Country of origin:

United States of America

Description:

Single-seat single-engine ultralight monoplane

Power Plant:

One 82 kw (110 hp) Rotec R-2800 seven-cylinder air-cooled radial engine

Specifications:

History:

For some years Airdrome Aeroplanes at its Holden, Missouri, USA facility has produced 75% scale and full scale replicas of World War I aircraft for the amateur constructor, supplying kits to interested builders. The Company has used plans of the original aircraft but new build aircraft have been constructed using aluminium tubing, produced in a series of kits to spread the cost. In the 75% scale aircraft engines in the 30 kw to 48 kw (40 hp to 65 hp) range have been usually installed and invariably the Rotax 503 has been installed, although a few have been fitted with a Volkswagen conversion [1800 cc]. Covering has been with fabric and examples of a number of the Company’s designs have been imported to this region and built.

One of these aircraft is the Bleriot XI, well known in Australia and overseas, being used by Louis Bleriot to fly across the English Channel, and by Maurice Guillaux in Australia to perform the first airmail flight from Melbourne, VIC to Sydney, NSW. In the United States Mr Robert Baslee with Mr Pascal Kremer, a Luxair pilot in Luxembourg, built an Airdrome Aeroplanes Bleriot XI kit with some changes; instead of Oak and Poplar being used in the construction, he used 6061-T6 aluminium painted to look like wood. For this aircraft the aerofoil shape was modified slightly when the trailing-edge was converted to ailerons; and it had a VHF radio and Mode S transponder for flight. The first aircraft had wing warping but a couple of subsequent aircraft have been fitted with ailerons.

Flight tests were carried out at Holden in Missouri. The prototype was shown at the Sun ‘n Fun Fly-in in Florida in the United States before being taken to France where, flying at between 457 m to 610 m (1,500 ft to 2,000 ft), it was flown across the English Channel on 25 July 2009 to replicate Bleriot’s flight on 25 July 1909.

A full scale example has been completed in New Zealand, this aircraft being completed in early 2015 as ZK-BXI (c/n BLE-003), the third of the Airdrome Aeroplanes kits of the type completed, and was registered to its owner, Gert van Kruiningen, at Rangiora in March 2015, the fuselage frame being constructed of aluminium tubes riveted together. This aircraft made its first flight on 31 January 2016, having been shown to the public previously at the Classic Fighters Air Show at Omaka in 2015. It has been fitted with ailerons and has a 1928 era Velie M-5 five-cylinder air-cooled radial engine.

Further full scale examples have been built, one by Eric Preston in the United States, and have wing warping. The Australian-built Rotex R-2800 engine or a Volkswagen conversion (2800 cc) have been installed, both of these units providing 82 kw (110 hp).