Deperdussin 1912 Racing Monoplane

The Deperdussin 1912 Racing Monoplane was a French high-wing racing monoplane built by Société de Production des Aéroplanes Deperdussin, and it is notable as the first aircraft to exceed 100 mph (161 km/h) in level flight. Its wings were tapered so that the chord was greater at the tips than at the root, which gave better wing-warping for lateral control, and its fuselage was a wooden box girder skinned entirely in plywood with the rounded top and bottom built up from laminated wood. It first flew late in 1911 or early in 1912 with a 100 hp Gnome double Omega 14-cylinder rotary engine. Flown by Jules Védrines, it covered 200 km in 1 hour 15 minutes 20.8 seconds on 22 February 1912, an average of about 169 km/h, by which time a 140 hp Gnome double Lambda had replaced the first engine.