Morane-Borel military monoplane

Morane-Borel military monoplane
	An oblique view of the Morane-Borel military monoplane, Reims, October 1911
Role	Military plane
Manufacturer	Morane brothers and Gabriel Borel
Designer	Raymond Saulnier
First flight	1911
Number built	1 prototype

The Morane-Borel military monoplane was an unsuccessful French single-engine, multi-seat prototype aircraft built in 1911 for the Reims Military Aviation Competition hosted by the French Army. The aircraft only met one of the requirements and was eliminated from the competition.

Design

The military monoplane was derived from Morane-Borel's successful single-seat monoplane, enlarged and reinforced to carry the pilot and two passengers. It was a mid-wing tractor configuration monoplane powered by a 100-horsepower (75 kW) Gnome double Omega 14-cylinder rotary engine driving a two-bladed propeller. The fuselage was a rectangular-section, wire-braced box girder, with only the forward part covered. The two-spar wings were given a trapezoidal shape, lengthened by seven ribs, and retained the elliptical ends of the earlier aircraft. The wings were braced by two pyramidal cabanes in front of the pilot, one on each side of the fuselage, and an inverted V-strut underneath the fuselage, behind the landing gear. Additional pairs of guy-wires were added to reinforce the longer wings.^[1]

Lateral control was effected by wing warping and the empennage consisted of a fixed horizontal stabilizer with tip-mounted full-chord elevators at the ends and a vertical stabilizer. The undercarriage was reinforced by the addition of an extra strut fastened to the forward end of the fuselage and consisted of two pairs of three strut assemblies, each with a pair of wheels on an axle and a skid, and a double tailskid.^[1]

History

In mid-1911, the French Army decided to sponsor a competitive event to be held at Reims in October. Each aircraft would be evaluated on two criteria, their ability to take off from a plowed field and to carry three people weighing at least a total of 300 kilograms (660 lb) for a distance of 300 kilometers (190 mi) at a speed of at least 60 kilometers per hour (37 mph). The first prize was 700,000 francs plus additional sums for increases in speed over 60 km/h, as well as a commitment by the military to purchase 10 aircraft.^[2] The Morane-Borel leadership and its chief designer, Raymond Saulnier, decided to build an entry to demonstrate the principles behind its race-winning predecessor and to serve as an advertisement for the company. Piloted by Jules Védrines, the aircraft successfully took off from a wet plowed field. It flew carrying one passenger, but failed to lift the required mass due to the weight of its reinforced structure and was eliminated from the competition.^[3]

Specifications

From: Lacaze & Lherbert, Morane Saulnier: ses avions, ses projets, p. 16

General characteristics

Crew: 3
Length: 7.8 m (25 ft 7 in)
Wingspan: 12.3 m (40 ft 4 in)
Wing area: 22 m² (240 sq ft)
Empty weight: 530 kg (1,168 lb)
Gross weight: 850 kg (1,874 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Gnome double Omega 14-cylinder, air-cooled rotary engine , 75 kW (100 hp)

Performance

References

^ ^a ^b Lacaze & Lherbert, p. 16; Opdycke, p. 66; Moulin, p. 54
^ Hartmann, pp. 2, 8
^ Lacaze & Lherbert, p. 16

Bibliography

Hartmann, Gérard. "Le grand concours d'aviation militaire de Reims 1911" [The Reims Military Aviation Competition, 1911] (PDF). Dossiers historiques et techniques aéronautique française (in French). Gérard Hartmann. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
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.
Moulin, Jean (October 2004). "Reims 1911, le premier concours d'appareils militaires au monde!" [Reims 1911, the First Military Aircraft Concours in the World!]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (139): 51–58. ISSN 1243-8650.
Opdycke, Leonard E. (1999). French Aeroplanes before the Great War. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 0-7643-0752-5.

[lop-1] Lacaze & Lherbert, p. 16; Opdycke, p. 66; Moulin, p. 54

[2] Hartmann, pp. 2, 8

[3] Lacaze & Lherbert, p. 16

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Morane-Saulnier aircraft
Designation letters	A B C F G GA GB H I J K L LA LH M N Nm O P Q S T TRK U V WR X Y AC AE AF AFH AI AN/ANB/ANR/ANL/ANS AR AS AT AU AV BB BH
Numerical sequence	MoS.1 MoS.2 MoS.3 MoS.4 MoS.5 MoS.6 MoS.7 MoS.8 MoS.9 MoS.10 MoS.11 MoS.12 MoS.13 MoS.14 MoS.15 MoS.16 MoS.17 MoS.18 MoS.19 MoS.20 MoS.21 MoS.22 MoS.23 MoS.24 MoS.25 MoS.26 MoS.27 MoS.28 MoS.29 MoS.30 MoS.31 MoS.32 MoS.33 MoS.34 MoS.35 MoS.36 MoS.37 MoS.38 MoS.39 MoS.40 MoS.41 MoS.42 MoS.43 MoS.44 MoS.45 MoS.46 MoS.47 MoS.48 MoS.49 MoS.50 MoS.51 MoS.52 MoS.53 MoS.56 MoS.60 MoS.120 MoS.121 MoS.129 MoS.130 MoS.131 MoS.132 MoS.133 MoS.134 MoS.136 MoS.137 MoS.138 MoS.139 MoS.140 MoS.141 MoS.147 MoS.148 MoS.149 MS.152 MS.160 MS.180 MS.181 MS.185 MS.200 MS.221 MS.222 MS.223 MS.224 MS.225 MS.226 MS.227 MS.229 MS.230 MS.250 MS.251 MS.260 MS.275 MS.278 MS.300 MS.301 MS.302 MS.315 MS.316 MS.317 MS.325 MS.340 MS.341 MS.342 MS.343 MS.345 MS.350 MS.405 MS.406 MS.408 MS.410 MS.411 MS.430 MS.433 MS.435 MS.450 MS.470 MS.472 MS.474 MS.470 MS.475 MS.476 MS.477 MS.479 MS.500 MS.501 MS.502 MS.504 MS.505 MS.506 MS.560 MS.570 MS.603 MS.630 MS.631 MS.700 MS.701 MS.703 MS.704 MS.730 MS.731 MS.732 MS.733 MS.755 MS.760 MS.785 MS.860 MS.880 MS.1001 MS.1500
Names and nicknames	Alcyon Borel Bullet Comté de Nice or Nice (project) Criquet Épervier, Épervier II and Super 1500 Fantôme Fleuret Lévrier Monococque Paris and Super Paris Pétrel Rallye, Rallye Club, Super Rallye and Rallye Commodore Statodyne (project) Vanneau Versailles (project)