Two days before Bleriot crossed the channel, Hubert Latham tried it with an Antoinette but the engine failed and he landed in the English Channel. His plane was recovered and three days after Bleriot's flight he tried again - and suffered the same result!
Gotta love that propellor! The engine is a V8, and that big pale thing running down the fuselage sides is the radiator.
Undercarriage details. Note the suspension - there isn't any! That short metal bar rocks from side to side and pulls the length of bicycle chain, which warps the wings to provide aileron control. (The right wing has been removed, obviously)
Tail feathers. The designer, Levavasseur, was a boat builder - and it shows!
The fuselage really is shaped like a boat hull.
This pic was Photoshopped a bit to combat the glare from those low windows. The pilot sat behind the wing and had very long control rods to reach the engine.
Gryshnak
