| Antoinette IV | |
|---|---|
| '1075 - Antoinette IV Monoplane transformed' Equipped with a landing skids to 'replace' the start wheels and 8-cylinder, 50 hp Antoinette engine. |
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| Role | Experimental aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Antoinette |
| Designer | Leon Levavasseur |
| First flight | 1908 |
| Number built | 1 |
The Antoinette IV was an early French monoplane. It was a high-wing aircraft with a fuselage of extremely narrow triangular cross-section and a cruciform tail. Power was provided by a V8 engine of Leon Levavasseur's own design driving a paddle-bladed tractor propeller. Lateral control was at first attempted with large triangular, and shortly afterwards trapezoidal, ailerons hinged to the trailing edge of the wingtips - although wing-warping was substituted at an early stage in flight trials, and in this type proved more effective. The aircraft was large for its time, its wingspan was nearly equal to the Fokker F.VII's, a large transport plane of the 1920s.
On 19 February 1909, the Antoinette IV flew 5 km (3.1 mi) at Mourmelon-le-Grand, and on 19 July, Hubert Latham attempted to cross the English Channel in it, covering 11 km (6.8 mi) out of Sangatte before making a forced water landing due to engine failure. On 26 August, the aircraft was used to set a world distance record of 154.6 km (96.1 mi), covering this distance in 2 hours 17 minutes (67.7 km/h, 42.1 mph).
General characteristics
Performance
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