The Antoinette IV was a high-wing aircraft with a
fuselage of extremely narrow triangular cross-section and a cruciform tail. Power was provided by a
V8 engine of
Léon Levavasseur's own design driving a paddle-bladed
tractor propeller. Lateral control was at first effected with large triangular, and shortly afterwards trapezoidal-planform
ailerons hinged to the trailing edge of the wings, although
wing-warping was substituted at an early stage in flight trials, and in this type proved more effective. On 19 February 1909, the Antoinette IV flew at
Mourmelon-le-Grand, and on 19 July,
Hubert Latham attempted to cross the
English Channel in it, covering out of
Sangatte before making a forced
water landing due to engine failure. On 3 October 1910, Frenchman
René Thomas, flying the Antoinette IV, collided with British Army Captain
Bertram Dickson by ramming his
Farman III biplane in the rear. Both pilots survived, but Dickson was so badly injured that he never flew again. ==Specifications==