Esnault-Pelterie REP 2 Monoplane on:
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The Esnault-Pelterie R.E.P. 1 and the R.E.P. 2 were experimental aircraft built and flown in France in the early twentieth century by Robert Esnault-Pelterie. These aircraft are historically significant because they were the first to employ a
The REP 1 was a single-seat tractor configuration monoplane powered by a seven-cylinder two-row semi-radial engine driving a four-bladed propeller with aluminium blades rivetted to steel tubes. The fuselage was made largely of steel tubing covered in varnished silk and the wings of wood. An elongated triangular fixed horizontal stabiliser was mounted on top of the rear fuselage with a rectangular elevator mounted on the trailing edge, and a fixed fin and rudder were mounted under the fuselage. Lateral control was effected by wing-warping. The main landing gear consisted of a single centrally mounted wheel mounted on a pneumatic damper, with a small tailwheel mounted on the rudder. Large outrigger wheels were fitted to the tips of the wings, which featured marked anhedral.
Esnault-Pelterie began testing the R.E.P. 1 in September 1907, initially flying the aircraft as a glider before attempting powered flights. Throughout October, these flights became increasingly successful.
The R.E.P. 1 is preserved at the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris.
The R.E.P. 2 differed from the R.E.P. 1 in having a slightly different undercarriage (of the same general arrangement) in addition to a large ventral
joystick
A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. A joystick, also known as the control column, is the principal cont ...
as their main flight control.
R.E.P. 1
The REP 1 was a single-seat tractor configuration monoplane powered by a seven-cylinder two-row semi-radial engine driving a four-bladed propeller with aluminium blades rivetted to steel tubes. The fuselage was made largely of steel tubing covered in varnished silk and the wings of wood. An elongated triangular fixed horizontal stabiliser was mounted on top of the rear fuselage with a rectangular elevator mounted on the trailing edge, and a fixed fin and rudder were mounted under the fuselage. Lateral control was effected by wing-warping. The main landing gear consisted of a single centrally mounted wheel mounted on a pneumatic damper, with a small tailwheel mounted on the rudder. Large outrigger wheels were fitted to the tips of the wings, which featured marked anhedral.
Esnault-Pelterie began testing the R.E.P. 1 in September 1907, initially flying the aircraft as a glider before attempting powered flights. Throughout October, these flights became increasingly successful.
The R.E.P. 1 is preserved at the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris.
R.E.P. 2
The R.E.P. 2 differed from the R.E.P. 1 in having a slightly different undercarriage (of the same general arrangement) in addition to a large ventral balanced rudder
Balanced rudders are used by both ships and aircraft. Both may indicate a portion of the rudder surface ahead of the hinge, placed to lower the control loads needed to turn the rudder. For aircraft the method can also be applied to elevators and ...
.
Tests with the R.E.P. 2 commenced in June 1908, and on 8 June a flight of was made, reaching an altitude of 30 m (100 ft), setting a height and distance record for monoplanes. The aircraft was then modified by the addition of a trapezoidal dorsal fin, to create the R.E.P. ''bis''. In this form, piloted by M. Châteaux, it won the third Ae.C.F. prize for a flight of over 200 metres on 21 November 1908, with an officially observed flight of . It was then exhibited at the Paris Aero Salon in December 1908 and at the Aero Show at Olympia in London in 1909. It was entered for the '' Grande Semaine d'Aviation'' in Reims
Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne.
Founded by ...
in August 1909, but Esnault-Pelterie did not compete there owing to an injury to his hand.
Specifications (R.E.P. 1)
Notes
References
* Gibbs-Smith, C. H. ''Aviation''. London: NMSI, 2003 . * Opdycke. Leonard E. ''French Aeroplanes before the Great War''. Atglen, PA: Schiffer, 1999 * Taylor, M. J. H. ''Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation''. London: Studio Editions, 1989 p. 351 * ''World Aircraft Information Files''. London: Bright Star, File 893 Sheet 06 {{Esnault-Pelterie aircraft 1900s French experimental aircraft REP aircraft High-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1907 Aircraft first flown in 1908