History & Info

The Goupy II was an experimental biplane designed by Ambroise Goupy and Mario Calderara, and constructed by Bleriót. Described as "unusual" at the time it holds the distinction of being the first biplane with the layout that would become standard for biplanes going forward, with the only feature that wouldn't become standard being the biplane tail surfaces. It was also the first biplane with staggered wings.

Despite its innovations, some features were implemented in unusual ways. Notably, the elevators and ailerons both consisted of full-chord pivoting segments at the tips of the wings and stabilisers. It also featured a very unusual REP 7 cylinder fan engine, with the cylinders in 2 unequal banks.

Relatively little information is available on this aircraft, so It's hard to say if my replica has accurate performance. I matched the measurements and structure as closely as I could with the only 2 pictures I could find, and matched the top speed as well as I could. I also included the castering gear from Bleriót which was present on this aircraft.

Flying

This time it's much more conventional and simple. The Goupy performs like a fairly average biplane and isn't difficult to fly, so I won't really go into detail. Just be aware the engine is pretty underpowered, so acceleration is lacking. Don't go doing any crazy maneuvers at low altitude.
When landing in light crosswinds, you need not straighten the aircraft when touching down. The front gear can caster up to 15°, allowing the aircraft to land at an angle.

P.S. if anyone can test this thing in VR I'd appreciate it. I tried making the cockpit more functional this time