Gastambide-Mengin Monoplane
Antoinette · France · first flew 1908 · light aircraft
The Gastambide-Mengin monoplane of 1908 was a pioneering early French aircraft built by the Antoinette company for its co-founders Jules Gastambide and Henri Mengin, making four short flights in February 1908 before the design was abandoned. It served as the direct progenitor of the Antoinette monoplane series.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Mid-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 7.9 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Very early monoplane with quadricycle undercarriage and exposed wire bracing
- Large-diameter direct-drive tractor propeller on Antoinette V-8 engine
- Steel-sheet girder wing spars with wire cross-bracing — no internal wing structure
An open skeletal framework monoplane without an enclosed fuselage, sitting on four bicycle-type wheels. The large Antoinette V-8 engine at the nose drives a massive two-blade propeller, and the wings are braced by wire running to king posts above and below.
Specifications
- The Gastambide-Mengin Monoplane has a length of 7.9 m (26 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 10 m (33 ft).
- Typical crew: 1 pilot.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Inspired by Robert Esnault-Pelterie's REP monoplanes, Gastambide and Mengin commissioned the design from Antoinette engineer Léon Levavasseur. Four flights of up to 150 metres were made at Bagatelle in February 1908, making it among the earliest powered monoplane flights in Europe. Levavasseur then refined the concept into the Antoinette IV, which achieved the first crossing of the English Channel by a monoplane.
Variants
No variants; the design was immediately superseded by the Antoinette series proper.
Where you'll see it
Experimental only; flew briefly in 1908 and was not developed further.
Related aircraft
- Antoinette IV
- Ferber IX
- Antoinette VII
- Antoinette VIII
- AEA June Bug
- AEA White Wing
- British Army Aeroplane No.1
- Cody British Army Aeroplane No.1
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