L.Opdyke French Aeroplanes Before the Great War (Schiffer)
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Using parts from this ambitious design he built a second, more conventional monoplane, apparently retaining the fuselage and tailwheel. Conventional monoplane wings were mounted at deck-level, the undercarriage was simplified and attached directly to the fuselage, and a large teardrop-shaped fin and rudder assembly was mounted at the very stern. Painted black, it was called Le Corbeau (crow), and did little better than his first effort. Both machines may have been built at Clement-Bayard. He later backed 2 of his pilots, Roland Garros and Edmond Audemars, who wanted to build a Gnome-powered copy of the Demoiselle: it was hoped it would be known as the Baby Moisant. Also in 1911 his firm built a Farman-type pusher biplane with one rudder set ahead of the 2 on the trailing edge of the tailplane.
He returned to the United States and founded the Moisant International Aviators, a traveling flying circus, and was killed on 31 December 1910 while practicing for an air meet in New Orleans.
His brother Alfred founded his own flying school, and in 1914 built at least one Morane-style monoplane of his own design for another American, Harold Kantner; powered by a 50 hp Gnome, it was called the Bluebird.
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