Félix du Temple's 1874 Monoplane.

Monoplane was a large plane made of aluminium, built in Brest, France, by Félix du Temple in 1874. Image File history File links 1874DuTemple. ... Image File history File links 1874DuTemple. ... Félix du Temple de la Croix (1823-1890). ... 1874 (MDCCCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... Location within France Brest, at the tip of Brittany Brest is a city in the Bretagne région, north-west France, sous-préfecture of the Finistère département. ... Félix du Temple de la Croix (1823-1890). ...

The plane had a wingspan or 13 meters and a weight of only 80 kilograms (without the pilot). The distance AB is the wing span of this Aer Lingus Airbus A320. ...

Several trials were made with the plane, and it is generally recognized that it achieved lift off under its own power after a ski-jump run, glided for a short time and returned safely to the ground, making it the first successful powered flight in history, although the flight was only a short distance and a short time.

The plane was displayed at the 1878 World Fair (Exposition Universelle (1878)) in Paris. The third Paris Worlds Fair, called an Exposition Universelle in French was held in 1878 and celebrated the recovery of France after the crushing defeat of the 1870 Franco-Prussian War. ...

The plane used a very compact, high-speed circulation steam engine for which Félix du Temple applied for a patent on April 28th 1876. The engine used very small pipes packed together "to obtain the highest possible contact surface for the smallest possible volume" ^[1]

"When he began with the aid of his brother, M. Louis du Temple, to experiment on a large scale, the inadequacy of all motors then known became apparent. They first tried steam at very high pressures, then a hot-air engine, and finally built and patented, in 1876 a very light steam boiler weighing from 39 to 44 lbs. to the horse power, which appears to have been the prototype of some of the light boilers which have since been constructed. It consisted in a series of very thin tubes less than 1/8 in. in internal diameter, through which water circulated very rapidly, and was flashed into steam by the surrounding flame." Octave Chanute, Aeroplanes : Part III, August 1892

The engine design was later adopted by the French Navy for the propulsion of the first French torpedo boats: The French Navy (Marine Nationale) is the maritime arm of the French military and is the largest Western European navy with 45,600 personnel (the United Kingdoms Royal Navy has 43,530). ... A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to launch torpedoes at larger surface ships. ...

"Officers and engineers have now made up their opinion regarding Du Temple's steam engine. Everybody proclaims the superiority of its qualities… orders are pouring in from our commercial harbours and from the French government." Revue Maritime 1888 ("L’opinion est faite aujourd’hui sur la chaudière Du Temple parmi les officiers et les ingénieurs. Tout le monde proclame ses qualités supérieures… les commandes affluent de nos ports de commerce et de la part du gouvernement français".) ^[2]

External links

• Flying machines
• Pioneers and innovators

Notes

1. ^ The patent describes "une demande pour une chaudière à vapeur à circulation rapide donnant la plus grande surface de chauffe possible sous le plus petit volume et le moindre poids."
2. ^ French document

See also

• List of early flying machines
• First flying machine
• Timeline of aviation - 19th century
• History of aviation