The Breguet Biplane.
Very conspicuous in the Paris Salon exhibitions has been the Breguet biplane. This is one of very advanced type; it is a military machine par excellence. Simplicity and portability throughout are its distinguishing features, and these are the essence of a machine designed for war. One might almost call it a combination of monoplane and biplane construction. There is the familiar tapering of the framework, with controlling planes at the end, such as in the Blériot, but two superposed planes, instead of the bird-like projecting wings of the Blériot, are above and below the body of the machine. Steel enters largely into the design. There is a maximum of supporting struts between the main surfaces. These are constructed with thin metal ribs, and are therefore flexible, an exceedingly important feature, rendering the machine exceptionally stable in high and gusty winds. For portability the main surfaces can be taken out of position in a few minutes. By the excellent method of hinging the planes to the body of the machine the former may be turned back and folded up beside the body of the machine. The aëroplane can therefore be described as a folding-up one. It can therefore travel on the road like a motor-car, instead of having to be packed up and conveyed in a wagon. This method of road conveyance would be impracticable with a machine with its wings outspread.