The aluminum member A, Fig. 29, which holds the front edge of the wing in shape, is made of a 4-inch strip of fairly heavy sheet aluminum, rolled into shape round a piece of half-round wood, 2 1/4 inches in diameter. As sheet aluminum usually comes in 6-foot lengths, each of these members will have to be made in two sections, joined either by soldering (if the builder has mastered this difficult process) or by a number of small copper rivets.
No especial difficulties are presented by the strips, C, D, and F, which are of spruce 3/16 by 5/8 inch, or by the rear edge strip G, of spruce 1/4 by 1 1/2 inches. Each piece H should be 1 by 1/2 inch half-round spruce, bent into shape, fitted into the aluminum piece at the front, and at the rear flattened down to 1/4 inch and reinforced by a small strip glued to the back, finally running into the strip G. The exact curve of this piece does not matter, provided it is the same on both wings.
Assembling the Wings. Assembling the wings is an operation which demands considerable care. The main beams should first be laid across two horses, set level so that there will be no strain on the framework as it is put together. Then the 12 ribs should be slipped over the beams and evenly spaced 13 inches apart to centers, care being taken to see that each rib stands square with the beams, Fig. 31. The ribs are not glued to the beams, as this would make repairs difficult, but are fastened with small nails.
Strips C, D, and F, Fig, 29, are next put in place, simply being strung through the rows of holes provided for them in the ribs, and fastened with brads. Then spacers of 3/16-inch spruce, 2 or 3 inches long, are placed between each pair of strips halfway between each rib, and fastened with glue and brads. This can be seen in the broken-off view of the wing in the front view drawing, Fig. 23. The rear edge strip fits between the ends of the top and bottom strips of the ribs, as mentioned above, fastened with brads or with strips of sheet-aluminum tacked on.
Fig. 31. Assembling the Main Planes of a Bleriot Monoplane
Each wing is trussed by eight wires, half above and half below; half attached to the front and half to the rear beam. In the genuine Bleriot steel tape is used for the lower trussing of the main beams, similar to the tape employed in the running gear, but American builders prefer to use 1/8-inch cable. The lower rear trussing should be 3/32- or 7/64-inch cable, and the upper trussing 3/32-inch.
The beams are provided with sheet-steel fixtures for the attachment of the cables, as shown in the broken-off wing view, Fig. 23. These are cut from fairly-heavy metal, and go in pairs, one on each side of the end beam, fasten with three 3/16-inch bolts. They have lugs top and bottom. They are placed between the fifth and sixth and ninth and tenth ribs on each side.
To resist the backward pressure of the air, the wings are trussed with struts of 1-inch spruce and 1/16-inch cable, as shown in Fig. 23. The struts are placed between the cable attachments, being provided with ferrules of flattened steel tubing arranged to allow the rear beam freedom to swing up and down. The diagonal cables are provided with turnbuckles and run through the open spaces in the ribs.
Control System. The steering gear and tail construction of the Bleriot are as distinctive as the swiveling wheels and the U-bolts, and the word "cloche" applied to the bell-like attachment for the control wires, has been adopted into the international vocabulary of aeroplaning. The driver has between his knees a small steering wheel mounted on a short vertical post. This wheel does not turn, but instead the post has a universal joint at the bottom which allows it to be swung backward and forward or to either side. The post is really a lever, and the wheel a handle. Encircling the lower part of the post is a hemispherical bell—the cloche—with its bottom edge on the same level as the universal joint.