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Ponnier L.1

1914 WORLD WAR 1 X-PLANE

Ponnier L. 1 Story

The First World War (1914-1918) proved to be the perfect way for airlines to showcase their products - and hopefully secure potentially lucrative wartime contracts. The Ponnier L. 1, which originated in France, was introduced during this period, arriving before the start of hostilities in July 1914 (the war began before the end of the month). The model was modeled on the biplane "Scout", but in the end it had little interest in the purchase of the French authorities - therefore, the production contract was not followed. The L.1 was designed by Alfred Pagny and manufactured by Avions Ponnier.

The first flight took place in July 1914.

The L.1 design has its origins in the early 1913 Ponnier D.III monoplane, which was born as a racing car - with the then powerful 160 hp Gnome engine. Only one was done by Ponnier, whose design was by Alfred Pagny.

Spurred on by winning the British Schneider Trophy in 1913 - they used a biplane to take the gold - considering converting the racing-focused D.III from its original monoplane form to a biplane for possible service.

The L.1 was mounted on the fuselage of the D.III, adding a single-cabin biplane wing assembly (using parallel struts between the planes). The landing gear rolls under the central mass, and the stern is supported by a simple skid. The engine of choice became a Gnome 7-cylinder rotary, although the unit only produced 50 horsepower. It is attached to the nose as usual and drives a two-bladed wooden propeller.

The pilot sits in the open-air cockpit below and behind the main upper-wing aircraft, which has a section above the pilot cutout for improved overhead visibility. The empennage consists of a vertical fin attached to a pair of low horizontal planes close to the fuselage.

The fuselage itself featured flat sides, a typical design feature of aircraft at the time.

Despite the work being done, the L.1 failed to generate any military interest. Its 50-horsepower engine was underpowered, and a better competing type emerged from Air France Services to buy.

As such, the L.1 is just a footnote in French aviation history, but the work done on the design proved to be instrumental in the development of another Ponnier product - the M.1 fighter, published in November 1916, with examples produced twenty times.