time, of his father). The engine problems were blamed on flexibility in the
four-bladed propeller, causing uncontrolled changes of pitch. The blades
[‘palettes’] were replaced. The crash was very sudden, at 2 kilometres from the
field. Blériot had pulled up to clear an embankment, but at the same time lost
lateral control because of a gust [perhaps a stall?]. The right wing hit the
ground and was smashed. [A photograph confirms this: only the tail seems to be
in one piece, though bent.] Blériot himself was, as always, miraculously
unhurt. The accident confirms the risks inherent in monoplanes.
…………………………………………
The Automotor Journal, 14
November 1908, pp. 1498-1499, ‘M. Blériot’s latest Mishap’
Even though
there have been many recent successes in flying (The Wrights, Farman,
Delagrange, Blériot) ‘the uncertainty of the art’ is still evident. Blériot has been among the least fortunate;
his aircraft have been damaged, but he himself has avoided serious hurt. Last
Wednesday he suffered another shock. He prepared for a flight from Toury to
Angerville. After two false starts he departed
p. 1499 towards Janville, and then went back to his
start point. Another try in the afternoon had ‘little better success’, and
finally his machine turned turtle as the result of a side gust. The left wing
was badly broken, and the propeller damaged. But Blériot had only a few
contusions.
Blériot is now
working on another machine – a biplane for four people, to be fitted with a 16
cylinder Antoinette motor.
………………………………………..
L’Aérophile, 15 November
1908, pp. 460-461, ‘Les experiences de Louis Blériot’
On 30 October
Blériot wanted to try for the height prize at Champ-Perdu, near to Toury, using
his Blériot 8 ter. monoplane. MM. A.
Fournier, A. Goupy, E. Zens, and P. Tissandier, delegates of the aviation
commission, were present. The airplane departed at 10.05 a.m. It had scarcely moved 40 metres before it
nosed up violently and fell to the ground. The propeller was bent and the frame
twisted; but Blériot was once more unhurt.
A quick
examination revealed the cause of this
accident: the cables to the elevator had been connected backwards. This mistake
by an aide could have had terrible consequences.
On 31 October
(the day after Farman’s cross country flight), Blériot carried out the first
cross country flight in stages. He showed that aircraft equipped with wheels
are truly complete machines, capable of taking off without external help [a
contrast here, perhaps, with the Wrights]. At 11.40 a.m. Blériot took off
towards the village of Senouville. He turned over a small wood and returned, in
4-5 minutes, to his departure point. Then at 2.50 p.m. he left again, towards
Artenay, 14 km from his hangar, above which he had had some small balloons
placed to show his turn point. He had announced in advance his itinerary of
some 30 km, and had added a radiator to his Antoinette 50 hp, 8 cylinder motor.
The aircraft, at a height of c. 12 metres, overflew the village of
Château-Gaillard, to the south, continued towards Dameron, leaving behind cars
that were following it. In 11 minutes Blériot was south of Arteney, when a
magneto failure forced him to stop. A repair was made, and 1 ½ hours later the
machine left again. Blériot went further west this time, passing close to Pourpry,
and made a second stop at the farm of Villiers, near to Santilly. After a few
minutes, the aircraft departed once more, passes Pourville, and, at 5 p.m.,
landed again at Champs-Perdu (its departure point). The average speed
[airspeed, presumably] was 85 kph – the fastest in the world.
On 4 November Blériot
was taxiing back to his hangar when the left wing touched an embankment that
was seen too late. The machine nosed over [‘culbuta’]. The left wing was
broken, the propeller twisted, and the body of the machine broken. Blériot’s
wife and father, who were attending his flying for the first time,
p. 461 suffered some anxious moments. But Blériot
received, miraculously, only slight bruises.
‘The Blériot
biplane’
For the moment
Blériot will not put his monoplane back into flying condition. He has gained
practical and conclusive results in this type of aircraft. He will now
concentrate on a new type of airplane.
This will be a
biplane, with these characteristics: two rigid wings of 12 metres span and 2.5
metres chord, for a total of 60 square meters. A rudder, forward, with three
vertical planes; in the tail, two auxiliary planes of 8 square metres. These
planes are called ‘ailerons’ and are attached to the rear edge of the lifting
surfaces by a cantilever frame [‘bâti en porte-à-faux’] and hinge that will
enable them to pivot up or down. These movements are controlled by the pilot via
cables that end at a lever in his hand. The arrangement is that one aileron
rises while the other falls. This system allows the same transverse balancing
as does the Wrights’ wing warping. But the system is simpler in that it uses a
single lever.
The motor is a
50 hp Antoinette, which may be replaced with a 16 cylinder Antoinette giving
100 hp. It drives, through downgearing and a chain, a single propeller of 3
metres diameter, turning at 480 rpm. The propeller is behind the wings, in a
notch between the two ailerons.
The aircraft is
designed to carry four people, including the pilot, in two forward, and two
aft, seats.
The length of
the aircraft is 8 metres. The aircraft rests on a wheeled frame of the type
typically used by Blériot, but fitted with fatter tyres on account of the
weight supported.
Blériot also has
in his workshop another monoplane, like the Blériot 8 ter, but with some
improvements of detail. He will try it out soon.
…………………………………
25 December,
p.2.
Le Matin’s report on the
first Salon d’Aéronautique, opened on 24 December 1908 at the Grand Palais.
The show
contains three Blériot monoplanes and one Blériot biplane (among many other
aircraft).,
………………………………………..
L’Aérophile, date? [late
1908] p. 149, A. Cléry, ‘Les Aéroplanes “Blériot VIII” et “IX”’
p. 149 Blériot has just built a hangar at
Issy-les-Moulineaux, of iron and brick, 17 metres long and 17 metres wide
(including a lean-to). There will be placed two new aircraft: the Blériot 8 and
the Blériot 9. The No. 8 has a
streamlined fuselage 10 metres long, on which are mounted, forward, two wings
of 11.8 metres span, and in the tail a directional rudder and a depth rudder
[elevator]. The whole is covered with varnished parchment paper, and moves on
an articulated and elastic metal chassis with three wheels (two forward, one in
tail). The lifting surface is 25.3 square metres. The motor is an Antoinette of
50 hp and 8 cylinders, mounted within the streamlined fuselage. The propeller
has four flexible blades of 2.2 metres diameter and 1.3 metres pitch.
The Blériot 9
has a body 10 metres long, of quadrangular section forward, and triangular aft.
The wings are ‘mobile’ at their tips. The Antoinette motor of is 65 hp, and 16
cylinders. It drives a four bladed propeller of 2.1 metres diameter and 1.3
metres pitch.
The flexible
propeller blades used by M. Blériot have given a 20% better efficiency than
rigid airscrews. Their thrust is 125 kilograms.
Trials of the
Blériot 9 will start immediately, and are much anticipated.
Blériot, in
successive aircraft, has moved towards faster machines. He has been drawn to
extended shapes with fine lines, which give his aircraft a particularly
pleasant look, and resemble forms that are found in nature.
………………………………………..
1909
2 January 1909, p.6.
The ‘indefatigable’ Blériot has four
aircraft to try, starting with two monoplanes at Issy.
………………………………………..
10 January, p.5.
Blériot showed four aircraft at the recent
Exposition: a large span monoplane, No. 9; a four place biplane, No. 10; a
small monoplane, No. 11; another monoplane, resembling the No. 9, the No. 12.
He will test the No. 9 at Issy as soon
as the weather allows. It has a 50 [most likely reading] hp motor with 16
cylinders, and a radiator that forms a part of the fuselage.
………………………………………
19 January. P.5.
Flying has recently been held up by rain
and snow.
On 18 January at Issy Blériot first tested
his small No. 11, a monoplane of 15[?] square metre wings. The wings can be
twisted [with gauchissement]. The rear of the fuselage ends in a fixed plane,
with elevator attached – ‘having at its extremities two ailerons linked to the balancing
organs of the main plane’ [to the ailerons on the wing? Not clear.] There is a
rudder.
The axle of the aircraft was damaged in a
hard landing. So Blériot continued with the No. 9, of 25 square metres wing
surface, and a 50 hp motor of 16 cylinders. The fuselage of this consists
almost wholly of an aluminium radiator – a difficult and rather complicated
piece of work [‘un travail de Romain assez compliqué’]. Bleriot taxi-ed this
machine, but then a rubber spring came detached from the frame. He stopped.
………………………………………………
Sunday 24 January, p.5.
Blériot yesterday flew the No. 11 at Issy,
reaching 70-73 kph, but finding take off difficult. This was either because the
lifting surface is too small, or because the cold prevented the motor from
developing full power (because of freezing of the carburetors). Or the curve of
the wing is not yet sufficient. But he did fly some 200 metres. Trials will
continue, with carburetors fed with air warmed in tubes placed near the exhaust
valves of the seven cylinders. [Blériot is not yet using the three cylinder
Anzani motor on the No. 11.] Blériot also plans to modify the curvature of the
wings (rather than increase the wing area).
……………………………………………...
26 January, p.5.
Blériot will now add 4 square metres to his
‘petit racer monoplan’ [presumably the No.11]. The aircraft has been taken to
Neuilly for that purpose.
……………………………………………..
17 February, p.5.
Blériot yesterday flew 600 metres twice in
his No. 11. Each flight was a straight line. [Blériot now seems to be concentrating
on the No.11.]
……………………………………………..
23 February, p.5.
Near Versailles, Blériot yesterday flew the
No. 11 several times, with turns. The flights were of 1-1 ½ minutes. He intends
to increase the wing area from 13 to 14 square metres.
……………………………………………...
15 March, L’Aérophile, pp. 129-31
‘Les Aéroplanes Blériot. Les pièces détachées Blériot pour aéroplane’
‘Poutres armées’ [reinforced beams [or
spars?}] can be made from wood or steel tube. Blériot prefers wood because of
its flexibility and ease of repair. Steel is possibly better for the nacelles
of dirigibles, which are less subject to shocks than airplanes [especially
aeroplanes flown by Blériot, one might think].
There are two main methods of construction
with wooden components. The first is to ‘trianguler’ the beam completely, with
no need for wires and turnbuckles. The second is to hold the assembly together
with steel wires, with tension adjustable with turnbuckles. Blériot prefers
this method, because it is lighter and allows adjustment of a beam distorted by
a blow or variations of humidity. Adjustment is by tightening/loosening screws
or otherwise adjusting the turnbuckle.
The initial setting of the wires requires
skill, but becomes easy with practice. ‘The steel wire U’s are bent or straight,
but, in the latter case, it is essential to anneal [“recuire”] them before
assembly.’
Assembly can also be done with melted
[cast?] aluminium pieces fixed with bolts to the longerons of the beam. The
only disadvantage is greater weight and cost. The steel wire used is the same
as that on musical instruments, though slightly modified to make it a little
less brittle. Such wire has a high elasticity limit. The connection of wires is
made by a small copper tube, previously flattened, with the precise section
needed to allow two wires to fit. {Presumably crimped copper tube]
Two types of turnbuckles are shown –
Blériot’s and Voisin’s. The Blériot type uses conical locknuts to lock its
screws. The Voisin type uses wire to secure the screws, and is cheaper but a
little heavier. Both types are tried and safe.
Id. Pp. 130-131
Radiators:
Aircraft radiators must be light and low in
air resistance. Blériot has had the ingenious idea of cooling [engine coolant]
on the surface of the aircraft, by attaching small disks through which the
water flows to the sheet metal of the fuselage. [A drawing shows these disks
riveted to the sheet metal. They are presumably thin, but provide a channel
through which water can flow, and have a cover plate also riveted as an outside
surface.] Each disk is linked to the next by a rubber tube. They are vibration
proof. The disks are of copper; the sheet metal of the fuselage is aluminium.
[The diameter of the disks is not given in
the article, though a photograph of a radiator made of these disks, mounted
vertically between the biplane wings of the Blériot 10, suggests a diameter of
about 1 inch.] The disks are set in
vertical rows, with piping at the top and bottom through which water passes.
[The radiators on the Blériot 10 are set
fore and aft between the wings.]
Radiators of this type are light (2-3
kilograms per square metre when full of water). Panels can be made to fit any
aircraft. The price is about 100 francs per square metre. Each square metre
provides 2 square metres of radiating surface. [How much heat will be drawn
into and away from the aluminium skin of the aircraft?]
Radiators have also been made of elliptical
copper tube of 2/10 ‘et demi’ millimeter thickness. These are very light and
cause little drag. They are, however, less strong than the disk radiators, and
leaks are inevitable.
p. 131
Hélices:
Propellers have been much studied by
Blériot. He has tried a great range of speeds, numbers of blades, reduction
gearing, and pitch variation. All this experimenting leads Blériot to recommend
a propeller of 2.2 metres diameter, rotating at 1,500 rpm. But these are hard
to make, and safety is on the side of slower rotation. Propellers must be made
suitable to each application. Generally the price is proportional to the force
generated rather than to diameter and pitch. Blériot recommends four-bladed
propellers, and is always ready to increase pitch [rather than diameter?]. A
high ratio of pitch to diameter is recommended. Very great precision is needed
for the making of propellers, and knowledge of the relationship of [blade]
section to speed. Blériot’s own experience shows that a given airplane may fly
much better with one propeller than with another.
[The article contains two photographs of
Blériot propellers, both four bladed. It is hard to say if the blades are of
wood or metal, though the central arms to which the blades are attached are of
metal. Both are described in captions as ‘Hélice métallique Blériot’.]
Id. Pp. 131-133. Description of Blériot 10
airplane.
[This is a biplane, with a triple forward
rudder on a long projecting structure. All three parts of the rudder move
together, according to the description.]
The aircraft has two vertical radiator
panels, fore and aft between the wings, on each side of the engine. The engine
is an Antoinette v8 of 50 hp, driving a four bladed propeller via chain
reduction (30:12). A pusher propeller is fitted, of 3 metre diameter and 3
metre pitch.
The aircraft is designed to carry four
people on the centre section of the lower plane. The span is 13 metres, the
wing area 68 square metres, and the weight 620 kilos. [The aircraft resembles a
Wright biplane, without tail.]
At each wing tip is a fixed triangular
surface, fore and aft, with the long edge forward. This triangle is cloth
covered. To the rear tip of the triangle is attached an aileron of 3 square
metres area. The ailerons are controlled from the pilot’s ‘cloche’ (control
column), and can be moved up and down together, or in opposition. This produces
the same effect as the Wrights’ warping, but with only one control. The photograph of the aileron shows that it
is slightly cambered. The inner end of the aileron is supported by a triangular
frame, uncovered, projecting backwards some feet in from the wingtip.
……………………………………………..
29 April, p.4.
‘Le Blériot No. 12’
Blériot is now readying a monoplane of the
No. 11 type, but with a 22 square metre wing, bigger than the 14 square metre
on the No. 11. The span will be 9.5 metres. He has abandoned the finned motor
[‘moteur à ailettes’] which had caused difficulties, replacing it with a water
cooled motor. He awaits trials of another motor to resume trials of the No. 11.
……………………………………………….
26 May, p.?
At Issy Blériot’s No. 11 has a new motor.
He has flown successfully with it [the Anzani 3 cylinder air cooled engine?].
………………………………………………
28 May, p.5.
Blériot is at Issy with the No. 11. In calm
evening conditions he flew about 4 kilometres in circles and figure 8s. The he restarted
preparations of his No. 12, a monoplane with wing twisting and a geared-down
propeller.
………………………………………………
1 June, p.1.
Blériot – the ‘monoplane aviator’ –
yesterday flew from Toury, a fine flight stopped only at Château-Gaillard by
lack of fuel. The tank was refilled, and he flew on to Champ Perdu; and then
flew the return distance quickly. [Unclear if this was in the No. 11 or No.
12.]
……………………………………………
Thursday, 3 June, p.1.
Last Sunday was inaugurated at Toury a
monument marking the first out and return aeroplane flight – by Blériot on 31
October 1908 from Toury to Artenay and back. Blériot intended to repeat this
flight, but could not. In the morning of 2 June, he was practising at
Champ-Perdu, near Toury, in preparation for an attempt on the 1 kilometre speed
record in the evening. But engine failure prevented this, and resulted in the
aircraft running into a ditch and being badly damaged. Blériot was unhurt. [An
accompanying picture, not necessarily of the machine in flight on 2 June, shows
a No. 11, with the double horizontal tail
-- one surface below and fully aft, another further forward on top of
the fuselage.]
……………………………………………..
8 June, p.5.
Yesterday Blériot flew the No. 12 at Issy
for 600-700 metres, once with André Fournier as passenger.
…………………………………………….
9 June, p.5.
Yesterday Blériot flew 400-500 metres at Issy [presumably in
the No. 12] carrying his mechanic (68 kilos) as passenger. The Motor gives 35
hp. Each square metre of lifting surface carries 22 kg at 50-55 kph.
………………………………………….
13 June, p.3.
Yesterday at Issy Blériot, in his No. 12,
flew with two passengers at once (Santos-Dumont and Fournier). The total weight
of Blériot and the passengers was 186 kilos. The wind was quite strong. After
crossing half the field on the ground, the aircraft took off, turned, and came
back to the starting point. It was always very stable. [The report seems to say
that the return to the start point was in a series of hops, one of them 250
metres long.] This is the first time a heavier-than-air machine has carried
three people. [Santos Dumont, a very small person, was a good choice.
Fournier’s weight is unknown.]
…………………………………………
15 June, p.6.
Blériot was at Issy yesterday. The No. 12
is now perfectly adjusted. Blériot flew with ease – hands off to wave to
spectators – at 3-10 metres height. He made wide and sharp turns. Magneto
failure ended the flight. [It is interesting that Blériot is flying the Nos. 11
and 12 at the same time. Why did he choose the No. 11 for the cross Channel
flight?]
………………………………………..
22 June, p.5.
Blériot, back from Bordeaux, yesterday
evening flew at Issy in his No. 11, fitted with a 25 hp motor [presumably the 3
cylinder Anzani]. There was a strongish wind, He made a flight of 3 minutes,
then another of 6 ½ minutes. On another attempted take off Blériot retarded the
ignition too much. A flame came from an exhaust hole [vent?] in one cylinder
and set fire to the carburetor. Flame then enveloped the motor and the fuel
pipe, and moved to the fuselage. But half a dozen friends and spectators threw
handfuls of earth and put out the fire. This would not happen in the air
because the airflow behind the propeller would blow out the fire. Blériot will
be able to fly again this evening.
At the end of the week, Blériot will go to
Douai in the Nord with his No. 12, and will there start training his first
pupil, a well-known aéronaute [unidentified].
……………………………………….
26 June, p.4.
Blériot flew the No. 11 well last evening
at Issy, late. The wind was gusty. The flight lasted 15 ½ minutes. [This is the
same No. 11 as caught fire on the 21st.]
……………………………………….
27 June, p.6.
Re the No. 11: 8 metres span, 14 square
metre surface, 25 hp Anzani motor, with finned cooling. Elimination of the
crankshaft [‘vilbrequin’] reduced weight. [ The crankshaft is not eliminated.
But it is fixed in place, while the motor rotates around it.] This is currently
the smallest aircraft flying [‘de moindre encombrement’], and seems the most
perfected monoplane. Blériot is
confident flying this machine now. He flew it at Issy last evening for 36
minutes 55 seconds, at 1-10 metres altitude, over the field. He hoped to beat
Latham’s record [for monoplane duration?], but had put too much oil in the
motor, with resulting fouling [of the spark plugs?]. The flight therefore stopped.
This will be solved by fitting an automatic greaser [‘graisseur automatique’].
………………………………………..
29 June, p.5.
Blériot attended the Concours d’aviation de
Douai, at the Aérodrome de la Brayelle. He easily flew a circuit of the
‘aérodrome’, winning one of the 2,000 franc prizes offered to the first five
pilots to fly 1 kilometre. He then took a passenger around the field [which
means that he was then flying the No. 12, a multi-place machine – he possibly
had the No. 11 there for the earlier flight].
……………………………………….
[On 25 July 1909 Blériot crossed the
English Channel in a Blériot 11 aircraft, taking 36 minutes 30 seconds. He took
off from a point between Calais and Sangatte, and flew to Dover, landing at the
top of the cliffs close to the castle. He thus won a Daily Mail prize of a thousand pounds, offered to the first person
to cross the Channel in an aeroplane. People in balloons had, of course, done
the same thing many times over from the late 18th century on.]
……………………………………….
15 July 1964, Pionniers No. 1, pp. 9-19.
Robert Moulin, ‘Louis Blériot’ (a recorded
interview by Moulin of Gabriel Voisin in 1964)
p. 11
Voisin starts by saying that Blériot had been a ‘mutant’ – i.e. one of
the rare ‘enlightened men’ [‘hommes lumières’] on earth whose existence is due
to ‘combination of chromosomes’ [‘combinaisons chromosomiques’] that are hard
to analyse. For fifty years after 1909 all aircraft in the world were
influenced by the Blériot 11. Only the [Sudaviation] Caravelle is an exception.
[No explanation is given for this statement.]
pp. 14-15 Voisin gives a standard account
of his partnership with Blériot in 1905-06.
The partnership ended apparently after the
failure of the Blériot-Voisin No. 2, which had elliptical wing and tail
surfaces, after its trial with floats on Lake d’Enghien and trials of the
modified version with wheels at Bagatelle on 12 November 1906. Meanwhile
Santos-Dumont had flown 220 metres in his 14bis on the same day at Bagatelle.
Blériot told Voisin that he was building a laboratory for aviation research
near the Porte de Champerret. Thus the Blériot-Voisin association ended.
At the same time Charles Voisin was
finishing his military service and joined Gabriel Voisin in Paris. He (Charles)
negotiated the repurchase the buy back of the Voisins’ capital [‘fonds de
commerce’]. The business at 4, rue de la Ferme, became ‘Appareils d’Aviation.
Les Frères Voisin’.
{Gabriel Voisin speaking] ‘Louis Blériot,
who had generously supported our association, had learned nothing in the course
of the two years that had just passed. I, alone, had profited from this inhuman
presence. Blériot, whom I have never seen with a pencil in his hand, expressed
himself only through spiritual figures. This ‘mutant’ did not live in the
present,
p.16
which made our technical exchanges infinitely difficult. His visions
were at that point so distant from my means and from our scientific knowledge,
indeed from my thoughts, that I could not materialize his conceptions; and that
extraordinary disposition would throw him, after our separation, into
realizations that were almost chimerical in that time, but which were, fifty
years later, to open the way to all the intelligent products of the aviation
world.
[G Voisin continues] He and Blériot had
long discussions of centering [‘centrages’] and tail surfaces [‘empennage’] –
i.e. of all the technical baggage that is central to aeronautics. ‘Blériot listened
to me with an affectionate goodwill, but his inhuman intelligence, after
clearly putting together what I thought I had told him, immediately exceeded
the set of truths that I was proposing, and took on superior forms in a sort of
science fiction that my ignorance rejected with despair.’ [Voisin seems to say
here the Blériot had an intuitive understanding of engineering, and that he was
thinking ahead to transatlantic aircraft, while Voisin was thinking of the
Deutsch-Archdeacon prize.]
‘It is my obstinacy that allowed me to
succeed first, by using techniques that were clearly rustic and economical,
but, like a hen coop, perfectly practicable and efficient.’ The result was
thousands of aircraft in World War 1 that were slow and heavy, but tough and
solid. ‘The Flying Fortresses, without which our allies would have been
paralysed, were Blériots … the Fortresses had a fuselage, and on that fuselage,
p. 17 going from nose to tail, were the pilot, the
wings, then the tail surfaces and the rear controls; with everything supported
by a chassis placed near the centre of gravity.’
In 1905, Gabriel Voisin was 25 years old –
too young, he says, to understand Blériot’s genius. He loved Blériot and
admired him without reserve. l
Moulin expressed surprise at Voisin’s
assertion that Blériot did not design his aircraft, and says he found
confirmation of this in a book by Ferdinand Collin [title not given], a very
close collaborator of Blériot’s. [Voisin’s comment] ‘I can say I never had in
my hand the least design or sketch while I was with Blériot. I did not, nor did
others, as far as I know. We had the bridle on our necks to invent, and to make
things; he just indicated the aim, advised in a rough way and … let us get on
with it.
Moulin suggests Blériot’s methods: From
1900 he surrounded himself with young people interested in heavier than air
flight. He did not consult engineers, but men who were intelligent and above
all skilled with their hands (in turn Peyret, Grandseigne, and Ferdinand
Collin).
p. 18
[Voisin speaking] Every time Blériot took on an ‘inspirer’ he had
already thought up a ‘more or less valid’ machine … most often this machine was
an assembly of errors, but the monster had one merit: it existed at least in
the form of a model. As the aircraft was built, Blériot intervened with
faultless intuition.
Blériot tried the canard design of 1907 at
Bagatelle on 30 March 1907. Various adverse circumstances plagued this machine.
First, Blériot had never piloted an aircraft before. He crashed, and abandoned,
the machine. On the same day, Charles Voisin flew in a ‘chicken cage’. Blériot
then asked Peyrey to build an aircraft of which Peyrey had a model. This was a
Langley inspired machine with two lifting surfaces, one behind the other. It
was made with a large amount of dihedral, giving it great lateral stability.
This aircraft was a movement towards the Blériot 11; but the original had one
fault: longitudinal stability was achieved by the pilot’s movement fore and
aft.
This aircraft was tried at Issy in December
1907. Gabriel Voisin and Captain Ferber saw it fly. [Voisin says] It took off,
and climbed easily to an unusual height of 15-20 metres. The landing was hard,
and Blériot ‘broke some wood’. The aircraft was then heavily modified.
[Moulin inserts a question about how the
pioneers learned to fly.] [Voisins’
reply] Ferber and Gabriel Voisin learned on gliders. But Blériot, Garros,
Audemars, Santos-Dumont, Fabre, Delagrange, Farman, Mouthier (alone at
Bourg-en-Bresse) had learned alone. [There is no answer to the question of
how.]
Blériot became a pilot only in the final
days of 1907. On 13 January 1908 he is present [at Issy] as an official
commissaire at Farman’s one kilometre flight. After that Blériot can be
considered to have been an average test pilot, though clearly very brave.
p. 19
Blériot’s flights in the 1907 Langley-type monoplane: 11 July, 25 metres; 15 July, 78m; 25 July,
120m; 31 July, 125m; 6 August, 143 m; 17 September, 184m; 6 December, 500m. If
Blériot had been able to turn, he could have taken the Deutsch-Archdeacon prize
in December 1907. Probably Blériot, like Santos-Dumont, did not know how to
turn. The Pioneers were scared a tilting an aircraft in the air. There was much
discussion in the press and in technical works in 1907 of how to turn ‘flat’
[without banking].
When Delagrange and Farman first turned
their aircraft, they could not avoid banking, and it soon became standard
practice. Turning was difficult in the small space available at Issy. The
longest usable dimension was 700 metres.
In July 1908 Blériot flew regularly. By the
end of 1908 he was ruined financially by his research. He relied much on the
[emotional] support of his wife, Alice. The cross-Channel flight [in July 1909)
ended Blériot’s test flying. He built a factory at Suresnes, and Blériot
aircraft then became industrialised. There were further money problems after
World War 1. The Suresnes factory became a place for building small fishing
boats.
Blériot died suddenly in August 1936, at
the age of 64.
……………………………………….
15 July 1964, Pionniers No. 1, pp. 20-21
[A series of anecdotes about Blériot
collected by Hennri Beaubois]
20
Blériot was known as the ‘aviator who always falls’. From April 1907 to
December 1909, he had 32 accidents. (In December 1909 he made his final flight
in Constantinople.)
21 The
Blériot 5 and 8 aircraft were both covered in paper (‘papier de Chine
parcheminé et verni’ – paper given a parchment finish and varnished). This was
easily glued on, repairable, and easy to fit to form. Copal varnish protected
it from wetness.
Blériot said the No. 11 would be his last
machine. By the end of 1909 he was deeply in debt. He had spent 780,000 francs or to that point.
……………………………………..
The events
outlined above give a vivid view of Blériot’s flying. He seems to have been impetuous
and impatient. He had many accidents, from which he always emerged more or less
unhurt (though he had suffered burns on a leg before the cross Channel flight
in July 1909, and flew before they had healed). When an aircraft was only
slightly damaged by a crash, he repaired it. Often enough the damage was
slight, because (like others at the time) he was flying low and slow. When it
was seriously damaged, he built a new one to a new design. It would be
interesting to know to what extent Blériot interacted with his assistants on
the design and building of aircraft. Gabriel Voisin, not a wholly reliable
witness (especially after his brief association with Blériot in 1906), said
that he had never designed anything. That may be an exaggeration. But Blériot
is generally the antithesis of Henry Farman, who flew the Voisin biplane from
September 1907 to January 1909 (admittedly making constant modifications to
it); and who crashed only once. Blériot by contrast makes an airplane (or has
it made), flies it, crashes it, makes another plane, flies, crashes, makes
another one, etc., etc…
Blériot was one
of the earliest to add ailerons to his aircraft. The report of 4 July 1908
above mentions his use of ailerons to level the wings, and also to making
turning easier. That may suggest that he was intentionally banking his machine
to produce a turn – a month before Wilbur Wright demonstrated the amazing
effectiveness for turning of the banking produced by wing warping. Or he may
have been using ailerons to level his wings after making a turn.
Blériot ended
up, by the beginning of 1909, with two good designs: the 11 and 12. The Blériot
11, especially, was a success, becoming one of the most popular aircraft in the
years before World War 1, and indeed seeing military service at the beginning
of that war. The model 11 is indeed one of Blériot’s major claims to fame. An
even bigger claim is, of course, that he concentrated on monoplanes. He was not
the only one to do so, but he was the most persistent and the most successful.
He is truly the father of the monoplane – which is to say, of nearly all aeroplanes
in modern times.
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