Meckler-Allen 1912 Biplane

The Meckler-Allen airplane was an early biplane built by Allen Canton[1] and John J. Meckler in 1912,[2] for an attempt to make a transatlantic flight. At the time of its first flight it was the largest airplane in the world.[3]

Meckler-Allen Biplane "New York"
John Meckler and Allen Canton, 1910–1915
Role Biplane
National origin United States
Designer Allen Canton and John J. Meckler
Number built 1

History

In 1912, Allen Canton and John J. Meckler, two young Bronx electricians, built a 76-foot (23 m) span hydro-biplane. The financing for the construction came from profits of their company Mechelectric [4] which held forty-five patents for new electrical devices. The partners planned to make the first transatlantic flight to Europe.[5]

Christened the New York, it carried twenty-two tanks of gasoline and had five engines, was 104 feet (32 m) long, had a 76-foot (23 m) span and contained 2,400 square feet (220 m2) of canvas, with an estimated lifting capacity of 20,000 pounds (9,100 kg) when only two of the five engines were running.[3]

Specifications (Meckler-Allen Biplane)

General characteristics

  • Length: 104 ft (32 m)
  • Wingspan: 76 ft (23 m)
  • Powerplant: 4 × Flight engines , 125 hp (93 kW) each
  • Powerplant: 1 × Ground engine , 65 hp (48 kW)
  • Propellers: 2-bladed Meckler-Allen, 12 ft (3.7 m) diameter

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 109 kn (125 mph, 201 km/h)
  • Cruise speed: 65 kn (75 mph, 121 km/h)

References
  1. Allen is listed as "C. A. Allen" or as "Allen Canton" or as "Allen Cantón".
  2. Boletín de la Unión Panamericana (in Spanish). Pan American Union. 1913. Pero ahora se anuncia que dos jóvenes ingenieros electricistas de Nueva York, Alien Cantón y John J. Meckler, tienen casi terminado un aeroplano en el cual se proponen volar de Nueva York a Londres en 24 horas y en cuya construcción han ...
  3. The First Transatlantic Aeroplane, The New York. The Largest In The World. The Technical world magazine. 1912. All of which serves to introduce the first transatlantic aeroplane, which has been built by two New York electrical engineers, Allen Canton and John J. Meckler, who have invested all their savings—some $20,000—in the machine, and who are about to bid for fame and fortune in an attempt to reach Europe by the air route. They are not crack-brained enthusiasts, but serious young men who have gained their knowledge of aviation by five years' experience with monoplanes, biplanes, and dirigibles.
  4. Electrical Review vol 60.
  5. "Build Flier To Cross Ocean" (PDF). New York Times. September 4, 1912. Retrieved 2010-07-30. The machine, in which Allen and Meckler say they will make the trip across the Atlantic in three days, is seventy-six feet wide across the main plane ...
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