Ponnier D.III
Ponnier · France · first flew 1913 · light aircraft
The Ponnier D.III was a French monoplane racing aircraft designed to compete in the 1913 Gordon Bennett Trophy race. It finished a close second.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Mid-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Flat-sided, deep-chested fuselage with a finless rudder |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Mid-wing monoplane with pyramidal four-strut pylon carrying landing wires
- Oil-deflecting cowling around a fourteen-cylinder Gnome rotary
- Flat-sided, deep-chested fuselage with a finless rudder
A 160 hp Gnome Lambda-Lambda rotary drives a 2 m propeller. The oval open cockpit sits at mid-wing just aft of the pylon, and a straight-edged tailplane sits on the upper fuselage ahead of the rudder.
Specifications
- The Ponnier D.III has a length of 5.41 m (18 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 7.16 m (23 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 200 km/h (124 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Alfred Pagny designed it, and a similar monoplane for Hanriot, after Louis Alfred Ponnier took over Hanriot's aircraft interests. The designs followed Nieuport practice, with flat-sided, deep-chested fuselages.
Variants
Only one was built. It was sometimes referred to as the Hanriot D.III.
Where you'll see it
Emile Vedrines flew it in the Gordon Bennett Trophy at Rheims, and after an hour it finished second, 66 seconds behind a Deperdussin Monocoque. Both aircraft used the same double-row engine.
Related aircraft
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