Blériot XI

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bl%C3%A9riot_XI

The Blériot XI is a French aircraft of the pioneer era of aviation. The first
example was used by Louis Blériot to make the first flight across the English
Channel in a heavier-than-air aircraft, on 25 July 1909. This is one of the most
famous accomplishments of the pioneer era of aviation, and not only won Blériot
a lasting place in history but also assured the future of his aircraft
manufacturing business. The event caused a major reappraisal of the importance
of aviation; the English newspaper The Daily Express led its story of the flight
with the headline "Britain is no longer an Island".

It was produced in both single- and two-seat versions, powered by a number of
different engines, and was widely used for competition and training purposes.
Military versions were bought by many countries, continuing in service until
after the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Two restored examples — one in the
United Kingdom and one in the United States — of original Blériot XI aircraft
are thought to be the two oldest flyable aircraft in the world.

The Blériot XI, largely designed by Raymond Saulnier, was a development of the
Blériot VIII, which Blériot had flown successfully in 1908. Like its
predecessor, it was a tractor-configuration monoplane with a partially covered
box-girder fuselage built from ash with wire cross bracing. The principal
difference was the use of wing warping for lateral control. The tail surfaces
consisted of a small balanced "all-moving" rudder mounted on the rearmost
vertical member of the fuselage and a horizontal tailplane mounted under the
lower longerons. This had elevator surfaces making up the outermost part of the
fixed horizontal surface; these "tip elevators" were linked by a torque tube
running through the inner section. The bracing and warping wires were attached
to a dorsal, five-component "house-roof" shaped cabane consisting of a pair of
inverted V struts with their apices connected by a longitudinal tube, and an
inverted four-sided pyramidal ventral cabane, also of steel tubing, below. When
first built it had a wingspan of 7 m (23 ft) and a small teardrop-shaped fin
mounted on the cabane, which was later removed.

Like its predecessor, it had the engine mounted directly in front of the leading
edge of the wing and the main undercarriage was also like that of the Type VIII,
with the wheels mounted in castering trailing arms which could slide up and down
steel tubes, the movement being sprung by bungee cords. This simple and
ingenious design allowed crosswind landings with less risk of damage. A sprung
tailwheel was fitted to the rear fuselage in front of the tailplane, with a
similar castering arrangement.


Role
Civil tourer/trainer/military

Manufacturer
Louis Blériot

Designer
Louis Blériot and Raymond Saulnier

First flight
23 January 1909

The Blériot XI gained lasting fame on 25 July 1909, when Blériot crossed the
English Channel from Calais to Dover, winning a £1,000 (equivalent to £96,000 in
2016) prize awarded by the Daily Mail. For several days, high winds had grounded
Blériot and his rivals: Hubert Latham, who flew an Antoinette monoplane, and
Count de Lambert, who brought two Wright biplanes. On 25 July, when the wind had
dropped in the morning and the skies had cleared, Blériot took off at sunrise.
Flying without the aid of a compass, he deviated to the east of his intended
course, but, nonetheless, spotted the English coast to his left. Battling
turbulent wind conditions, Blériot made a heavy "pancake" landing, nearly
collapsing the undercarriage and shattering one blade of the propeller, but he
was unhurt. The flight had taken 36.5 minutes and had made Blériot a celebrity,
instantly resulting in many orders for copies of his aircraft.

The aircraft, which never flew again, was hurriedly repaired and put on display
at Selfridges department store in London. It was later displayed outside the
offices of the French newspaper Le Matin and eventually bought by the Musee des
Arts et Metiers in Paris.

After the successful crossing of the English Channel, there was a great demand
for Blériot XIs. By the end of September 1909, orders had been received for 103
aircraft. After an accident at an aviation meeting in Istanbul in December 1909,
Blériot gave up competition flying, and the company's entries for competitions
were flown by other pilots, including Alfred Leblanc, who had managed the
logistics of the cross-channel flight, and subsequently bought the first
production Type XI, going on to become one of the chief instructors at the
flying schools established by Blériot.

The first Blériot XIs entered military service in Italy and France in 1910, and
a year later some were used by Italy in North Africa (the first use of heavier
than air aircraft in a war) and in Mexico. The British Royal Flying Corps
received its first Blériots in 1912. During the early stages of World War I
eight French, six British and six Italian squadrons operated various military
versions of the aircraft, mainly for observation duties but also as trainers,
and in the case of single-seaters as light bombers with a bomb load of up to 25
kg.

Specifications (Blériot XI)

General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 7.62 m (25 ft 0 in)
Wingspan: 7.79 m (25 ft 7 in)
Height: 2.69 m (8 ft 10 in)
Wing area: 14 m2 (150 sq ft)
Empty weight: 230 kg (507 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Anzani 3-cyl. fan 3-cyl. air-cooled fan-style radial piston
engine, 19 kW (25 hp)
Propellers: 2-bladed Chauvière Intégrale, 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) diameter

Performance
Maximum speed: 75.6 km/h (47 mph; 41 kn)
Service ceiling: 1,000 m (3,300 ft)




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