Blackburn Early Monoplanes

Single-seat, fabric-covered, high wing wooden monoplane. The engine and pilot's seat were located on a three-wheeled platform and a cruciform tail was carried on an uncovered boom extending from the wing. Control was by Blackburn's "triple steering column" which was moved up and down for elevator control, from side to side to warp the wings and rotated to move the rudders.The propeller was mounted just below the wing's leading edge and driven by a chain to the 35 hp Green C.4 engine below.

Specification
Span	Length	Height	Wing Area	Empty Wt	Max AUW	Cruise Speed	Maximum Speed	Range	Service Ceiling
24 ft	23 ft	9 ft 6 in	170 sq ft		800 lb		60 mph/ 52 kn
7.32 m	7.01 m	2.9 m	15.79 m2		363 kg		97 km/h

Single-seat, fabric-covered, Antoinette style wooden monoplane. The wing was rectangular with a constant chord, significant dihedral and square tips, and had a thin aerofoil section cambered on the underside. Lateral control was by wing warping. The wing was wire braced via a kingpost passing through the fuselage, extending both above and below. The fuselage structure was covered with fabric, triangular in section and tapering towards the tail, with a long, finely tapering fin and tailplane, the rudder being divided into two triangular sections above and below the elevator, giving it clearance to move. The pilot's seat was at the trailing edge of the wing, and contained Blackburn's "triple steering column" as used on the 1909 Monoplane. The undercarriage main axle was carried at the bottom end of the kingpost with wheels at either end and ash fore and aft skids inboard of each wheel. During development and taxying trials, this structure was braced and sprung in different ways before the undercarriage was deemed satisfactory. One 40 h.p. Isaacson powerplant.

Specification
Span	Length	Height	Wing Area	Empty Wt	Max AUW	Cruise Speed	Maximum Speed	Range	Service Ceiling
30 ft	32 ft				1000 lb		60 mph/ 52 kn
9.14 m	9.75 m				454 kg		97 km/h

Two seat development of the 1911 monoplane, designed as a pilot trainer for the Blackburn Flying School. It was a mid-wing monoplane of conventional configuration that accommodated pilot and student in tandem, open cockpits. The undercarriage was revised with four mainwheels, one either side of the ash skids. One 50 h.p. Isaacson powerplant.

Single seat development of the Mercury I. 50 h.p. Gnome powerplant. The second machine was converted to a two-seater following an accident and, following another, reconverted to a single seater when it was refered to as the Blackburn Monoplane Type B.

Three seat monoplane (except the last, built as a single seater for exhibition flights), also known as the Mercury Passenger Type. Various powerplants as noted.

Specification
Span	Length	Height	Wing Area	Empty Wt	Max AUW	Cruise Speed	Maximum Speed	Range	Service Ceiling
32 ft	31 ft	8 ft 6 in	195 sq ft		800 lb		75 mph/ 65 kn
9.75 m	9.45 m	2.59 m	18.12 m2		363 kg		121 km/h

Single or two seat monoplane with an aluminium-covered steel frame fuselage; as such it was the first British aircraft to have an all-metal fuselage. The wings were thin in cross-section and rectangular in plan. They featured twin tubular steel spars and wooden ribs, the whole being fabric-covered. Lateral control was by wing warping. The wing, mounted in mid-position was wire-braced from above via a kingpost and below from the undercarriage. The fuselage used three steel longerons, arranged so the cross-section was a downward-pointing triangle, and used the same long triangular fixed tail surfaces as the Mercury. The fixed surfaces were fabric-covered over a steel frame with ash trailing edges. The tailplane carried a single wide elevator of almost semicircular shape, and the fin carried two small triangular rudders, one above and one below the fuselage. Both were wide chord and triangular in shape.
The Type E was built in two versions. The first aircraft was a single seater fitted with a 60 h.p. Green powerplant. The second machine was aimed at the Military Trials for a reconnaissance machine. As required by the War Office, it was a tandem two-seater; the pilot's seat, with its Blackburn-style triple control wheel, was at the trailing edge and there was a second cockpit at mid-chord, immediately behind the kingpost. There was a curved fuselage decking that extended back to the fin root as well as an additional streamlined fuel tank mounted under the fuselage at about mid-chord. This was intended to increase endurance from four to five hours; the specification called for 4.5 hours. One 70 h.p. Renault powerplant.

Specification
Span	Length	Height	Wing Area	Empty Wt	Max AUW	Cruise Speed	Maximum Speed	Endurance	Service Ceiling
38 ft 4 in	31 ft 2 in		290 sq ft		950 lb		80 mph/ 70 kn	5 hrs
11.68 m	9.5 m		26.94 m2		431 kg		129 km/h

Single-seat, fabric-covered, wooden monoplane. The wing was similar to that of the Mercury III, with a shorter fuselage, cowled engine and rounded upper decking and aluminium covering at the front. The simplified undercarriage featured a pair of wheels, compared with four on the Mercury, with two struts per side terminating on skids and joined by the axle and a higher transverse strut. The Antoinette-style fin and tailplane was discarded and replaced with one which had a much less steeply swept leading edge and carried a divided elevator. The fin likewise was less swept though still long, and now carried a single rudder rather than the characteristic triangular pair previously used. For the first time, Blackburn fitted a rudder bar in preference to his "triple steering column". One 50 h.p. Gnome powerplant.

Specification
Span	Length	Height	Wing Area	Empty Wt	Max AUW	Cruise Speed	Maximum Speed	Endurance	Service Ceiling
32 ft 1 in	26 ft 3 in	8 ft 9 in	236 sq ft	550 lb	980 lb		60 mph/ 52 kn	2.5 - 3 hrs	4000 ft
9.78 m	8 m	2.67 m	21.93 m2	249 kg	445 kg		97 km/h		1219 m

A development of the 1912 monoplane built in two variants; the first was a two seat aircraft, of identical construction to its predecessor but was made longer to accommodate the extra seat, of greater span and with a modified fin and undercarriage, the finbeing shorter and less swept, not reaching the forward edge of the tailplane, while the forward struts of the undercarriage were now forward-sloping. Both the passenger and pilot sat in a common extended cockpit, the former in front and over the centre of gravity so the aircraft could be flown by the pilot alone.
The second was a single-seater with a small freight compartment replacing the front cockpit. Both were powered by a 80 h.p. Gnome powerplant.

Specification
Span	Length	Height	Wing Area	Empty Wt	Max AUW	Cruise Speed	Maximum Speed	Range	Service Ceiling
38 ft	28 ft 6 in		252 sq ft	950 lb	1500 lb		70 mph/ 61 kn	4 hrs
11.58 m	8.69 m		23.41 m2	431 kg	680 kg		113 km/h

Modified Type I; the engine was more completely cowled, while in side elevation the fuselage was noticeably deeper along with further detail improvements. One 80 h.p. Gnome powerplant.

Improved Type I rebuilt it as a floatplane trainer. Fitted an uncowled 100 h.p. Anzani powerplant.

Two seat mid-wing, wire-braced monoplane with open cockpits for pilot and passenger. The wings were of parallel chord and generally like those of the Improved Type I, though 1 ft greater in span, similarly wire braced to an inverted V kingpost and to the undercarriage. The wing warping wires also ran via the kingpost. The White Falcon initially used a standard B.E.2c undercarriage but this was replaced later with a simpler structure without skids. The fuselage was a standard Blackburn Warren girder structure, though of square rather than the company's previously favoured triangular cross-section. The decking was rounded. While the tailplane was like that of the Improved Type I, the fin and rudder formed a neat triangular shape with a vertical trailing edge. One 100 h.p. Anzani powerplant driving a four-blade 9 ft diameter propeller.

Specification
Span	Length	Height	Wing Area	Empty Wt	Max AUW	Cruise Speed	Maximum Speed*	Range	Service Ceiling
39 ft 6 in	26 ft 11 in		209 sq ft				87 mph/ 76 kn
12.04 m	8.2 m		19.42 m2				140 km/h