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The Blériot VIII was an early French aeroplane built by Louis Blériot, significant for both its adoption of a configuration and a control system that were to set a standard for decades to come. The previous year, Blériot had experimented with a tandem wing design, the Blériot VI, then built a similar aircraft, the Blériot VII, in which the rear wing was somewhat smaller than the front wing. In the Blériot VIII, he reduced the size of the rear wing yet again, to the point where it was no longer contributing much in the way of lift, but had become the horizontal stabiliser. More novel was his adoption of a single control stick that would control both roll and pitch, while the rudder was controlled by a bar swung by the pilot's feet. A similar control arrangement had been incorporated into an aircraft the previous year by Robert Esnault-Pelterie.
Blériot found that the new aircraft flew very well, and for the first time had sufficient control to fly in circles. He could also keep it aloft for up to eight minutes at a time. During the course of 1908, he modified it a number of times, calling the first major revision the VIII-bis and the next the VIII-ter. With this aircraft on June 29, Blériot claimed the second of three prizes being offered by the Automobile Club de France for a flight with an altitude of 200 m. Longer and longer flights followed: on October 21, he made one of 7 km (4 mi), and ten days later flew 14 km (9 mi) cross-country from Toury to Artenay and flew back again.
[edit] Specifications (VIII-ter)
General characteristics
- Crew: one pilot
- Length: 7.50 m (24 ft 7 in)
- Wingspan: 8.50 m (27 ft 11 in)
- Wing area: 22 m² (237 ft²)
Performance
[edit] References
- Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions, 161.
- Devaux, Jean and Michel Marani. "Les Douze Premiers Aéroplanes de Louis Blériot". Pegase No 54, May 1989.
- Nova: A Daring Flight
- earlyaviators.com
[edit] See also
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Aircraft produced by Blériot |
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