L.Opdyke French Aeroplanes Before the Great War (Schiffer)
Deleted by request of (c)Schiffer Publishing
Nau
Two monoplanes are known to have been designed by Robert Nau. If the "Nault from Paris" was indeed Robert Nau, then he was also responsible for the Nault ornithopter.
The first monoplane appeared in 1909, a big one, with rectangular wings set low on the forward fuselage: their angle of attack at the roots was less than at the tips. The top longerons of the uncovered fuselage ran back and out to become the tailplane. A high bridge structure served as pylon on top; the whole machine sat on 2 castering wheels, and high on a small tailwheel. A 3-cylinder Anzani was mounted at the level of the lower longerons in front. The aeroplane was not successful.
Nault
In the summer of 1908 an unknown "Nault from Paris" tested an ornithopter monoplane at Brest. The pilot sat behind mica windows in a streamlined fuselage, clearly anticipating high speeds. This Nault may well have been Robert Nau, whose designs appeared the following year but whose name was listed among owners and builders of 1908.