L.Opdyke French Aeroplanes Before the Great War (Schiffer)
Deleted by request of (c)Schiffer Publishing
His 5th design, a 2-seat racing monoplane, was announced in January 1912, but appeared only later in the year in time for the 1912 Paris Salon. The long fuselage was of pentagonal section with the deck flat; the wings were rigged without dihedral, and to warp. It flew successfully until 14 July 1913 when one of the wings collapsed; Bertin as passenger and his son Rene as pilot were both killed.
(Span: 10.4m; length: 8.8 m; wing area: 21 sqm; empty weight: 350 kg; top speed 115 kmh; 100 hp twin X 8-cylinder motor)
Jane's All The World Aircraft 1913
BERTIN. L. Bertin, 23 rue de Rocroy, Paris. About 1908 Bertin began building helicopters. The machine below was exhibited in the 1913 Paris Salon.
1913.
Monoplane.
2-seater.
Length.........feet(m.) 29 (8.80)
Span...........feet(m.) 34 (10.40)
Area .....sq. feet(m?.) 226 (21)
Weight,machine...
.....lbs.(kgs.) 770 (350)
Weight, useful...
.....lbs.(kgs.) ...
Motor..............h.p. 100 Bertin
Speed, max...m.p.h.(km.) 71 (115)
Number built during 1912 1
Remarks--Wood and steel construction. On wheels only. Controls: warping and rear elevator.
Журнал Flight
Flight, November 16, 1912.
THE PARIS AERO SALON.
Bertin.
M. Bertin's machine is a monoplane which follows in its general design conventional practice. Its main body, pentagonal in section, is a girder of wood and steel wire. In front is mounted an 8-cyl. 100-h.p. engine of M. Bertin's own design and constiuction. The tail has fixed vertical and horizontal surfaces, to which are hinged respectively the rudder and the elevators. Its chassis built up entirely of steel tubing, and although not highly original, is, nevertheless, extremely neat and effective. Its flexibility is derived from steel compression springs enclosed in the outer oblique chassis struts, the vertical centre ones acting purely as guides.