BLÉRIOT XII.
(Courtesy E. L. Jones.)
Louis Blériot with his two new machines, his No. XI at Douay and his No. XII at Issy-les-Moulineaux, practiced nearly every fine day in June and July, making fast progress in the art, and achieving some notable records. By warping the wings he could keep his balance better than in former years, and dare more severe weather. On June 12th, he made a straightaway flight of 820 feet in his No. XII, taking as passengers A. Santos-Dumont and A. Fournier, the entire weight being 1,232 pounds. This was the first flight of three passengers in an aëroplane. On June 25th, despite a strong wind, he circled in his No. XII eleven times about the parade ground at Issy-les-Moulineaux in 15½ minutes, maintaining excellent stability. Next day he made 30 circuits in 36 minutes, 55⅗ seconds, stopping finally because of spark failure due to excess of oil. On July 4th, at the aëronautic meet at the Juvisy Aërodrome, for sufferers from the earthquake in the south of France, he flew in his No. XI for 50 minutes, 8 seconds, at a height of 50 to 80 feet, finally stopping because of feed trouble in his engine. This flight was his second up to that date. On July 13th, he made a new cross-country record by an early morning flight in his No. XI from Etampes to within eight miles of Orleans, stopping some minutes en route, to show the practicability of his monoplane. Thirty-five minutes after landing, his machine was taken apart and shipped back to his factory at Neuilly, near Paris. After this record he received gold medals from the Aëro Club of Great Britain and the Aëro Club of France. He was also awarded the Prix de Voyage of 14,000 francs, of which he himself received 5,000 as pilot, 4,000 as constructor, while 3,000 went to the motor manufacturer and 2,000 to the propeller designer.
The monoplanes No. XI and No. XII represented Blériot’s most successful types. They bore a family resemblance to his preceding machines, but had a more vigorous lateral control due to warpage of their main surfaces instead of the wing-tips, as of old. Both were provided with a single-screw propeller in front, and both were mounted on three-wheeled chassis with shock absorbers. The larger machine, or No. XII, had a wing surface of 337 square feet; the smaller a surface of 151 square feet. The latter, on its historic cross-Channel trip, carried a three-cylinder air-cooled Anzani engine.
Hubert Latham, in his beautiful Antoinette monoplane, began to achieve distinction for himself and his admirably designed long-tailed flyer early in the spring, and, ere midsummer, was one of the favorite idols of the thronged aërodromes. He preferred a lofty course; he cut through the sky with the precision and grace of a winged-spear; he fascinated the spectators by the steadiness of his sweep. The French reporters declare they saw him roll and light cigarettes in full flight. Not only did he delight the artist, but he surprised the official measurer. Toward the end of May he established a new monoplane record by a flight lasting 37 minutes and 3 seconds. On the 5th of June he flew continuously 1 hour, 7 minutes and 37 seconds, at a speed of 45 miles an hour. This was done in a wind and heavy rain which drenched and blinded him, finally inducing him to come down. On June 7th he carried a passenger, something new for a monoplane. In July he increased the altitude record by flying 450 feet high. Next day he flew across country from Arras to Douai, 12½ miles, in 20 minutes. Very reasonably, therefore, he announced, his intention of sailing for England above the waters of the turbulent strait.
The Antoinette monoplane resembled, at a distance, a long-winged fish with its head cut off and replaced by a screw-propeller. It had a skifflike body with the screw in front, followed by the Antoinette engine, then by the pilot’s seat, the tail part carrying fixed horizontal and vertical fins and movable horizontal and vertical rudders. These rudders together with ailerons, or warping wings, controlled the poise in flight. The body was mounted on a light chassis having cushioned wheels, and a landing skid for absorbing shocks. The engine employed no carburetor, and was cooled by water which turned to steam in the engine jackets, condensed in tubes on the side of the prow, then was pumped back to the jackets.
PLATE XXVIII.
