L.Opdyke French Aeroplanes Before the Great War (Schiffer)
Deleted by request of (c)Schiffer Publishing
3. The next Obre machine was a tractor monoplane ordered by the Comte de Noue and built at the shops of an automobile-builder, Bottiaux. It was sometimes described as the de Noue monoplane designed by Horber or Herber, an error for Obre. The fuselage was long, a very thin box, covered only amidships. The warping wings were rectangular with square tips and a good deal of dihedral; there were 2 rectangular tailplanes close together at the same levels with a triangular fin and small rudder on top. The undercarriage comprised 2 Bleriot-style legs, with 2 extra S-curved skids; a castering tailwheel brought up the rear. A flat-twin engine drove the tractor propeller through a long shaft. It first flew on 6 April 1910; Obre's license received on it was dated 19 July 1910; and De Noue crashed it 9 days later at an airshow at Rennes, in Brittany. A slightly different version had a tall Bleriot-style pylon instead of a single tall inverted Y; the skids had disappeared.
(Span: 11m; length: 10 m; wing area: 21 sqm; gross weight: 300 kg; 50 hp flat twin air-cooled Darracq)
4. The last Obre was based on the Bleriot XI, this time with a 50 hp Gnome. The fuselage was covered from the nose to the back of the cockpit; small triangular fins with a single tall rudder were set above and below the rear of the fuselage, with a large split elevator and rectangular tailplane carried by a long skid. The wingtips were curved at the trailing edges, clearly distinguishing this machine from de Noue's. It was flying at Issy in 1911; Obre had flown it in several shows, showing little skill as a pilot.