The Bloch MB.141 was a French all-metal two seat

light aircraft A light aircraft is an aircraft that has a Maximum Takeoff Weight, maximum gross takeoff weight of or less.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 308. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. Light aircraft are use ...

derived from the Bloch MB.81 air ambulance. Only one was built.

Design and development

The MB.141 was a low wing

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilev ...

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

with a three part wing consisting of a rectangular plan centre section and trapezoidal outer panels. It was built around two spars and metal skinned; the

leading edge The leading edge is the part of the wing that first contacts the air;Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 305. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. alternatively it is the foremost edge of an airfoil sectio ...

s were removable for maintenance purposes and the

trailing edge The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge meets.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 521. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. ...

s carried high

aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a geometry, geometric shape is the ratio of its sizes in different dimensions. For example, the aspect ratio of a rectangle is the ratio of its longer side to its shorter side—the ratio of width to height, when the rectangl ...

ailerons An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...

which filled about two-thirds of the outer panels. Its five cylinder Hispano-Suiza 5Q

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating engine, reciprocating type internal combustion engine, internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinder (engine), cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. ...

(a licence-built Wright R-540) was mounted in the nose within a narrow- chord

cowling A cowling (or cowl) is the removable covering of a vehicle's engine, most often found on automobiles, motorcycles, airplanes, and on outboard boat motors. On airplanes, cowlings are used to reduce drag and to cool the engine. On boats, cowlings ...

. Behind it the

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

was flat-sided, constructed from panels linked by frames which left the interior free of cross-bracing. The well-appointed cabin was long with two seats in

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which two or more animals, machines, or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. ''Tandem'' can also be used more generally to refer to any group of persons or objects w ...

, fitted with dual controls, and a luggage space behind. The forward seat was behind a two piece, V-shaped windscreen and on each side there was a pair of windows; on the port side the largest of these was in the large, trapezoidal door. Behind the cabin the fuselage tapered to a conventional tail with straight-tapered, square-tipped surfaces. The

tailplane A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabilizer, is a small lift (force), lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters ...

and

elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...

were mounted near the top of the fuselage and well ahead of the

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

hinge. The control surfaces were not

balanced In telecommunications and professional audio, a balanced line or balanced signal pair is an electrical circuit consisting of two conductors of the same type, both of which have equal impedances along their lengths, to ground, and to other c ...

. The MB.141 had a fixed tail wheel undercarriage with a track of ; its main wheels were mounted on vertical, faired

oleo strut An oleo strut is a pneumatic air–oil hydraulic shock absorber used on the landing gear of most large aircraft and many smaller ones. This design cushions the impacts of landing and damps out vertical oscillations. It is undesirable for an air ...

s and had brakes operated by a lever on the control column. Its small, castoring tail wheel also had a

shock absorber A shock absorber or damper is a mechanical or hydraulics, hydraulic device designed to absorb and Damping ratio, damp shock (mechanics), shock impulses. It does this by converting the kinetic energy of the shock into another form of energy (typic ...

. Its first flights were made towards the end of July 1934, piloted by Bloch's test pilot Zacharie Heu, who spoke highly of its handling. It has been described as "too heavy", possibly underpowered as it weighed a little more than the MB.81 but had a less powerful engine. It was also expensive to construct, so only one MB.141 was built. It is unusual for an unflown prototype aircraft to be the first prize in a lottery but in April 1934 the MB.141 was donated by Marcel Bloch to the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l'Aéronautique. The lottery was advertised in the French aviation press and drawn on 22 July 1934; the winning ticket was announced at the end of August.

Specifications

References

{{Bloch aircraft 1930s French sport aircraft Bloch aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1934 Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear