Morane-Borel monoplane
Emile Taddéoli in ~1911/13
Role Sports plane
Manufacturer Morane brothers and Gabriel Borel
Designer Raymond Saulnier
First flight 1911

The Morane-Borel monoplane (sometimes referred to with the retronym Morane-Saulnier Type A or simply the Morane monoplane; company designation Bo.1[1]) was an early French single-engine, single-seat aircraft. It was flown in several European air races.

Design

The Monoplane was a mid-wing tractor configuration monoplane powered by a 50 hp Gnome Omega seven-cylinder rotary engine driving a two-bladed Chauvière Intégrale propeller. The fuselage was a rectangular-section wire-braced box girder, with the forward part covered in plywood and the rear part fabric covered: the rear section was left uncovered in some examples. The two-spar wings had elliptical ends and were braced by a pyramidal cabane in front of the pilot and an inverted V-strut underneath the fuselage, behind the undercarriage. Lateral control was effected by wing warping and the empennage consisted of a fixed horizontal stabiliser with tip-mounted full-chord elevators at either end and an aerodynamically balanced rudder, with no fixed vertical surface. In later examples the horizontal surfaces were modified, and consisted of a fixed surface with balanced elevators hinged to the trailing edge.[2] The undercarriage consisted of a pair of short skids, each carried on a pair of struts, and a pair of wheels on a cross-axle bound to the skids by bungee cords, and a tailskid.

A two-seat version was later produced, with the fuselage lengthened to 7.0 m (23 ft) and wingspan increased to 10 m (34 ft).[2]

Operational history

The Monoplane achieved fame when Jules Védrines flew one to victory in the 1911 Paris-to-Madrid air race, the only competitor to finish the four-day course. Later in the year he came second in the Circuit of Britain, flying an aircraft powered by a 70 hp Gnome.[3] Another was flown by André Frey in the Paris-Rome race in 1911, finishing third.[4] Emile Taddéoli was another owner of a Morane monoplane.

A two-seat version, powered by an 80 Gnome was entered for the 1912 British Military Aeroplane Competition.[2]

Surviving examples

As of 2007 a single example remained extant, undergoing conservation work at the Canada Aviation Museum.

Operators

 Argentina
 Brazil
 Romania
 United Kingdom

Specifications

From: l'Aérophile, 15 April 1911, p. 170

General characteristics

  • Crew: one
  • Length: 6.50 m (21 ft 6 in)
  • Wingspan: 9.50 m (31 ft 1 in)
  • Wing area: 14 m2 (151 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 200 kg (441 lb)
  • Gross weight: 430 kg (948 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Gnome Omega 7-cylinder air-cooled rotary piston engine , 37 kW (50 hp)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 111 km/h (69 mph, 60 kn)

References

  1. ↑ Borel designations | Secret Projects Forum
  2. 1 2 3 The Borel MonoplaneFlight 20 July 1912 p. 651
  3. ↑ Daily Mail Circuit of Britain Flight 29 July 1911, p.661
  4. ↑ Villard, Henry Serrano (1987). Blue Ribbon of the Air. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. p. 158. ISBN 0-874-74-942-5.

Further reading

  • Lacaze, Henri & Lherbert, Claude (2013). Morane Saulnier: ses avions, ses projets [Morane Saulnier: Their Aircraft and Projects] (in French). Outreau, France: Lela Presse. ISBN 978-2-914017-70-1.
  • Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 193.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Morane-Borel monoplane.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.