Flying Machines: Construction and Operation / A Practical Book Which Shows, in Illustrations, Working Plans and Text, How to Build and Navigate the Modern Airship

by William J. Jackman; Octave Chanute; Thomas Herbert Russell

CHAPTER XXVI. MONOPLANES, TRIPLANES, MULTIPLANES.

Until recently, American aviators had not given serious attention to any form of flying machines aside from biplanes. Of the twenty-one monoplanes competing at the International meet at Belmont Park, N. Y., in November, 1910, only three makes were handled by Americans. Moissant and Drexel navigated Bleriot machines, Harkness an Antoinette, and Glenn Curtiss a single decker of his own construction. On the other hand the various foreign aviators who took part in the meet unhesitatingly gave preference to monoplanes.

Whatever may have been the cause of this seeming prejudice against the monoplane on the part of American air sailors, it is slowly being overcome. When a man like Curtiss, who has attained great success with biplanes, gives serious attention to the monoplane form of construction and goes so far as to build and successfully operate a single surface machine, it may be taken for granted that the monoplane is a fixture in this country.

Dimensions of Monoplanes.

The makes, dimensions and equipment of the various monoplanes used at Belmont Park are as follows:

Bleriot—(Moissant, operator)—plane length 23 feet, extreme breadth 28 feet, surface area 160 square feet, 7-cylinder, 50 h. p. Gnome engine, Chauviere propeller, 7 feet 6 inches diameter, 1,200 r. p. m.

Bleriot—(Drexel, operator)—exactly the same as Moissant's machine.

Antoinette—(Harkness, operator)—plane length 42 feet, extreme breadth 46 feet, surface area 377 square feet, Emerson 6-cylinder, 50 h. p. motor, Antoinette propeller, 7 feet 6 inches diameter, 1,200 r. p. m.

Curtiss—(Glenn H. Curtiss, operator)—plane length 25 feet, extreme breadth 26 feet, surface area 130 square feet, Curtiss 8-cylinder, 60 h. p. motor, Paragon propeller, 7 feet in diameter, 1,200 r. p. m.

With one exception Curtiss had the smallest machine of any of those entering into competition. The smallest was La Demoiselle, made by Santos-Dumont, the proportions of which were: plane length 20 feet, extreme breadth 18 feet, surface area 100 square feet, Clement-Bayard 2-cylinder, 30 h. p. motor, Chauviere propeller, 6 feet 6 inches in diameter, 1,100 r. p. m.