2 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Deperdussin Monocoque: Deep silence (Mikaël Restoux)· CC BY 2.5
- 2. Deperdussin Monocoque outside workshop-1: l'Agence Meurisse (Paris), photographer uncredited· Public domain
what is it?
The Deperdussin Monocoque was an early racing aircraft built in 1912 by the Aéroplanes Deperdussin, a French aircraft manufacturer started in 1911 and reorganized as the Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés (SPAD) in 1913. It is so named because of the method of construction of its fuselage. The aircraft is noted for winning the Gordon Bennett Trophy in 1912 and 1913, and for raising the world speed record for aircraft to 130 mph (210 km/h).
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 6.7 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 114 years ago, in 1912.
- Top speed is 1.5× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1912
- number built
- —
- role
- racer
- makers
- Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés
- engines
- 1× Gnome Lambda Lambda / rotary engine
- crew
- 1
- passengers
- 1
- length
- 6.1 m
- wingspan
- 6.7 m
- max take-off weight
- 612 kg
- top speed
- 201 km/h
- range
- —
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q2602349, Wikipedia: Deperdussin Monocoque (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.