Morane-Borel monoplane

{{Short description|French racing aircraft}}  {{Infobox aircraft |name=Morane-Borel monoplane |image= Emile Taddéoli monoplane.jpg |caption= [[Emile Taddéoli]] in ~1911/13 |type=Sports plane |manufacturer=[[Robert and Léon Morane|Morane brothers]] and [[Gabriel Borel]] |designer=Raymond Saulnier |first_flight=1911 |introduction= |retired= |status= |primary_user= |more_users= |produced= |number_built= |variants= }}

The '''Morane-Borel monoplane''' (sometimes referred to with the retronym '''Morane-Saulnier Type A''' or simply the '''Morane monoplane'''; company designation '''Bo.1'''<ref>[https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/borel-designations.31755/ Borel designations | Secret Projects Forum]</ref>) was an early [[France|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 strut|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.<ref name=flight_651>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1912/1912%20-%200651.html The Borel Monoplane][[Flight International|''Flight'']] 20 July 1912 p. 651</ref> 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 {{convert|23|ft|m|disp=flip|abbr=on}} and wingspan increased to {{convert|34|ft|m|disp=flip|abbr=on}}.<ref name=flight_651/>

==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 [[Daily Mail Circuit of Britain air race|Circuit of Britain]], flying an aircraft powered by a [[Gnome Lambda|70 hp Gnome]].<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1911/1911%20-%200659.html ''Daily Mail'' Circuit of Britain] [[Flight International|''Flight'']] 29 July 1911, p.661</ref> Another was flown by André Frey in the Paris-Rome race in 1911, finishing third.<ref>{{cite book|title=Blue Ribbon of the Air|author=Villard, Henry Serrano|authorlink=Henry Serrano Villard|year=1987|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|location=Washington D.C.|page=[https://archive.org/details/blueribbonofair00vill/page/158 158]|isbn=0-874-74-942-5|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/blueribbonofair00vill/page/158}}</ref> [[Emile Taddéoli]] was another owner of a Morane monoplane.

A two-seat version, powered by an [[Gnome Gamma|80 Gnome]] was entered for the [[1912 British Military Aeroplane Competition]].<ref name=flight_651/>

==Surviving examples== As of 2007 a single example remained extant, undergoing conservation work at the [[Canada Aviation Museum]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}

==Operators== ;{{ARG}} *[[Argentine Air Force]] ;{{BRA}} *[[Brazilian Naval Aviation]] ;{{ROM}} *[[Romanian Air Corps]] ;{{UK}} *[[Royal Navy]] **[[Royal Naval Air Service]]

==Specifications== From: [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k65523525/f176.image] ''[[l'Aérophile]],'' 15 April 1911, p. 170

{{Aircraft specs |prime units? = met

|wing area sqm=14 |wing area sqft=151

|empty weight kg=200 |empty weight lb=441 |gross weight kg=430 |gross weight lb=948

|eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=[[Gnome Omega]] 7-cylinder air-cooled rotary [[piston engine]] |eng1 kw=37 |eng1 hp=50

|max speed kmh=111 |max speed mph=69

}}

==References== {{reflist}}

==Further reading== *{{cite journal |last1=Fuller|first1=George|last2=Beauchamp|first2=Gérard|title=Le plus ancien Morane-Saulnier|journal=Le Fana de l'Aviation |date=March 2004 |issue=412 |pages=30–32 |issn=0757-4169 |language=fr|trans-title=The Very Old Morane-Saulnier|name-list-style=amp}} *{{cite book |last1=Lacaze |first1=Henri |last2=Lherbert |first2=Claude |title=Morane Saulnier: ses avions, ses projets |date=2013 |publisher=Lela Presse |location=Outreau, France |isbn=978-2-914017-70-1 |language=fr|name-list-style=amp|trans-title=Morane Saulnier: Their Aircraft and Projects}} * {{cite book |last= Taylor |first= Michael J. H. |title=Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation |year=1989 |publisher=Studio Editions |location=London |pages=193 }}

==External links== {{commons category|Morane-Borel monoplane}} * [http://www.aviafrance.com/9612.htm aviafrance.com] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20140218191703/http://www.aviation.technomuses.ca/collections/conservation/projects/borel_morane/ Borel-Morane Monoplane], Canada Aviation and Space Museum * [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1911/1911%20-%200648.html Morane-Borel Monoplane][[Flight International|''Flight'']], July 29, 1911.

[[Category:1910s French sport aircraft]] [[Category:Racing aircraft]] [[Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft]] [[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1911]] [[Category:Mid-wing aircraft]] [[Category:Rotary-engined aircraft]] [[Category:Borel aircraft]] [[Category:Morane-Saulnier aircraft]]