100 Year Old Blériot XI by Mikael Carlson - Hahnweide 2019

Thulin A/Bleriot XI restored and flown by Mikael Carlson at Hahnweide 2019 Oldtimer Meeting. Powered with an original 7-cylinder Gnôme-Omega rotary, 50 hp engine.

Louis Blériot was the first airplane designer in Europe to adapt the wing warping system and he used it for his Blériot XI, the first modern monoplane. On July 25th the following year, he was the first aviator to cross the English Channel with his machine.

The Blériot XI is not only famous for the crossing of the Channel. It was also the first aeroplane to cross the Alps, the first aeroplane to be used for military service and the first aeroplane to loop the loop.

The Blériot XI soon became one of most popular aircrafts of the time and a great number were built in many countries. It was used by several air forces during the First World War and one of the countries building the Blériot XI was Sweden. In Sweden the type was used as trainer in the years 1913-1919.

Mikael Carlson owns and flies two of these Blériot XI’s, orginally built by AETA – AB Enoch Thulins Aeroplanfabrik – under the name Thulin A. The first one was found by Mikael in a barn in the late 80’s, disassembled but complete. Mikael restored it to flying condition, took off for the first time in 1991 and have been flying it regularly every year since then. This plane has not only participated in a number of air displays and film productions all over the world but it is also the plane in which Mikael recreated the crossing of the English Channel in 1999, exactly 90 years after Louis Blériot!

The restoration of Mikael’s second Blériot XI was completed in October 2004 and despite the unpredictable Swedish autumn weather all flight tests were completed only weeks later. Mikael crossed the English Channel with this plane in 2009 to celebrate 100 year anniversary of Bleriot’s flight.

Both aeroplanes are equipped with original 7 cylinder Gnôme-Omega 50 hp rotary engines 1908 model, engines of course restored by Mikael himself.

More Info here...
https://aerodrome.se/?page_id=73
https://vintageaviationecho.com/mikae...

Airshow:
http://oldtimer-hahnweide.de/info.php

The Blériot XI is a French aircraft from the pioneer era of aviation. The first example was used by Louis Blériot to make the first flight across the English Channel in a heavier-than-air aircraft, on 25 July 1909. This is one of the most famous accomplishments of the pioneer era of aviation, and not only won Blériot a lasting place in history but also assured the future of his aircraft manufacturing business. The event caused a major reappraisal of the importance of aviation; the English newspaper The Daily Express led its story of the flight with the headline "Britain is no longer an Island".[1]

It was produced in both single- and two-seat versions, powered by several different engines, and was widely used for competition and training purposes. Military versions were bought by many countries, continuing in service until after the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Two restored examples – one in the United Kingdom and one in the United States — of original Blériot XI aircraft are thought to be the two oldest flyable aircraft in the world.

Further development
The Type XI remained in production until the outbreak of the First World War, and a number of variations were produced. Various types of engine were fitted, including the 120° Y-configuration, "full radial" three-cylinder Anzani (the restored example at Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome still flies with this) and the 37 kW (50 hp) and 52 kW (70 hp), seven cylinder Gnome rotary engines. Both single and two-seat versions were built, and there were variations in wingspan and fuselage length. In later aircraft the tip elevators were replaced by a more conventional trailing edge elevator, the tailwheel was replaced by a skid, and the former "house-roof" five-member dorsal cabane being replaced by a simpler, four-sided pyramidally framed unit similar to the ventral arrangement for the later rotary-powered versions. Blériot marketed the aircraft in four categories: trainers, sport or touring models, military aircraft, and racing or exhibition aircraft.