Borel hydro-monoplane

Borel hydro-monoplane
Role	Seaplane
National origin	France
Manufacturer	Etablissements Borel
First flight	1912
Developed from	Morane-Borel monoplane

The Borel Hydro-monoplane was a French seaplane produced in 1912.

Design and development

The Borel hydro-monoplane, which was developed from the 1911 Morane-Borel monoplane, was a tractor monoplane powered by an 80 hp Gnome Lambda rotary engine. The rectangular section fuselage tapered to a vertical knife-edge at the rear: at the front the longerons on each side were curved inwards, meeting at the front engine bearer. A curved aluminium cowling covered the top of the engine, and the sides of the fuselage were covered with aluminium as far aft as the rear of the cockpit. The two seats were arranged in tandem, with the pilot sitting in front. Dual controls were fitted. Tail surfaces consisted of a narrow-chord fixed horizontal surface with a much broader elevator with horn balances hinged to the trailing edge and a balanced rudder which extended below the sternpost and carried a small float. The main undercarriage consisted of a pair of unstepped flat-bottomed floats. Lateral control was by wing warping.^[1]

Operational history

An example was entered in the 1913 Schneider Trophy competition, but crashed during the elimination trials.^[2]

Another example, flown by George Chemet, was the winner of the 1913 Paris-Deauville race.^[3]

Operators

 Italy

• Corpo Aeronautico Militare

 United Kingdom

• Royal Flying Corps

 Brazil

• Brazilian Naval Aviation

Specifications

Data from Flight, 26 July 1913, p. 814^[4]

General characteristics

• Crew: one
• Capacity: one passneger
• Length: 8.38 m (27 ft 6 in)
• Wingspan: 11.68 m (38 ft 4 in)
• Wing area: 18 m² (190 sq ft)
• Powerplant: 1 × Gnome Lambda 7-cylinder rotary engine, 60 kW (80 hp)
• Propellers: 2-bladed, 2.59 m (8 ft 6 in) diameter

References