The Bates Monoplane was a pioneering aircraft built by

Carl Sterling Bates Carl S. Bates (January 1, 1884 – August 27, 1956) was an aviation pioneer from Clear Lake, Iowa. He piloted gliders in 1899, and in 1906 he designed a gasoline-powered airplane that was equipped with an air-cooled engine, a metal propeller and met ...

in 1911.

Design and development

Bates developed his first aircraft, a piloted kite in 1898 at the age of 14 at

Clear Lake, Iowa Clear Lake is a city in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,687 at the 2020 census. The city is named for the large lake on which it is located. It is the home of a number of marinas, state parks and tourism-related ...

. Later as a student of

Octave Chanute Octave Chanute (February 18, 1832 – November 23, 1910) was a French-American civil engineer and aviation pioneer. He provided many budding enthusiasts, including the Wright brothers, with help and advice, and helped to publicize their flying ...

, he developed his own biplane in 1908 with a similar design as a Curtiss biplane. Bates raced a modified Buick at Daytona with this tricycle gear aircraft. In 1911 he started on an all original design of his own, including a lightweight engine. The monoplane was built using a wooden fuselage, with a fabric covered oval steel tube tail section. Bates developed his own engine for the aircraft that was also used on the Steinhous tandem biplane, and the Charles A. Hibbard monoplane of the same period.

Operational history

Bates tested and flew his designs at

Cicero Field Chicago Midway International Airport , typically referred to as Midway Airport, Chicago Midway, or simply Midway, is a major commercial airport on the Southwest side of Chicago, Illinois, located approximately 12 miles (19 km) from the Lo ...

before the airport officially opened. His monoplane demonstrated, and crashed on the same day when the field opened on 4 July 1911. The aircraft was later rebuilt with a 3-cylinder Poyer engine by Heath. In 1912 Bates Aeroplane company was sold to

Heath Aircraft Company A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

. An example of a 1912 Bates monoplane is in the

EAA Airventure Museum The EAA Aviation Museum, formerly the EAA AirVenture Museum (or Air Adventure Museum), is a museum dedicated to the preservation and display of historic and experimental aircraft as well as antiques, classics, and warbirds. The museum is lo ...

Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, of which it is the county seat. The city had a population of 66,816 in 2020, making it the ninth-largest city in Wisconsin. It is also adjacent to the Town of Oshkosh. History Oshkosh was ...

It was purchased in 1918 and stored in a barn until its restoration in 1957.

Specifications (Bates Monoplane)

References

{{refend 1910s United States civil utility aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1911