Photo Sequence: First flight of EAA’s 1909 Bleriot XI replica

A brief snapshot look as EAA's volunteer-built Bleriot replica takes to the air for the first time. All photos by Zack Baughman.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBCJXOKt51E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBCJXOKt51E

Was there any damage to the tip?

Just incredible to see it off the ground! Very cool...

To the great relief of everyone watching the flight, the Bleriot was completely undamaged. The same, amazing flexibility of the Bleriot fuselage that renders the controls somewhat sluggish also seems to protect it from the sort of ground contact that would damage stiffer aircraft.

Amazing video.....

It looked like it flexed nicely...;)

Those are great photos. I tried to phone Zack at the museum, but got a recording that said he was off for a week.

Even Zack is allowed time for a busman's holiday!

In 1980-83, I designed, built and flew a replica of a 1914 Stahltaube (steel dove), a German training and liason aircraft from pre-WWI. Like the Bleriot, it too had warping wingtips. The wings had reflexed upward warping tips which I made using conventional, built-up wood ribs and unidirectional fiberglass rods as the warping tips. It was a very good flier and quite stable for its vintage. I owe much of the stability to the reflexed-up tips. In a turn the descending wingtip curls up even more, increasing drag and countering adverse yaw, The ascending wingtip curls down and more closely resembles a standard airfoil shape, thus reducing drag. In the Bleriot video it appears when the nose pitched up the tips might have been stalled already at their high angle of attack. Without any means of countering adverse yaw other than the diminutive rudder, I would recommend rigging in some wingtip washout so that the tips stay out of stall at low speeds. My Stahltaube can be seen at the South County Antique Aircraft Museum in San Martin, CA if anyone is interested in seeing it. I flew it about 14 hrs. before donating it to the museum.
-Joel Marketello