monoplane• During 1909-1910, Charles Fletcher, Works manager, designed and built a monoplane and a biplane.• Leon Levavasseur's Antoinette monoplane of 1910.• The hugemonoplane had to achieve a speed of fifty miles an hour to become airborne.• He designed a small single-seat monoplane which could be used for little but fun flying and possibly racing.• The monoplane wing comprised a lengthy parallel-chord centre section, with taperedouterpanelsincorporating Frise-type ailerons.• Of all-metal construction, the FireflyF.I was a cantilever low-wing monoplane with an alclad-covered monocoque fuselage.