Bleriot XI

1909

Early reproduction of documentary drawing of the airplane in a french magazine.

Assembly Manual for ARF stand-off scale model in 1:5 scale. Historical data and presentation. Model design and drawing by Gran Kaldern
1996-07-12
Bleriot XI 1909 ARF 1

The man and his aeroplane

Louis Bleriot was the first aviator that in 1909 successfully crossed the English Channel. The aeroplane was his model XI adapted for the flight, with an extra fuel tank mounted aft of the cockpit and the tail gear locked and braced in fixed position. The engine was an Anzani 3-cylinder "fan-type", aircooled with a rating of 28 hp. The plane was slightly underpowered and the flight in the early morning hours was executed sometimes only a few feet above the wet surface. This aeroplane became very popular all over Europe and was used by flying schools for basic training. More powerful engines were introduced and at the time of the outbreak of the hostilities 1914 one model was equipped with a Gnome Monsoupape 50 hp rotary engine. The centre of thrust-line was then moved up to the centre of the fire wall. As to the tail gear this was sometimes simplified to two crossed bows of bent rattan appropriately fastened to the rear fuselage. The elevator was first fitted as the outer sections of the stabilizer but on

later models as a separate stabilizer and elevator along the rear edge of the former. The planform was also altered. The wings had fixed front spar and the rear spars attached with a joint to the fuselage. The wings were rigged with 2,5 dihedral measured from the wing root. Wing warping was executed via a "double cloche" the wires from the upper "cloche" were led through pulleys in the lover wire pylon out to the rear spar and the under side of the wing. The control was with a fixed wheel and could be moved forward - aft and left - right. The upper warping wires were run from the same positions on the upper side of the wings freely via pulleys on the upper wing support pylon. Elevator wires were run via guide pulley straight aft to the elevator horn, located in the centre line of the fuselage at the elevator main spar. Rudder control wires from the rudder bar to the rudder horn. The pilot was seated in a comfortable chair in the open cockpit frame and he had on his left side a throttle regulator and a magneto switch. At the beginning of the war Louis Bleriot joined forces with the well known S.P.A.D airplane company and many of his designs were notable developments of fighting aircrafts. A recent stamp from USA celebrating pioneer pilots

Svensk Flyghistorisk Tidskrift

This photo shows Bleriot XI in the version 1912, registered S-12, with enlarged rudder planform, stabilizer with elevator along the rear edge and a Gnome rotary engine of 50 hp.

Svensk Flyghistorisk Tidskrift

This photo shows Bleriot XI in two versions. To the left the original with tail wheel, outer elevator panels and a 3-cyl Anzani 28 hp engine. To the right, the 1912 model with enlarged rudder planform, stabilizer with elevator along the rear edge and a Gnome rotary engine of 50 hp. Note also the substitution of the stearable tailwheel with two
Bleriot XI 1909 ARF 2

crossed rattan bows. The latter model has also a turtle deck from the engine cowl to the cockpit. The upper winh support pylon is also reduced to a single inverted V. These aeroplanes were registreded in Sweden with numbers S-14 and S-15 and owned by baron Carl Cederstrm. Sold to the Swedish Army Airforce in 1913.

B A

C D E

E-E B C A C-C E D

Control column B-B Control wires

D-D

Typical airfoil A-A

Bleriot XI
This 3-view depicts the Bleriot XI as it was equipped for the crossing of the English Channel. The construction drawing shows alternative stabilizer, rudder and tail skid

1909

assemblies as well as installation of Gnome 50 hp rotary engine, cowl and turtle decking from engine to cockpit.

Bleriot XI 1909 ARF 3

The photo above shows a Bleriot XI recently restored and flown by Michael Carlsson in Sweden. The tail skid is of later design as developed by Enoch Thulin on his licence built Bleriot XI. Also stabilizer has the later planform with ele-

vator along the trailing edge. Engine is Thuli A1 that develops 65 hp. Note also the turtle deck and the engine cowl. The 3-view below shows the licence built Thulin A (Bleriot XI bis).

Thulin A (modified, licence built Bleriot XI)

Bleriot XI 1909 ARF 4

Svensk Flyghistorisk Tidskrift

Ikaros

The photo above shows Bleriot XI owned and flown by the legendary baron Carl Cederstrm, here at Malmsltt in Sweden 1911. Below is the model in 1:5 scale. Kit plane is supplied with spoked wire wheels. The "Louis Bleriot" pilot figure is not included.

The Model I have chosen the scale 1:5, as it gives a reasonable big airplane but small enough to handle in a car, easy to assemble at the airfield and above all, is relatively forgiving to fly. The model can be converted to the "Channel crosser" but we have chosen to build the somewhat later and impoved version. As you can see from the documentation the variations of the Bleeriot XI are numerous and your choice can be any one of the depicted aircrafts. The airplane comes with the landing gear attached and it remains only to screw the stabilizer in place and attach the and the rudder, control wires to the rudder and elevator horns. The wings are pushed into the fuselage in holes located on the sides and the wing supporting wires attached with the kwick links "turmbuckles. It may be necessary to adjust the tension of the wires. Specification Wingspan: 1602 mm 63,2 inches

Length: 1366 mm 53,9 inches Stabilizor span: 667 mm 26,7 inches Wing incidence: 4 Stab. incidence: 1 Wing surface: 52 dm 74 sq" Wing loading: 61 gm/dm 19 oz/sq' Weight: 3200 gm 7 lb Engine: 40/60 2-stroke or 60/80 4-stroke Engine installation The engine is installed with the engine mount attached. Upright or slanted as you desire. Drill holes in the firewall to suit your engine and use 5 mm. screws and blind nuts as supplied. Lead the throttle cable to the servo through a hole in the firewall and connect the fuel tube from your tank to the carburator. Radio/servo installation The receiver and battery are located on the upper tray behind the fire wall alongside the tank.
Bleriot XI 1909 ARF 5

Ikaros

Upper warping wires Rudder wires

Front landing (upper) wires

Front flying (lower) wires Elevator wires Front flying (lower) wires are attached to the lower landing gear bar

Lower warping wires

The location of the rigging wires.

The servos for rudder, elevator and trottle are affixed in the servo tray with special screws and grommets. The wingwarping servo is affixed to the bracket below the rear wing tube fitting. All rudder surfaces are controlled with pull-pull wires, which is scale and very reliable. The wires are attached directly to the servo arms. Fuselage The fuselage is completely built up. This unit is complete with wheels and all rigging wires attached. The stabilizer must be attached to the fuselage and the wing appropriately affixed to the fuselage. The fire wall shoul get engine mounts affixed with bolts through the fire wall. If you have selected the ARF version you now have to attend to the finish. The allready covered model leaves only insignias and markings to be applied. Rudder The rudder with hinges is pushed in to the fuselage and the hinges should be secured in position. The only remaining thing is to attach the rudder wires to the rudder. Stabilizor / elevator The stabilizer is attached to the fuselage at the underside of the fuselage using supplied screws through the stabilizer into the holes with blind nuts attached on the inside. Aluminium stabilizer support struts supplied, are fixed permanently to the fuselage and the stabilizor with sheet metal screws. Attach the elevator wires from the elevator servo arm to the elevator horn. Note that the wires are crossed so that the lower wire at the servo attaches to th upper horn on the elevator.

The model has detailed reproduction of the empennage and the "tail skid" is made of rattan.
Bleriot XI 1909 ARF 6

Model of Bleriot XI at a scale meet in Sweden. Builder and pilot: Lennart Waltersson Wings The wings are pushed into the holes in the fuselage. Start with attaching the upper front "landing" wires to the fittings in the wings. Next step is to attach the lower front "flying" wires to the fittings in the underside of the wings. Now add the upper wingwarping wires to the rear fittings on the upper side if the wings. Finally attach the warping actuating wires from the servo arm via the lower pulley out to the rear lower side fittings. When moving the servo arm the wing should now "warp". A deflection of " up and down at the wing tip is recomended. Make sure that the warping correspond to what you expect from ailerons on a conventional model. Rigging We will run over this step in condensed form once again. Start with the front upper wires. Attach the wires to the pylon pemanently. Clip the kwick-link "turnbuckle" to the eylet in the wings. Leave the kwivklink threaded half way on the screw. Insert the wire, stretch so that the wing tip gets the required dihedral 2 or 38 mm measured at the wing tip, and lock in position. Fine adjustments can be made later on the "turnbuckle". Proceed with the lower front wires in the same fashion. The wing is now locked in the proper position. Add the upper warping wires by attaching the kwick-links in the same manner as before. Starting on the outer rigging wire, fix it to the "turnbuckle", route it through the pulley in the rear upper pylon and then stretch it and fix it to the opposite wing panel. Make sure that you get the desired wash out at this moment. Proceed in the same manner with the inner upper warping wire, The lower warping wires are attached in much the same manner with the only difference that you start at the servo arm in the fuselage and the wire is routed via the pulley to the wing panel fixing point. Note that the wires are crossed from the pulley to the servo. The rudder an elevator wires ar installed in the same fashion starting at the servo arms. The "turnbuckles" ar located at the elevator and rudder horns. Route the wires straight to the respective ponts on the rudder and elevator horns. Finishing
Bleriot XI 1909 ARF 7

We suggest that you paint all wooden surfaces with 2 -3 coats of clear fuel-proofing. The wings and the tail feathers could also be given a coat of the same for the weathered antique look. Shrinking airplane dope is not recommended as you need the flexibility in the wings to minimize the strain on the warping servo.

Dummy engine
A dummy of the Anzani 3 cylinder engine is supplied and has to be removed and replaced wiith your engine for flying. Scale propeller Supplied is the finished scale propeller with front mounting plate. The hole is drilled for 6 mm propellershaft and may have to be enlarged to fit your engine. Flying Make sure that you have set the elevator throw as recommended. Check also that the wings have proper dihedral and wash out. The airplane should balance at a point 25 - 30% of the wing cord from the leading edge. Add weight at the front if required. Take off with this airplane is straight into the wind only. Dont try to pull it of the ground. Let it lift off gently. Make the turns with wing warping and rudder/ elevator. It is not a pattern plane! Enjoy cruising in the blue sky and feel the thrill of the early aviator. Happy and safe landings!

What is in the box: The ARF kit contains the parts shown in the picture below. All the rigging wires are supplied in the correct lengths and need only to be clipped to their positions.

10 1

2 6 5 3 4

1. Fuselage with wing warping pylon and tail skid assy. 2. Landing gear 3. Spoked wheels 4. Rudder 5. Elevator

6. Scale propeller 7. Left wing panel 8. Right wing panel 9. Wires, turnbuckles and hardware for assembly (not shown) 10. Assembly manual with scale documentation

K&W Model Airplanes Inc.

Bleriot XI 1909 ARF 8

P.O.Box 1229, Cebu City Centrl. Postoffice Cebu City 6000, Philippines Visiting address: 3343 Gun-Ob, Kinalumsan, Lapu-Lapu City 6015, PHILIPPINES Phone +63 32-340 7147, Cellular +63 917-3200 985 Telefax +63 32-340 7131, E-mail: kwmairpl@gsilink.com