Breguet Type I

Type I

National origin: France
Manufacturer: Louis Breguet
Designed by: Louis Breguet
First flight: 28 June 1909

The Breguet Type I (also known simply as the Breguet Tractor Biplane) was an experimental aircraft built in France in 1909, Louis Breguet's first fixed-wing aircraft design. The frame design was essentially a rectangular prism, with two upper and two lower longerons braced at a number of points along their length. Both sets of longerons supported a set of wings and a horizontal stabiliser, with the vertical bracing at the tail end carrying a pair of rudders. Each of the lower longerons was fitted with a tailwheel and the main undercarriage consisted of a single unit with dual wheels fitted underneath the lower set of wings, framed by a pair of skids. This lower set of wings also carried outrigger wheels near its tips. A gondola mounted above the lower wings contained a set for the pilot and a mount for a V-8 engine that powered the aircraft via a tractor-mounted propeller. The framework was largely of steel. Unlike modern fixed-wing aircraft, pitch control was achieved by pivoting the wings themselves, rather than by the use of elevators.

The machine was displayed in an unfinished state at the Olympia Aero Show in London in March 1909 and first took to the air on 28 June. Breguet himself flew this aircraft in the Reims Aviation Meet in September, but crashed when the machine was caught in a gust of wind and dashed to the ground. Breguet himself was unharmed.

Specifications

Data from Hartmann 2005, p.6

General characteristics

Crew: One pilot
Length: 9.15 m (30 ft 0 in)
Wingspan: 13.70 m (44 ft 11 in)
Wing area: 40.0 m² (404 ft²)
Empty weight: 580 kg (1,300 lb)
Gross weight: 800 kg (1,800 lb)
Powerplant: 1 x— Renault V-8, 45 kW (60 hp)

Performance

Maximum speed: 60 km/h (40 mph)

"The First British Aero Show". Flight: 171-73. 27 March 1909. http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1909/1909%20-%200169.html. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
"Types of Flyers and Sketches of some Leading Models". Flight: 360-62. 19 June 1909. http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1909/1909%20-%200358.html. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
Grant, R.G. (2002). Flight: The complete history. New York, New York: Dorling Kindersley Limited.
Hartmann, Gérard (2005). "Les premiers appareils Breguet". La Coupe Schneider et hydravions anciens/Dossiers historiques hydravions et moteurs. http://www.hydroretro.net/etudegh/breguet.pdf. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
Massac Buist, H. (4 September 1909). "The Flying Races at Rheims". Flight: 537-41. http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1909/1909%20-%200535.html. Retrieved 2008-12-07.

Breguet Type I Pictures and Breguet Type I for Sale.

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Source: WikiPedia