Antoinette VII

The Antoinette VII was an early French monoplane flown in 1909, a further development of the Antoinette IV with increased engine power and the wing warping system that Léon Levavasseur had introduced for the Antoinette V in place of the ailerons of the IV. Levavasseur hoped test pilot Hubert Latham would use it to cross the English Channel and claim the Daily Mail prize. The first flight took place on 25 July 1909, the day Louis Blériot crossed the Channel in his own aircraft, and Latham made his attempt on 27 July but made a forced landing within sight of the English coast, 1.6 km away, and was rescued by HMS Russell. The following month Latham flew the same aircraft at the Grande Semaine d'Aviation de la Champagne, winning the altitude prize with 155 m and coming second in the fastest circuit at 68.9 km/h. It was 11.5 m long with a 12.8 m span, weighed 590 kg gross with a 37 kW (50 hp) Antoinette 8V engine and reached 70 km/h; later versions after 1910 could take one passenger.