Giant Curtiss JN Jenny Biplane and Blériot XI Monoplane

[dominicm]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ofuw9x7jIQ

[Marty_d]

Lovely watching those big slow models. Too often r/c models are too quick/agile and it doesn't look like a real aircraft.

[facthunter]

Wouldn't be much harder to build the real thing. I've always wanted a Bleriot Xl.  Nev

[old man emu]

18 hours ago, facthunter said:

Wouldn't be much harder to build the real thing. I've always wanted a Bleriot Xl.  Nev

You won't be able to do it under Part 103 because the Bleriot XI had an Empty weight of 230 kg (507 lb) and would a wing loading of 3.38 lbs/sq ft meet Part 10 requirements?

[facthunter]

This is not under the 103 topic. It would fit  under RAAus rules The usual "empty' Wt is around 310 Kgs for a 2 seater in that category.  Nev

[sfGnome]

20 hours ago, facthunter said:

Wouldn't be much harder to build the real thing. I've always wanted a Bleriot Xl.  Nev

It was a picture of a Bleriot XI that piqued my interest in aviation. I was only about 8 at the time, but I thought “I could build that!”, and the thought has never left me. However, these days I think “where’s the roll-over protection?”, so when I build, it won’t be a Bleriot… 🫣

[Marty_d]

7 minutes ago, sfGnome said:

It was a picture of a Bleriot XI that piqued my interest in aviation. I was only about 8 at the time, but I thought “I could build that!”, and the thought has never left me. However, these days I think “where’s the roll-over protection?”, so when I build, it won’t be a Bleriot… 🫣

Probably wouldn't be hard to design a quick-release rollover bar.  Leave it off for ground viewing, put it on before flight.

 

[Marty_d]

Actually - wouldn't rollover protection be afforded by the A frame kingpost structure that holds the upper wires?

[facthunter]

Totally adequate and the whole thing weighs 230 Kgs most of it in the engine .It will probably land at 30 Kmhr, less the wind speed but I doubt you want a lot of wind  when you're flying such a plane.  Nev

[sfGnome]

Stop trying to persuade me. If the plane doesn’t kill me, my beloved will! 😝

[facthunter]

Life wasn't meant to be easy. Get a group together and build a few and let the wives help with the fabric and leather. Nev

[Marty_d]

Great idea Nev.  sfGnome, if you were in Tassie instead of NSW I'd be tempted to join a building group too.

[facthunter]

Would be worthwhile to contact people in New Zealand as well. The engine is a 3 cyl 3 litre Anzani of just over 30 HP. Some have Rotary Gnome et Rhone.. The front of the Plane is very suited for that.   Nev

[old man emu]

What is the most important thing about the Bleriot X1 that excited sfGnome so that it became his pin-up? At eight years of age, I doubt if it was the intimate details of the construction and power plant. I bet, that to him, it was simply a thing of beauty.

 

Henri did not have the materials and the engines that have been developed since his day. The airframe was a box-girder fuselage built from ash with wire cross bracing. What would be wrong with replacing the wood with aluminium tubing? One could always paint the aluminium the colour of ash for a bit of simulation. As for the engine, why revert to one of a primitive level of metallurgy? Since the idea is to be able to get the thing into the air and experience what those early aviators did, what is wrong with using a small engine of modern design? It wouldn't look the same as a 3 cyl Anzani, but once in the air, who could tell?

 

As for the undercarriage, Bleriot had the wheels mounted in castering trailing arms which could slide up and down steel tubes, the movement being sprung by bungee cords. This simple and ingenious design allowed crosswind landings with less risk of damage. A sprung tailwheel was fitted to the rear fuselage in front of the tailplane, with a similar castering arrangement. Nothing much changed in the materials for that setup.

 

The hardware to join the bits together hasn't changed much. A bolt is still a bolt. A hinge is still a hinge, as time goes by. You could cover what needs to be covered with Dacron, which is likely to be lighter that the linen he probably used.

 

Strewth! you might knock so much weight off by using modern materials that it could be Part 103 

[facthunter]

It's best as it is. The engine has lots of torque and swings a big dia Prop. A lighter Rotary Gnome would be the motor of choice for me. Get it too light and it's too wind sensitive. It probably already is so you wouldn't want it worse.  Nev