__NOTOC__ The Ellehammer triplane was a pioneering aircraft built in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

in 1907. Unlike Ellehammer's semi-biplane of the previous year, this (otherwise unnamed) triplane was capable of making free, untethered flights. The aircraft featured three sets of triangular wings attached to an open tubular framework. The upper set was one continuous-span, but the lower sets were split and attached either side of the frame. A

horizontal stabiliser A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplan ...

was fitted aft of the frame. There were no conventional vertical stabilizers, however the covered tailwheel provided a very small amount of surface area for stability. On 14 January 1908 Ellehammer achieved a flight in this machine of 175 m (574 ft) and on 13 February, one of 300 m (1,000 ft). Around this time, he also started making curved flights. In June, Ellehammer demonstrated the triplane in

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

, where he was able to collect a M 5,000 prize from Prince Henry of Prussia for making a powered flight in Germany.

References

* {{Ellehammer aircraft 1900s Danish experimental aircraft

Triplane A triplane is a fixed-wing aircraft equipped with three vertically stacked wing planes. Tailplanes and canard foreplanes are not normally included in this count, although they occasionally are. Design principles The triplane arrangement may ...

Single-engined tractor aircraft Triplanes Aircraft first flown in 1907