Blard

   Lt Blard's pretty all-metal canard was designed secretly for military use: the plan was to combine the generally better performance of the monoplane with the generally better downward visibility of the biplane. It is reported to have been present, though "under adjustment," when President Fallieres reviewed the "groupe central de I'escadrille volante" at Villacoublay in April 1912; it was tested over a long period with no favorable outcomes. Resembling the Bleriot 33 canard monoplane, it consisted of a simple horizontal tripod, with the pilot and tailplane with tip elevators the engine mounted at the rear, and a forward-mounted tailplane with tip elevators at the extended tip with a curved skid below. The aeroplane sat on 2 wheels and a small rear-mounted skid. Inadequately-sized triangular tip fins and rudders were fitted below the wingtips; these were later enlarged and the machine could then make large-radius turns.

   (Span: 10 m; length: 7 m; wing area: 19 sqm; empty weight: 280 kg; 50 hp Gnome)