The Hanriot Monoplane

Echoing the Wright Brothers' technology-transfer ofinstance, moved forward and aft to actuate the
the bicycle to the heavier-than-air aeroplane, Renehinged, fabric-covered elevators for pitch control, while
Hanriot, hitherto a Darracq racing car driver, climbedthe left side stick, movable in a sideways direction,
the engineering ladder from the ground-based motoractivated the wing-warping mechanism for in-flight
car to the airborne flying machine by designing his first,banking, or lateral axis control. The coupe atop it,
albeit frail, single-seat monoplane in 1907 after ainformally known as a "blip switch," provided engine
one-year delivery delay of his originally orderedcontrol, usually replacing the left-located throttle, since a
Antoinette, and subsequently displayed it at the Salonhand was seldom free to operate it.
de l'Aeronautique in 1909.Fuel, stored in the cylindrical, metal tank, directly behind,
The aircraft, powered by a single, 50-hp Buchet engine,and on the same level as, the engine, often required
featured an open framework fuselage mated to twopressure to ensure continued flow, initiated by the
rectangular wings whose span stretched to 31.2 feet,squeezable rubber ball mounted on top of the right,
thus mimicking the monoplane configuration of hispitch-control stick.
intended purchase and the later, world-renownedThe scalloped rudder, ensuring yaw-axis stability, was
Bleriot XI, both of his native France.moved by means of a foot-depressed bar.
Hanriot's inadequate experience and capability,Several, ground-attendant facilitated propeller turns,
remedially eliciting the aid of Eugene Ruchonnet, Leoncoupled with right stick-topped, rubber bulb initiated fuel
Levasasseur's engineer, resulted in a secondarypressure build-up and an opened throttle, resulted in
technology-transfer, from boat-building to aerial design,ignition, its proper functioning verified by blip switch
the result of which required its "hull" to substitutetesting.
aerodynamics for fluid dynamics. Something new,Initial taxi and direction were usually aided by the
indeed, often relied on the foundation of something old,ground crew, who lifted the tail from the grass, but a
particularly during the nascent period of aviation.significant power application, bathing the vertical and
Subsequent designs, developments of the firsthorizontal tail surfaces in propeller-generated
constructed at his Rheims workshop, had included theslipstream, often enabled them to become effective.
20-hp, Darracq-engined Libellule and a larger derivativeFinal aerodynamic surface testing and take off
powered by a 40-hp Gype, both of which had enabledacceleration required hand and foot control, the left
him to establish a flying school in Betheney in 1910.stick actuating the wing-warping, the right the
Instrumental in these aircraft had been Louis Wagnerelevator-pitch deflection, and the feet the rudder-yaw
who, like Hanriot himself, had risen from the ground upaxis. Infused with life with a full, forward throttle, the
as a racing car driver, and Marcel Hanriot, Hanriot's son,monoplane required an equally forward stick
who, at the age of 15, had become the world'sdepression to allow the increasing airspeed to act on
youngest pilot.the horizontal tail and aerodynamically leverage it off
Although Hanriot's first airframe had sustained damagethe ground in a forward rotation maneuver, the
during landing, it had nevertheless provided theaircraft's aft-half now "flying," as if it were a
foundation for a smaller, but similar monoplane whichmini-airplane unto itself, with wind-direction caused yaw
had sported a simple, elegant, aerodynamically-cleandeviations corrected with rudder deflections.
configuration when it had appeared in July of 1910 andWith the left hand gripping the wing-warping actuator,
it had embodied features of the transportation modesthe pilot was ready for the transition to air-surrendering
from which it had been developed.flight the moment the still-spinning wheels were
Constructed of ash, spruce, and steel tubes, thedisconnected from the cradling blades of grass-or that
aircraft had a mahogany ply-covered, inverted,instant that the lift-generating wings triumphed over
A-frame, racing skiff-like fuselage which appeared asgravity and separated them from the earthly plane.
if it could equally slice through waves as well as air.The pilot, now a quad-limb extension of a tri-axis aerial
The light, but strong structure eliminated the need forbody, applied positive control during initial climb-out.
the number and complexity of bracing wiresAlthough there were no incremental throttle settings
traditionally required by box frame or girder build-upand the aircraft therefore flew at full, continuous
assembly.power, its original, 35-hp engine had been inadequate to
Cambered, rounded-tip wings, formed by twoexert other than a sluggish, wing-warping created
laminated spars and multiple ribs and covered withbanking response.
unbleached cotton fabric, were steel tape lashed toDescent, induced by a combination of blip switch
the fuselage and hinged, like those of the Wright Flyerpower interruptions and backward-stick, downward
and the Bleriot XI, to induce in-flight banking by meanspitch, enabled the Hanriot to return to the ground, a
of wing-warping. The 30.5-foot span and seven-footmaneuver requiring a balance between power and
chord resulted in a 183 square foot area.gravity. Resettling on to the grass with a final engine
The large, triangular-shaped, fixed horizontal tail,cut, it was both cushioned and resisted by it,
measuring 9.3 feet long by eight feet wide and equallydecelerating as diminished airflow over the horizontal
covered with unbleached cotton, extended to twotail returned the tailskid earthward.
separate, longitudinal-controlling elevators, whichThe Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome example, a
sandwiched the rudder, while the fixed surface hadreproduction constructed by Cole Palen, Mike Lockhart,
been tightly stretched with the aid of two transverseand Andy Keefe with the aid of drawings published in
spars and sported both unmovable, dorsal and ventral,Flight during the winter of 1974 in Florida, had originally
triangular-shaped projections to increase stability.been powered by a 1910, two-cycle, water-cooled
The laced fabric, scalloped, vertical tail, hinged toElbridge Featherweight engine, but it had later been
provide control about the yaw axis, appeared like aretrofitted with a more capable, water-cooled, 50-hp
boat's sail.Franklin after it had sustained connecting rod damage.
Power was provided by a 35-hp, eight-cylinder,Because of its lower weight, it often resulted in a
water-cooled, V-type, E.N.V. engine, mounted on, andnose-high pitch which had to be elevator-counteracted
partially supported by, the A-frame struts, its two rowsduring flight, although its increased horsepower
of cylinders set at 45-degree angles to the verticalproduced more sprightly performance than the original
and sharing a common crankshaft, and it drove aengined-version had offered.
single-bladed, mahogany propeller. The type also flewThe aircraft, initially demonstrating stability problems,
with a Clerget engine.was subsequently modified and first performed in the
The Hanriot Monoplane rested on twin wheels and a1976 Hammondsport Air Show. Demonstrating its
tailskid.handling characteristics much further afield, it partook,
With a 27-foot, 3/4-inch airframe and a seven-foot, 5along with the Curtiss Model D and the Sopwith Camel,
8-inch height, the pioneer aircraft had a 500-poundof the 2003 Australian International Air Show in
gross weight.Geelong, flying circuits round Avalon Airport's
The shallow cockpit, almost resembling a canoe-like11,000-foot runway. Like the other Old Rhinebeck
dugout which virtually placed the pilot on the "deck" ofpioneer designs, including the Curtiss Model D itself and
the racing skiff airframe, featured little more thanthe Bleriot XI, it is relegated to short hops from the
engine and axis-control levers. The right side stick, forgrass field during Saturday, "History of Flight" air shows.