Monday, April 12

1874 "Monoplane" of Felix du Temple de la Croix


In 1874, the two brothers de la Croix built the Monoplane, a large plane made of aluminium in BrestFrance, with a wingspan of 13 meters and a weight of only 80 kilograms (without the pilot). 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, possibly making it the first successful powered flight in history, depending on the definition — since 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.

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