Esnault-Pelterie REP.1
{{Infobox Aircraft Begin
|name=R.E.P. 1 |image=Esnault-Pelterie airplane 1906.jpg |caption=R.E.P. 1 of 1906 preserved at the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris. }}{{Infobox Aircraft Type |type=Experimental aircraft |manufacturer=Robert Esnault-Pelterie |designer=Robert Esnault-Pelterie |first flight=19 October 1907 |introduced= |retired= |status= |primary user= |more users= |produced= |number built=2 |variants with their own articles= }} |
The Esnault-Pelterie R.E.P. 1 was an experimental aircraft built and flown in France in the early twentieth century by Robert Esnault-Pelterie. It was historically significant as the first to employ a joystick as its main flight control.
Design and development
The REP 1 was a single-seat tractor configuration monoplane powered by a {{convert|30|hp|kW|disp=flip|abbr=on}} seven-cylinder two-row semi-radial engine{{cite web|last1=Pearce|first1=William|title=R.E.P/ Fan (Semi-Radial) Aircraft Engines|url=https://oldmachinepress.com/2014/09/04/r-e-p-fan-semi-radial-engines/|website=oldmachinepress.com|accessdate=17 May 2016}} 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.{{cite journal|journal=L'Aérophile|title=Les Premiers Assis Publics d'Aéroplane Esnault-Pelterie|date=October 1907 |page = 289|language =French|url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6551462k/f299.image|accessdate = 9 December 2013}}
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.
Specifications
{{Aircraft specs
| ref=l'Aérophile, October 1907, pp. 290-1
|prime units? = met
| crew=1
| length m=6.85
| length ft=22
| length in=6
| span m=9.60
| span ft=31
| span in=6
| wing area sqm=18.0
| wing area sqft=194
| empty weight kg=230
| gross weight kg=507
| eng1 number=1
| eng1 name=R.E.P. 7-cylinder two-row semi-radial piston engine
| eng1 kw=22
| eng1 hp=30
| max speed kmh=60
| max speed mph=37
}}
{{aircontent
| see also=
| related=
| similar aircraft=
| lists=
}}
Notes
{{reflist}}
References
{{Commons category}}
- Gibbs-Smith, C. H. Aviation. London: NMSI, 2003 {{ISBN|1 900747 52 9}}.
- Opdycke. Leonard E. French Aeroplanes before the Great War. Atglen, PA: Schiffer, 1999 {{ISBN|0-7643-0752-5}}
- 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}}
Category:1900s French experimental aircraft
Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft