The type of machine used by Mr. Curtiss in 1909 was a natural outgrowth of his previous ones, but very much perfected in power and finish. It was a biplane mounted on a three-wheeled chassis, two wheels under the main body and one well to the front, so as to prevent toppling forward. It was propelled by a single screw at the rear, directly connected to a water-cooled motor of the Curtiss make. Its flight was controlled by three rudders exerting torque respectively about the three axes of the aëroplane, supplemented by two fixed keels, a vertical one in the front and a horizontal one in the rear. Of the three rudders mentioned, one in the rear turned the craft right and left, like a boat, one in the front raised or lowered her, while the third or lateral rudder, consisting of small horizontally pivoted planes between the wing-ends, and turning oppositely to each other, controlled the lateral poise. These lateral rudders, or winglets, used by Curtiss, Farman and others, are commonly called _ailerons_. PLATE XXVII. [Illustration: _BLÉRIOT XI_ WITH MOISANT AVIATOR ON MEXICAN BORDER.] (Courtesy A. J. Moisant.) [Illustration: _BLÉRIOT XII._ (Courtesy E. L. Jones.)] Louis Blériot with his two new machines, his _No. XI_ at Douay and his _No. XII_ at Issy-les-Moulineaux, practiced nearly every fine day in June and July, making fast progress in the art, and achieving some notable records. By warping the wings he could keep his balance better than in former years, and dare more severe weather. On June 12th, he made a straightaway flight of 820 feet in his _No. XII_, taking as passengers A. Santos-Dumont and A. Fournier, the entire weight being 1,232 pounds. This was the first flight of three passengers in an aëroplane. On June 25th, despite a strong wind, he circled in his _No. XII_ eleven times about the parade ground at Issy-les-Moulineaux in 15½ minutes, maintaining excellent stability. Next day he made 30 circuits in 36 minutes, 55⅗ seconds, stopping finally because of spark failure due to excess of oil. On July 4th, at the aëronautic meet at the Juvisy Aërodrome, for sufferers from the earthquake in the south of France, he flew in his _No. XI_ for 50 minutes, 8 seconds, at a height of 50 to 80 feet, finally stopping because of feed trouble in his engine. This flight was his second up to that date. On July 13th, he made a new cross-country record by an early morning flight in his _No. XI_ from Etampes to within eight miles of Orleans, stopping some minutes en route, to show the practicability of his monoplane. Thirty-five minutes after landing, his machine was taken apart and shipped back to his factory at Neuilly, near Paris. After this record he received gold medals from the Aëro Club of Great Britain and the Aëro Club of France. He was also awarded the _Prix de Voyage_ of 14,000 francs, of which he himself received 5,000 as pilot, 4,000 as constructor, while 3,000 went to the motor manufacturer and 2,000 to the propeller designer.