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 wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

trainers designed by the

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

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, which never flew. He invented a great number of devices, designed ...

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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

company British and Colonial Aeroplane Company. 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, on the front part of an aircraft, spacecraft, or submersible, from which a pilot controls the vehicle. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the controls th ...

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

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

. International purchases were by

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

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 language, Ladin and ; ; ; ; ; ), also known in English as Trent, is a city on the Adige, Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the Trentino, autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th ...

, 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, controlled by

wing warping Wing warping was an early system for lateral (roll) control of a fixed-wing aircraft or kite. 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 opposit ...

. 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, indi ...

to provide aircraft for the British

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

. 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

. 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, several being rebuilt into TB8s.

Operational history

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,

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, killing Lieutenants Edward Hotchkiss and

Claude Bettington Claude Albemarle Bettington (13 May 1875, Cape Colony - 10 September 1912, Wolvercote, Oxfordshire, England) was a mining engineer and a pioneer aviator from South Africa. Early life Claude Albemarle Bettington was the son of Col. Rowland Albemarl ...

. 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 Giova ...

(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, introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and widely adopted by authors, including those of modern fantasy literature. They are typically depict ...

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 ge ...

. 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 Daimler is a German surname. It may refer to: People * Gottlieb Daimler (1834–1900), German inventor, industrialist and namesake of a series of automobile companies * Adolf Daimler (1871–1913), engineer and son of Gottlieb Daimler * Paul Da ...

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 Ballon ...

; *

Romanian Air Corps The Romanian Air Corps or Aviation Corps (RAC) () 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 subordinated to the Engineer Insp ...

; *

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 before 1920

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 wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing config ...

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