General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

2

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Unknown

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

N/A

Width

N/A

Height

N/A

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Aviation

Category

Aircraft

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Hamilton

Country

United States of America

State/Province

California

City

Palo Alto

Context

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

Period

The museum specimen was built in San Francisco in 1911, either from plans or components. It is believed to be the first California-built, heavier-than-air machine to fly. It was stored in 1911 after a series of accidents, and was purchased by the Museum in 1971.

Canada

Unknown

Function

Unknown

Technical

Although it looked fragile, the Bleriot XI was structurally strong and had considerable modification potential. It was the first aircraft put to military use by France and Italy in 1910 and subsequently by Britain in 1912. At the start of First World War, the French air force contained eight squadrons of Bleriots and the Royal Flying Corps flew several in France with the expeditionary force. The Italians had Bleriots when they entered the war. A total of 132 were built in five versions. On July 25, 1909 England’s isolation ended once and for all when the aircraft designer Louis Bleriot flew across the English Channel in a Bleriot XI. Lateral control was effected by wing warping and by having the main undercarriage wheels castered so that the aircraft could crab in a crosswind on the ground. This device made all operations on the ground very interesting. The Bleriot XI was the first aircraft used in war when it was flown by the Italian air force during the Italo-Turkish war of 1911.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

N/A

Missing

From CA of 03/24/1999 by Mike Irvin: Yes - no, parts missing unknown

Finish

Unknown

Decoration

N/A