Hanriot monoplane
The Hanriot monoplane was the first aircraft built by Frenchman René Hanriot in 1910.
René Hanriot was actually a successful racing car driver. In May 1908 he ordered an Antoinette - monoplane with a 25 hp engine. The delivery was delayed and Hanriot decided to build his own aircraft. This was largely similar to the Antoinette with its typical hull.
In February 1909 he founded the company Société des monoplans Hanriot with a starting capital of 500,000 francs, and in September Hanriot presented the first model at the 1st Salon de l'Aéronautique in Paris . Although the machine had not yet flown, 20 pieces were ordered.
The first flight attempts failed because the 45 HP Buchet engine was too heavy at 155 kg. He was replaced by a 78 kg Clément-Bayard . The first flight tests were carried out in the winter of 1909/10. Hanriot and his test pilot Emile Ruchonnet decided to build the machine in an even lighter version, the Type II . The aircraft called Libellule (dragonfly) first flew in April 1910 in Bétheny near Reims .
With the two-seat Type IV , the French army also began to take an interest in the aircraft. Hanriot's son Marcel obtained a pilot's license and demonstrated the aircraft and its successor types V and VI in 1910. They won a number of awards in the aviation shows. Hanriot replaced the engine with a 40 hp ENV model. In total, Hanriot was able to sell more than 100 machines.
Despite the excellent flight characteristics, Hanriot could not enforce his model in the Military Trials of 1912. Hanriot could no longer avert bankruptcy and from 1913 he returned to the automobile industry. During the First World War he began building aircraft again with Emile Dupont and the Hanriot-Dupont HD.1 . Other Hanriot aircraft types were built until the German invasion of France in 1940.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Hanriot monoplane type IV |
|---|---|
| crew | 1 |
| Passengers | 1 |
| length | 8.25 m |
| span | 9.15 m |
| Wing area | 17 m² |
| height | 2.15 m |
| Takeoff mass | 225 kg |
| Top speed | 100 km / h |
| Engines | an ENV 8-cylinder V-engine with 40 hp |
Museum plane
In 1974, Cole Palen, Mike Lockhart and Andy Keefe recreated a Hanriot monoplane. Today it is in the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in Rhinebeck ( New York ).