Blériot XI
Encyclopedia
The Blériot XI is the aircraft in which, on 25 July 1909, Louis Blériot
Louis Blériot
Louis Charles Joseph Blériot was a French aviator, inventor and engineer. In 1909 he completed the first flight across a large body of water in a heavier-than-air craft, when he crossed the English Channel. For this achievement, he received a prize of £1,000...
made the first flight across the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
made in a heavier-than-air aircraft . This achievement is one of the most famous accomplishments of the early years of aviation, and not only won Blériot a lasting place in history but assured the future of his aircraft manufacturing business. The event caused a major reappraisal of the importance of aviation: the English newspaper The Daily Express led its story of the flight with the headline "Britain is no longer an Island".
Design and development
The Blériot XI, designed by Raymond Saulnier was a development of the Blériot VIIIBlériot VIII
|-References:* Devaux, Jean and Michel Marani. "Les Douze Premiers Aéroplanes de Louis Blériot". Pegase No 54, May 1989.* * -See also:...
which Blériot had flown successfully in 1908. Like its predecessor, it was a tractor configuration
Tractor configuration
thumb|right|[[Evektor-Aerotechnik|Aerotechnik EV97A Eurostar]], a tractor configuration aircraft, being pulled into position by its pilot for refuelling....
monoplane
Monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with one main set of wing surfaces, in contrast to a biplane or triplane. Since the late 1930s it has been the most common form for a fixed wing aircraft.-Types of monoplane:...
, with a partially covered box-girder fuselage
Fuselage
The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull...
built from ash with wire cross bracing. The principal differences were the use of wing-warping for lateral control and the tailplane, which had a small balanced rudder and a single rectangular horizontal tailplane with tip-mounted elevators mounted under the lower longerons of the fuselage. Like its predecessor, the bracing and warping wires were attached to a cabane structure made of steel tubing above the fuselage and an inverted pyramid, also of steel tubing, below it. When built the cabane mounted a small teardrop-shaped fin, but this was later removed. The main undercarriage was also like that of the Type VIII, the wheels being mounted in castering trailing arms which could slide up and down steel tubes, the movement being sprung by bungee
Bungee
Bungee may refer to:* Bungee cord, also called shock cord, an engineered stretchable cord* Bungee jumping, an adventure sport* Bungee language or Bungi creole, and its related population, existing mainly along the north-south trade routes of Manitoba, Canada* Bungee chair, a type of office or...
cords. This simple and ingenuous design allowed crosswind landing
Crosswind landing
A crosswind landing is a landing maneuver in which a significant component of the prevailing wind is perpendicular to the runway center line.-Significance:Aircraft in flight are subject to the direction of the winds in which the aircraft is operating...
s with less risk of damage.
When shown at the Paris Aero Salon in December 1908 the aircraft was powered by a 35 hp 7-cylinder R.E.P. engine driving a four-bladed paddle type propeller, but this engine proved extremely unreliable and, at the suggestion of his mechanic Ferdinand Collin Bleriot made contact with Alexandre Anzani, a famous motor-cycle racer whose successes were due to the engines which he manufactured, and who had recently entered the field of aero-engine manufacture. On 27 May 1909 the 25 hp Anzani 3-cylinder
Anzani 3-cylinder
|-See also:-External links:**...
fan or semi-radial configurations engine was fitted, driving a Chauvière two bladed propeller made from laminated walnut
Walnut
Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...
. This propeller design was a major advance in French aircraft technology, and was the first European propeller to rival the efficiency of the propellers used by the Wright Brothers
Wright brothers
The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur , were two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903...
.
The Channel Crossing
Louis Blériot
Louis Charles Joseph Blériot was a French aviator, inventor and engineer. In 1909 he completed the first flight across a large body of water in a heavier-than-air craft, when he crossed the English Channel. For this achievement, he received a prize of £1,000...
crossed the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
from Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
to Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
in 36.5 minutes, using an Anzani engine designed by the Italian engineer Alessandro Anzani. For several days bad weather grounded Blériot and his opponents Hubert Latham
Hubert Latham
Arthur Charles Hubert Latham was a French aviation pioneer. He was the first person to attempt to cross the English Channel in an aeroplane...
, who flew an Antoinette monoplane, and Count de Lambert
Charles de Lambert (aviator)
Charles, Count de Lambert, was an early European aviator.De Lambert was the first person in France to be taught to fly by Wilbur Wright. The first lesson took place at Le Mans on 28 October 1908...
, who brought two Wright Biplanes.
That morning, Blériot awoke—albeit in a bad mood, reportedly due to having scorched his foot in a flying accident, allegedly from stepping on a hot exhaust manifold—to conditions fair enough to fly in. When Blériot took off, Latham's camp was still quiet; Latham had overslept. Fighting fog and bad weather, Blériot did not even have a compass
Compass
A compass is a navigational instrument that shows directions in a frame of reference that is stationary relative to the surface of the earth. The frame of reference defines the four cardinal directions – north, south, east, and west. Intermediate directions are also defined...
to guide his crossing. It is said that the Anzani engine completed the flight only with the aid of a brief rain shower to cool it off. Letting the aircraft guide itself, Blériot eventually saw the grey line of the English coast.
Approaching closer and closer, he spotted a French reporter waving the French flag to mark the landing spot. Blériot made a very rough "pancake" landing during which the landing gear
Undercarriage
The undercarriage or landing gear in aviation, is the structure that supports an aircraft on the ground and allows it to taxi, takeoff and land...
collapsed and the propeller snapped; but he walked away, winning the £1000 prize awarded by the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
. The aircraft itself – which never flew again – was hurriedly repaired and put on limited display at Selfridges
Selfridges
Selfridges, AKA Selfridges & Co, is a chain of high end department stores in the United Kingdom. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge. The flagship store in London's Oxford Street is the second largest shop in the UK and was opened on 15 March 1909.More recently, three other stores have been...
Department Store in London.
Further development
After the successful crossing of the channel, there was a great demand for the Blériot XI. Blériot began to turn his attention from flying to the aircraft manufacturing business. By September 1909, Blériot had received orders for 101 aircraft. Later versions of the Blériot XI used various engines including more powerful GnomeGnome et Rhône
Gnome et Rhône was a major French aircraft engine manufacturer. Between 1914 and 1918 they produced 25,000 of their 9-cylinder Delta and Le Rhône 110 hp rotary designs, while another 75,000 were produced by various licensees, powering the majority of aircraft in the first half of the war on...
rotary engine
Rotary engine
The rotary engine was an early type of internal-combustion engine, usually designed with an odd number of cylinders per row in a radial configuration, in which the crankshaft remained stationary and the entire cylinder block rotated around it...
s and updated Anzani
Anzani
Anzani was an engine manufacturer founded by the Italian Alessandro Anzani , which produced proprietary engines for aircraft, cars, boats, and motorcycles in factories in Britain, France and Italy.-Overview:...
engines. Blériot marketed the aircraft in four categories: trainers, sport or touring models, military aircraft, and racing or exhibition machines. Some notable models in the "Type Onze" series:
Military use
The first Bleriot XIs entered military service in Italy and France in 1910, and a year later, some of those were used in action by Italy in North Africa (the first use of aircraft in a war) and in Mexico. The Royal Flying CorpsRoyal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
received its first Bleriots in 1912. During the early stages of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, eight French, six British and six Italian squadrons operated various military versions of the aircraft, mainly in observation duties but also as trainers, and in the case of single-seaters, as light bombers with a bomb load of up to 25 kg.
Famous Blériot Monoplane pilots
- Oskar BiderOskar BiderOskar Bider was a Swiss aviation pioneer.- Life :Oskar Bider grew up in Langenbruck and graduated from the primary school to the district school in Waldenburg...
- Swiss aviator who flew over the Pyrenees and the Alps in 1913. - Jorge ChavezJorge ChávezJorge Chávez Dartnell , also known as Géo Chávez, was a Franco – Peruvian aviator. At a young age, he achieved fame for his aeronautical feats...
- French-Peruvian aviator who crossed the Alps in 1910, but crashed on arrival and was killed. - Denys Corbett WilsonDenys Corbett WilsonDenys Corbett Wilson was a pioneering Irish aviator.He is most notable for his 100-minute flight on 22 April 1912, from Goodwick in Pembrokeshire to Enniscorthy - from the island of Great Britain to the island of Ireland...
- Anglo-Irish aviator who made the first successful flight from Britain to Ireland in April 1912. - Vasily KamenskyVasily KamenskyVasily Vasilevich Kamensky was a Russian Futurist poet, playwright, and artist as well as one of the first Russian aviators.Kamensky was born in the Perm district, where his father was an inspector of goldfields...
- a famous Russian Futurism poet, one of the pioneering aviators of Russia - John Domenjoz (1886–1952) - Performed aerobatics in South, Central and North America in 1914–1918. His Gnome rotary-powered Bleriot-XI is displayed at the National Air & Space Museum, Washington.
- Tryggve GranTryggve GranJens Tryggve Herman Gran DSC, MC was a Norwegian aviator, explorer and author. He was the first pilot to cross the North Sea.-Background:...
- Norwegian aviator, first to cross the North Sea from Scotland to Norway in 1914. - Gustav HamelGustav HamelGustav Hamel was a pioneer British aviator.Hamel was prominent in the early history of aviation in Britain, and in particular that of Hendon airfield, where Claude Graham-White was energetically developing and promoting flying.-Biography:Gustav Hamel was educated at Westminster School and chose to...
- Flew the world's first regular airmail service between Hendon and Windsor in September 1911. - Jan KašparJan KašparJan Kašpar was a Czech aviator, aircraft constructor, designer and engineer. He is considered as a pioneer of aviation in the Czech lands.-Biography:...
- Czech aviator, first person to fly in Czech landsCzech landsCzech lands is an auxiliary term used mainly to describe the combination of Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia. Today, those three historic provinces compose the Czech Republic. The Czech lands had been settled by the Celts , then later by various Germanic tribes until the beginning of 7th...
on 16 April 1910. - Alfred LeblancAlfred LeBlancAlfred Leblanc was a pioneer French aviator.-Biography:He was born on April 13, 1869 in France. He was assistant to Louis Bleriot and handled the logistics for Bleriot on the morning of his cross channel flight July 25, 1909. In 1910 he set an cross-country flight airspeed record by flying 485...
- Broke the flight airspeed record in 1910 while flying a Blériot XI. His speed was calculated at 68.20 mph (109.8 km/h). - Jan OlieslagersJan OlieslagersLieutenant Jan Olieslagers was a Belgian motorcycle and aviation pioneer who set world records with both types of machinery. He became a flying ace during World War I despite his indifference in claiming victories; he was credited with six confirmed victories, seventeen unconfirmed, and an unknown...
(1883–1942) - Lieutenant in the Belgian Army during the first world war. - Earle OvingtonEarle OvingtonEarle Lewis Ovington was an American aeronautical engineer, aviator and inventor, and served as a lab assistant to Thomas Edison. Ovington piloted the first official airmail flight in the United States in a Blériot XI in 1911. He carried a sack of mail from Garden City, New York to Mineola, New...
- First airmail pilot in the United States. - Adolphe PégoudAdolphe PegoudAdolphe Célestin Pégoud was a well known pre-war French aviator who became the first fighter ace.Pégoud served in the French Army from 1907 to 1913...
- First man to demonstrate the full aerobatic potential of the Blériot XI, flying a loop with it in 1913. Together with John Domenjoz and Edmond Perreyon, he successfully assembled what is thought of as the first air showAirshowAn air show is an event at which aviators display their flying skills and the capabilities of their aircraft to spectators in aerobatics. Air shows without aerobatic displays, having only aircraft displayed parked on the ground, are called "static air shows"....
. - Harriet QuimbyHarriet QuimbyHarriet Quimby was an early American aviator and a movie screenwriter. In 1911 she was awarded a U.S. pilot's certificate by the Aero Club of America, becoming the first woman to gain a pilot's license in the United States. In 1912 she became the first woman to fly across the English Channel...
- First licensed female pilot in the United States. First female to fly the English Channel solo. - Rene Simon (1885-192?) - In February 1911, the Mexican government engaged Rene Simon, a member of an aerial circus touring the south-western United States, to reconnoiter rebel positions near the border city of Juarez.
- Emile TaddéoliEmile TaddéoliEmile Taddéoli was a Swiss aviation pioneer. He was active as a pilot, instructor, test pilot, and also the probably most prominent pioneer using seaplanes in Switzerland...
- Swiss aviator who first flew on 22 March 1910, in his newly bought Blériot XI, and flew about 150000 kilometres (93,205.9 mi) during the next five years using various aircraft, among them the Blériot XI, Morane-Borel monoplaneMorane-Borel monoplane-External links:* * -See also:...
, Dufaux 4Dufaux 4-References:* *...
, Dufaux 5Dufaux 5The Dufaux 5 is a two-seat airplane built by French-Switzerland aviation pioneers Henri and Armand Dufaux.-Construction and development:After Armand Dufaux had flown over the Geneva for its entire length with the Dufaux 4 on 28 August 1910,and the world record by Louis Blériot was significantly...
and SIAI S.13SIAI S.13|-See also:...
seaplane. - Eugene GilbertEugene GilbertSous Lieutenant Eugene Gilbert was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories. He had also been a famous pioneer Pre-war racing pilot flying to many countries throughout Europe....
- to the Bleriot school in 1910 after having built his own small unsuccessful plane in 1909. During a flight across the Pyrenees Mountains in the Paris/Madrid Air Race of 1911 he and his Bleriot XI were attacked by a large eagle, with Gilbert escaping after firing pistol shots.
Variants
Blériot XI Militaire- Military single-seater, powered by a 50 hp Gnome engine.
Blériot XI Artillerie
- Very similar to the Militaire version.
Blériot XI-2
- Standard tandem 2-seat touring, reconnaissance, training model, powered by a 70 hp Gnome 7B rotary piston engine.
Blériot XI-2 bis "côté-à-côté"
- Larger, 2-seat model, with side-by-side seating.
Blériot XI-2 Hydroaeroplane
- Mounted on floats with a larger wing area.
Blériot XI-2 Artillerie
- Military 2-seat model, powered by a 70 hp Gnome rotary piston engine.
Blériot XI-2 Génie
- Military version, designed for easy transport, it could be broken down/reassembled in 25 minutes.
Blériot XI-2 BG
- Two-seat high-wing parasol model.
Blériot XI-3
- Tandem 3-seat model, powered by a twin-row 14-cylinder, 140 hp Gnome Double Lambda rotary engine.
Bleriot XI E1
- Single-seat training version.
Bleriot XI R1 Pinguin
- Rouleur or ground training aircraft, fitted with clipped wings and a wide-track undercarriage with a pair of forward-projecting skids to prevent nose-overs. Some examples were fitted with a 35 hp Anzani engine and others with a 50 hp Gnome.
Military operators
- Australian Flying Corps
- Central Flying School AFCCentral Flying School RAAFThe Central Flying School RAAF is a Royal Australian Air Force training establishment, based at RAAF Base East Sale. It was formed in March 1913, and during the First World War it trained over 150 pilots, who fought in Europe and the Middle East....
at Point Cook, VictoriaPoint Cook, VictoriaPoint Cook is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 25 km south-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Wyndham. At the 2006 Census, Point Cook had a population of 14,162, now it is estimated that the population of Point Cook is 32,167...
- Central Flying School AFC
Bolivia
Kingdom of Bulgaria
Greece
Italy
Mexico: One only Tryggve Gran
Tryggve Gran
Jens Tryggve Herman Gran DSC, MC was a Norwegian aviator, explorer and author. He was the first pilot to cross the North Sea.-Background:...
´s
: New Zealand Army
New Zealand Army
The New Zealand Army , is the land component of the New Zealand Defence Force and comprises around 4,500 Regular Force personnel, 2,000 Territorial Force personnel and 500 civilians. Formerly the New Zealand Military Forces, the current name was adopted around 1946...
- Royal New Zealand Air Force
Royal New Zealand Air Force
The Royal New Zealand Air Force is the air arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...
. One aircraft named "Brittania". It was in service from 1913 to 1914.
Kingdom of Romania- Swedish Air ForceSwedish Air ForceThe Swedish Air Force is the air force branch of the Swedish Armed Forces.-History:The Swedish Air Force was created on July 1, 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the escalating international tension during the 1930s the Air Force was reorganized and expanded...
- Swedish NavySwedish NavyThe Royal Swedish Navy is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet – as well as marine units, the so-called Amphibious Corps .In Swedish, vessels of the Swedish Navy are given the prefix "HMS," short for Hans/Hennes...
Ottoman Empire
- Ottoman Aviation squadrons
- Royal Flying CorpsRoyal Flying CorpsThe Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
- No. 2 Squadron RFCNo. 2 Squadron RAFNo. 2 Squadron of the Royal Air Force is currently one of two RAF squadrons operating in the reconnaissance role with the Tornado GR4A and GR4 and is based at RAF Marham, Norfolk.No. II Squadron holds claim to being "the oldest heavier-than-air flying machine squadron in the world", along with No...
- No. 3 Squadron RFCNo. 3 Squadron RAFNo 3 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Typhoon F2, FGR4 and T3 from RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire.No 3 Squadron, which celebrated its 95th anniversary over the weekend of 11-13 May 2007, is unique in the RAF for having two official crests....
- No. 4 Squadron RFC
- No. 5 Squadron RFCNo. 5 Squadron RAFNo. 5 Squadron of the Royal Air Force is the operator of the new Sentinel R1 Airborne STand-Off Radar aircraft and is based at RAF Waddington.-History:As No...
- No. 6 Squadron RFCNo. 6 Squadron RAFNo. 6 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 at RAF Leuchars.It was previously equipped with the Jaguar GR.3 in the close air support and tactical reconnaissance roles, and was based at RAF Coltishall, Norfolk until April 2006, moving to RAF Coningsby until...
- No. 9 Squadron RFC
- No. 10 Squadron RFCNo. 10 Squadron RAFNo. 10 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron. The squadron served in a variety of roles over its 90 year history...
- No. 16 Squadron RFCNo. 16 Squadron RAFNo. 16 Squadron is a flying squadron of the Royal Air Force. It formed in 1915 at Saint-Omer to carry out a mixture of offensive patrolling and reconnaissance and was disbanded in 1919 with the end of the First World War...
- No. 23 Squadron RFCNo. 23 Squadron RAFNo. 23 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. Until October 2009, it operated the Boeing Sentry AEW1 Airborne Warning And Control System aircraft from RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire.-First World War:...
- No. 24 Squadron RFC
- No. 2 Squadron RFC
Survivors
A flyable 1909-built Blériot XI, with British civil registration G-AANG, is on display at the Shuttleworth CollectionShuttleworth Collection
The Shuttleworth Collection is an aeronautical and automotive museum located at the Old Warden airfield in Bedfordshire, England. It is one of the most prestigious in the world due to the variety of old and well-preserved aircraft.- History :...
, Old Warden, England. It is the world's oldest airworthy airplane. Another restored and flyable Bleriot XI, with US civil registration N60094, exists at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome
Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome
The Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome is a museum of World War I aircraft and antique automobiles that is located in Red Hook, New York, USA.-History:The aerodrome was the creation of Cole Palen, who was partially inspired by the Shuttleworth Collection in England. He regularly flew many of the aircraft...
(ORA), believed to be only three weeks newer than the Shuttleworth example by date of manufacture, and the oldest known flyable aircraft in the Western Hemisphere
Western Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere or western hemisphere is mainly used as a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian and east of the Antimeridian , the other half being called the Eastern Hemisphere.In this sense, the western hemisphere consists of the western portions...
. The ORA example was originally built at the Bleriot factory in France, marked with factory serial number 56. Both aircraft use three-cylinder Anzani engines, with the Shuttleworth example having a "W form" Anzani as Bleriot's original cross-Channel aircraft used, and with the Old Rhinebeck example using a 120º-angle regular "radial" Anzani three-cylinder engine.
A third flyable Blériot XI, manufactured in 1918 under licence by AETA, Enoch Thulins Aeroplane Works, in Landskrona
Landskrona
Landskrona is a locality and the seat of Landskrona Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 28,670 inhabitants in 2005.-History:The city of Landskrona was founded at the location of Scania's best natural harbour, as a means of King Eric of Pomerania's anti-Hanseatic policy, intended to compete...
, Sweden, is owned by The Museum of Science and Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. The aircraft was registered with the Swedish Civil Air Traffic Authority in 2010 as SE-AEC. Following a two-year restoration by Mikael Carlson, the Blériot XI made its first flight at the Stockholm Festival of Flight in August 2010. This made the aircraft the oldest airworthy craft in Sweden. The Blériot uses its original rotary engine, a Thulin
AB Thulinverken
AB Thulinverken was a company in Landskrona, Sweden, founded in 1914 as Enoch Thulins Aeroplanfabrik by the airman and aircraft technician Enoch Thulin. The company became Sweden's first aircraft manufacturer. In 1920, Thulin also started manufacturing automobiles, which continued until 1928...
-built copy of the Gnôme Omega
Gnome Omega
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Lumsden, Alec. British Piston Engines and their Aircraft. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-85310-294-6....
.
Another survivor with replica wings has its home at the Museo Nacional de Aeronáutica in Morón
Morón, Buenos Aires
Morón is a city in the Argentine province of Buenos Aires, capital of the Morón Partido, located in the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area, at...
, Buenos Aires Province
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
, Argentina. It is powered by a W 3 Cyl Anzani 25 hp engine. It is not airworthy.
A 3/4 scale historically accurate replica of the Bleriot XI is featured in the New York City premiere of FLIGHT, running March 23 - April 11, 2011 at the Connelly Theatre. A tour of the production through southern states will commence in the fall of 2011.
Specifications (Blériot XI)
External links
- http://www.oldrhinebeck.org/Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome Link to Old Rhinebeck AerodromeOld Rhinebeck AerodromeThe Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome is a museum of World War I aircraft and antique automobiles that is located in Red Hook, New York, USA.-History:The aerodrome was the creation of Cole Palen, who was partially inspired by the Shuttleworth Collection in England. He regularly flew many of the aircraft...
website, which has videos of a restored Blériot XI flying. This Blériot XI (US registration number N60094), powered with an original three cylinder Anzani radial engine, is the second oldest flying aircraft in the world.] - YouTube video of Old Rhinebeck's N60094 Blériot XI going for a hop
- The Shuttleworth Collection's oldest-of-all Blériot XI hopping a flight
- Louis Blériot – Developer of Commercial and Military Aircraft US Centennial of Flight Commission.
- A Blériot XI at Maurice Dufresne Museum, France
- Bleriot Type XI N° 225 at MAPICA La Baule, France
- John Domenjoz, barnstormer & arerobatics
- Bleriot XI for flight simulator ( FS9 or FSX )
- Virtual Bleriot XI redesigned in 3D by engineering students in India, Brazil and France
- Link to website for Museum of Science and Technology, Stockholm. Documentation of Blériot XI restoration with Swedish text, videos of public display flight, test flight, motor test and wing assembling