BLÉRIOT FLYING OVER TOURY-ARTENAY CIRCUIT.
BLÉRIOT MONOPLANE NO. VIII.
BLÉRIOT MONOPLANE NO. IX.
Fig. 40.—Blériot’s Toury-artenay Aëroplane Circuit, 1908.
A fair view of the famous monoplane, in its renowned cross-country voyage, is presented in [Plate XXV]. It consisted of a single sustaining surface firmly attached to a long trussed spine mounted on three wheels, and carrying at its front end the gasoline motor and propeller, at its rear end two of the rudders, the third, or lateral, rudder being placed at the wing terminals. A part of the trussed frame was covered, to minimize the atmospheric resistance against the framing, pilot and engine. The vertical rudder at the rear turned the machine to right or left; the horizontal rear rudder controlled the elevation and pitching of the machine; the torsional wing tips controlled the lateral stability, and could be used to cant the aëroplane or check its listing, as in the Wright and Curtiss machines. The craft exhibited an easy poise in the air, and possessed good equilibrium, owing to its arrowlike structure and its three-rudder system of control. It was a strong rival of the biplanes previously noticed, and a herald of better things to come.
In the meantime the Wright brothers had resumed their field practice. During the month of May, 1908, they tested their famous aëroplane of 1905, provided with increased engine power, and carrying two passengers upright. A few brief flights were made at speeds of 41 to 44 miles an hour, showing that all the mechanism was adequate and effective. But on May 14th a false push on a lever, made by Wilbur Wright, brought the flyer to earth, wrecking it too badly to be repaired in the few days available for experimentation. These flights were but preliminary to the official trials set for the approaching summer; for the brothers had contracted to furnish one machine to the United States Signal Corps, another to a French syndicate.