L.Opdyke French Aeroplanes Before the Great War (Schiffer)
Deleted by request of (c)Schiffer Publishing
In September 1910, still at Mourmelon and in front of the same green fabric hangar, Contal tested a more traditional design which might have had components of his earlier monoplane built into it. A narrow triangular fuselage was covered with sheets of mahogany; the 50 hp Gnome overhung at the nose, the round top of which could be covered by a long semi-cylindrical windshield. The rudder was nearly round and fitted with a small fin; the rectangular wings could be warped, with the front spars fixed through steel fittings to the top 2 ash longerons, and the rear spars hinged. The undercarriage was composed of 2 horned skids supporting the 2 wheels, attached to the upper longerons with 4 struts, and 2 diagonal struts attached to the lower longeron and joining the tips of the skids. The pilot sat with his legs extended so that he could set his back easily against the seat without having to be strapped in. In the review Omnia Henri Mignet wrote that this unusual position was "particularly appreciated by Americans."
Another Contal machine had an uncovered rectangular box fuselage, angular tail surfaces, and perhaps the same horned skids on the undercarriage. It had a water-cooled inline engine.