The Bristol Coanda Monoplanes were a series of

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

trainers designed by the

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n designer

Henri Coandă Henri Marie Coandă (; 7 June 1886 – 25 November 1972)''Flight'' 1973 was a Romanian inventor, aerodynamics pioneer, and builder of an experimental aircraft, the Coandă-1910 described by Coandă in the mid-1950s as the world's first jet, a co ...

for the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

company

British and Colonial Aeroplane Company The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aircraft engines. Notable a ...

. Several versions of the plane were built from 1912 onwards with both tandem and side-by-side

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the controls that e ...

s. Several were purchased by the War Office for use as trainers by the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

. International purchases were by

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and

. One example survives in the

Gianni Caproni Museum of Aeronautics The Gianni Caproni Museum of Aeronautics (Italian: ''Museo dell'Aeronautica Gianni Caproni'') is Italy's oldest aviation museum, as well as the country's oldest corporate museum. It was established in 1927 as the Caproni Museum (''Museo Caproni'') ...

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th centu ...

, Italy.

Design and development

The Romanian aircraft designer

joined Bristol in January 1912. His first design for Bristol was a two-seat monoplane trainer, a development of the

Bristol Prier Monoplane __NOTOC__ The Bristol Prier monoplane was an early British aircraft produced in a number of single- and two-seat versions. Background The Bristol Prier Monoplanes were a series of tractor configuration monoplanes designed for the Bristol and Co ...

, controlled by

wing warping Wing warping was an early system for lateral (roll) control of a fixed-wing aircraft. The technique, used and patented by the Wright brothers, consisted of a system of pulleys and cables to twist the trailing edges of the wings in opposite direc ...

. The first prototype flew in March 1912. A series of similar aircraft followed with both tandem and side-by-side

s, known as the School Monoplane and the Side by Side Monoplane. A more powerful derivative was built for a

competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, ind ...

to provide aircraft for the British

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

. Two aircraft, known as Competition Monoplanes were built and entered into the competition, together with two Bristol Gordon England biplanes. The aircraft were flown by Harry Busteed, Bristol's test pilot and James Valentine. These did well in the competition, rated equal fifth and were described at the time as "well-designed and well-constructed" though criticised as "heavy for the wing area" and lacking in power. This resulted in their being purchased by the War Office for use as trainers by the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

. These two aircraft formed the basis for a revised military trainer, the Military Monoplane, which had increased wingspan. The Military Monoplane later formed the basis for the

Bristol TB.8 The Bristol T.B.8, or Bristol-Coanda T.B.8 was an early British biplane built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company and designed by the Romanian Henri Coandă. Fifty four Bristol T.B.8s were built, being mainly used as a trainer. A small number of B ...

, several being rebuilt into TB8s.

Operational history

Wolvercote TollBridge Monument Bettington&Hotchkiss

The first School and Side by Side monoplanes entered service with flying schools operated by Bristol at

Larkhill Larkhill is a garrison town in the civil parish of Durrington, Wiltshire, England. It lies about west of the centre of Durrington village and north of the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge. It is about north of Salisbury. The settlement ...

and

Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields ...

. One tandem and two side-by-side machines were sold to

, with four tandem and three side-by-side aircraft being sold to

. The two Competition Monoplanes were bought by the War Office after the Military Aircraft Competition, being used as trainers for the RFC. However, on 10 September 1912, one of the Competition Monoplanes crashed on Godstow Road,

Lower Wolvercote Wolvercote is a village that is part of the City of Oxford, England. It is about northwest of the city centre, on the northern edge of Wolvercote Common, which is itself north of Port Meadow and adjoins the River Thames. History The Domesd ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primaril ...

, killing Lieutenants Edward Hotchkiss and Claude Bettington. While this was traced to one of the bracing wires becoming detached, it resulted in a five-month ban of flying of all monoplanes by the military wing of the RFC. Despite this ban, Military Monoplanes were purchased by

and

, with a production license being granted to

Caproni Caproni, also known as ''Società de Agostini e Caproni'' and ''Società Caproni e Comitti'', was an Italian aircraft manufacturer. Its main base of operations was at Taliedo, near Linate Airport, on the outskirts of Milan. Founded by Giovan ...

(although this license was later cancelled, only two being built by Caproni).

Variants

;School Monoplane :Trainer aircraft with tandem cockpits. Powered by 50 hp (40 kW)

Gnome A gnome is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature. Its characte ...

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...

. Six built. ;Side by Side Monoplane :Trainer aircraft with side-by-side cockpit. Powered by 50 hp (40 kW)

engine. Six built. ;Competition Monoplane :Two aircraft built for War Office Military Aeroplane Competition. Powered by 80 hp (60 kW) Gnome engine. ;Daimler Monoplane :Single aircraft powered by 70 hp (50 kW) Daimler engine. Overweight and unsuccessful. ;Military Monoplane :Improved development of Competition Monoplane with increased wingspan. Powered by 80 hp (60 kW) Gnome engine. 21 built.

Operators

; *

Corpo Aeronautico Militare The Italian Corpo Aeronautico Militare (Military Aviation Corps) was formed as part of the Regio Esercito (Royal Army) on 7 January 1915, incorporating the Aviators Flights Battalion (airplanes), the Specialists Battalion (airships) and the Ballo ...

; *

Romanian Air Corps The Romanian Air Corps or Aviation Corps (RAC) ( ro, Corpul de Aviație) was the air arm of the Romanian army until the formation of the Romanian Air Force. It was established on 1 April 1913 as the Military Aeronautics Service () and subordina ...

; *

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

Aircraft on display

Caproni Bristol monoplane three-quarter view

A single Bristol Coanda Monoplane survives, in the

, Italy, being the oldest surviving Bristol aircraft still in existence. This aircraft was a pattern aircraft sent to Caproni as a basis for their licensed production., never being flown, but was restored to a complete example for display at the museum

Specifications (Military)

References

External links

* – contemporary photographs {{Aviation accidents and incidents in the United Kingdom

Monoplanes A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

1910s British military trainer aircraft Aviation accidents and incidents in England Aviation accidents and incidents in 1912 Henri Coandă Single-engined tractor aircraft Mid-wing aircraft Rotary-engined aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1912

Design and development

Operational history

Variants

Operators

Aircraft on display

Specifications (Military)

See also

References

External links