If the Wright brothers can lay claim to the title of "Fathers of the
Biplane", then it is certain that M. Bleriot, the gallant French airman,
can be styled the "Father of the Monoplane."
For five years--1906 to 1910--Louis Bleriot's name was on everybody's
lips in connection with his wonderful records in flying and skilful
feats of airmanship. Perhaps the flight which brought him greatest
renown was that accomplished in July, 1909, when he was the first man
to cross the English Channel by aeroplane. This attempt had been
forestalled, although unsuccessfully, by Hubert Latham, a daring aviator
who is best known in Lancashire by his flight in 1909 at Blackpool in
a wind which blew at the rate of nearly 40 miles an hour--a performance
which struck everyone with wonder in these early days of aviation.
Latham attempted, on an Antoinette monoplane, to carry off the prize
of L1000 offered by the proprietors of the Daily Mail. On the first
occasion he fell in mid-Channel, owing to the failure of his motor, and
was rescued by a torpedo-boat. His machine was so badly damaged during
the salving operations that another had to be sent from Paris, and with
this he made a second attempt, which was also unsuccessful. Meanwhile
M. Bleriot had arrived on the scene; and on 25th July he crossed the
Channel from Calais to Dover in thirty-seven minutes and was awarded the
L1000 prize.
Bleriot's fame was now firmly established, and on his return to France
he received a magnificent welcome. The monoplane at once leaped into
favour, and the famous "bird man" had henceforth to confine his efforts
to the building of machines and the organization of flying events. He
has since established a large factory in France and inaugurated a flying
school at Pau.
All the time that the Wrights were experimenting with their glider and
biplane in America, and the Voisin brothers were constructing biplanes
in France, Bleriot had been giving earnest attention to the production
of a real "bird" machine, provided with one pair of FLAPPING wings. We
know now that such an aeroplane is not likely to be of practical use,
but with quiet persistence Bleriot kept to his task, and succeeded in
evolving the famous Antoinette monoplane, which more closely resembles a
bird than does any other form of air-craft.
In the illustration of the Bleriot monoplane here given you will notice
that there is one main plane, consisting of a pair of highly-cambered
wings; hence the name "MONOplane". At the rear of the machine there is
a much smaller plane, which is slightly cambered; this is the elevating
plane, and it can be tilted up or down in order to raise or lower the
machine. Remember that the elevating plane of a biplane is to the front
of the machine and in the monoplane at the rear. The small, upright
plane G is the rudder, and is used for steering the machine to the right
or left. The long narrow body or framework of the monoplane is known as
the FUSELAGE.
By a close study of the illustration, and the description which
accompanies it, you will understand how the machine is driven. The main
plane is twisted, or warped, when banking, much in the same way that the
Wright biplane is warped.
Far greater speed can be obtained from the monoplane than from the
biplane, chiefly because in the former machine there is much less
resistance to the air. Both height and speed records stand to the credit
of the monoplane.
The enormous difference in the speeds of monoplanes and biplanes can be
best seen at a race meeting at some aerodrome. Thus at Hendon, when a
speed handicap is in progress, the slow biplanes have a start of one or
two laps over the rapid little monoplanes in a six-lap contest, and
it is most amusing to see the latter dart under, or over, the more
cumbersome biplane. Recently however, much faster biplanes have been
built, and they bid fair to rival the swiftest monoplanes in speed.
There is, however, one serious drawback to the use of the monoplane:
it is far more dangerous to the pilot than is the biplane. Most of
the fatal accidents in aviation have been caused through mishaps to
monoplanes or their engines, and chiefly for this reason the biplane has
to a large extent supplanted the monoplane in warfare. The biplane, too,
is better adapted for observation work, which is, after all, the chief
use of air-craft.
In a later chapter some account will be given of the three types of
aeroplane which the war has evolved--the general-purposes machine,
the single-seater "fighter", and those big bomb-droppers, the British
Handley Page and the German Gotha.