Blériot V

Blériot · France · first flew 1907 · light aircraft

The Blériot V was an early French aircraft built by Louis Blériot in 1907 and was his first monoplane. It was the first of his experimental aircraft to achieve any measure of success.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	High-mounted, elliptical
E — Engines	1 × piston, tail-mounted
F — Fuselage	Canard layout with a small elevator at the front of the fuselage
T — Tail	No tailplane

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Canard layout with a small elevator at the front of the fuselage
High-set cantilever wings with leading edges forming a quarter circle
Rear-mounted Antoinette V-8 driving a pusher propeller

It has a small elevator at the front of the fuselage and a large semi-circular rudder on a frame behind the propeller. The high-set cantilever wings have leading edges that form a quarter circle, with large curved tips.

Specifications

The Blériot V has a length of 8.5 m (28 ft).
It has a wingspan of 7.8 m (26 ft).
Typical crew: 1.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

It was a canard pusher monoplane with a braced wooden box-girder fuselage covered with varnished silk, and the 24 hp Antoinette water-cooled V-8 engine sat at the rear. The wings were made of wood covered with varnished paper and could be folded upwards for transport.

Variants

Only one aircraft was built, and it was destroyed in a crash.

Where you'll see it

After taxiing trials in March and early April 1907, it briefly left the ground on 5 April, covering only about 6 m. On 19 April it left the ground at around 50 km/h, then hit the ground nose-first and somersaulted, and was largely destroyed.

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