Blériot VIII
| Blériot VIII | |
|---|---|
| |
| Role | Experimental aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Louis Blériot |
| First flight | 1908 |
| Number built | 1 |
TheBlériot VIIIwas a Frenchpioneer eraaeroplane built byLouis Blériot,significant for its adoption of both a configuration and a control system that were to set a standard for decades to come.
Design and development[edit]
The previous year, Blériot had experimented with atandem wingdesign, theBlériot VI,then built another aircraft, theBlériot VII,in which the rear wing was somewhat smaller than the front wing, and introduced the laterType XI's "bedstead", shock-absorbing and castoring main landing gear design. 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 thehorizontal stabiliser.More novel was his adoption of a singlecontrol stickthat would control bothrolland pitch, while therudderwas controlled by a horizontal, centrally pivoted bar swung by the pilot's feet. A similar control arrangement for roll and pitch control had been incorporated into an aircraft the previous year byRobert Esnault-Pelterie,but the Bleriot VIII was the first use in a single airframe of the combination of hand-operatedjoystickand foot-operated rudder control which is in use to the present day as the basic format of aerodynamicaircraft control systems.[2]
Blériot found that the new aircraft flew very well, and for the first time he 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 theVIII-bisand the next theVIII-ter.With this aircraft on June 29, Blériot claimed the second of three prizes being offered by theAutomobile Club de Francefor a flight with an altitude of 200 m (660 ft). Longer and longer flights followed: on October 21, he made one of 7 km (4.3 mi), and ten days later flew 14 km (8.7 mi) cross-country fromTourytoArtenayand flew back again.
Specifications (VIII-ter)[edit]
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 sq ft)
References[edit]
- Notes
- ^Braun, Hans (1996).Historic Share Certificates Europe, Volume I.Mainz: Verlag Hermann Schmidt. pp. 90–91.ISBN3-87439-396-8.
- ^Crouch, Tom (1982).Blériot XI: The Story of a Classic Aircraft.Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 22.
- Bibliography
- Crouch, Tom (1982).Bleriot XI, The Story of a Classic Aircraft.Smithsonian Institution Press. pp. 21 & 22.ISBN0-87474-345-1.
- Elliott, Bryan A. (2000).Blériot: Herald of an Age.Stroud, Gloucestershire: Tempus.ISBN0-7524-1739-8.
- Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989).Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation.London: Studio Editions. p. 161.
- Devaux, Jean and Michel Marani. "Les Douze Premiers Aéroplanes de Louis Blériot".PegaseNo 54, May 1989.
External links[edit]
