The Morane-Borel monoplane (sometimes referred to with the retronym Morane-Saulnier Type A or simply the Morane monoplane; company designation Bo.1) was an early

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

single-engine, single-seat aircraft. It was flown in several European air races.

Design

The Monoplane was a mid-wing

tractor configuration In aviation, a tractor configuration is a propeller-driven fixed-wing aircraft with its engine mounted with the propeller in front, so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. This is the usual configuration; the pusher configuration ...

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 ...

Gnome Omega The Gnome 7 Omega (commonly called the Gnome 50 hp) is a French seven-cylinder, air-cooled aero engine produced by Gnome et Rhône. It was shown at the Paris Aero Salon held in December 1908 and was first flown in 1909. It was the world's ...

seven-cylinder

rotary engine The rotary engine is an early type of internal combustion engine, usually designed with an odd number of cylinders per row in a radial configuration. The engine's crankshaft remained stationary in operation, while the entire crankcase and its ...

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 Wing warping was an early system for lateral (roll) control of a fixed-wing aircraft or kite. The technique, used and patented by the Wright brothers, consisted of a system of pulleys and cables to twist the trailing edges of the wings in opposit ...

and the

empennage The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third ed ...

consisted of a fixed horizontal stabiliser with tip-mounted full-chord elevators at either end and an aerodynamically

balanced rudder Balanced rudders are used by both ships and aircraft. Both may indicate a portion of the rudder surface ahead of the hinge, placed to lower the control loads needed to turn the rudder. For aircraft the method can also be applied to elevator (air ...

, 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.The Borel Monoplane
''Flight'' 20 July 1912 p. 651 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 Bungee cords equipped with metal hooks A bungee cord (sometimes spelled bungie; also known as a shock cord or an ocky strap) is an elastic cord composed of one or more elastic strands forming a core, usually covered in a woven cotton or polypropy ...

, and a tailskid. A two-seat version was later produced, with the fuselage lengthened to and wingspan increased to .

Operational history

The Monoplane achieved fame when

Jules Védrines Jules Charles Toussaint Védrines (29 December 1881 – 21 April 1919) was an early French aviator, notable for being the first pilot to fly at more than 100 mph and for winning the Gordon Bennett Trophy (aeroplanes), Gordon Bennett Trophy rac ...

flew one to victory in the

1911 Paris-to-Madrid air race Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * January 3 ** 1911 Kebin earthquake: An earthquake of 7.7 Mom ...

, 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. Another was flown by André Frey in the Paris-Rome race in 1911, finishing third.

Emile Taddéoli Emile or Émile may refer to: * Émile (novel) (1827), autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life * Emile, Canadian film made in 2003 by Carl Bessai * '' Emile: or, On Education'' (1762) by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a treatise ...

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 In 1911 the British War Office announced their first Military Aeroplane Competition for aircraft to meet the requirements of the Air Battalion Royal Engineers. The formal requirements were published in December 1911. By the time the trials were he ...

Surviving examples

As of 2007 a single example remained extant, undergoing conservation work at the

Canada Aviation Museum The Canada Aviation and Space Museum () (formerly the Canada Aviation Museum (''Musée de l'aviation du Canada'') and National Aeronautical Collection (''Collection aéronautique nationale'')) is Canada's national aviation history museum. The m ...

Operators

; *

Argentine Air Force The Argentine Air Force (, or simply ''FAA'') is the air force of Argentina and one of three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic. In 2018, it had 13,837 military and 6,900 civilian personnel. FAA commander in chief is Brigadie ...

; *

Brazilian Naval Aviation The Brazilian Naval Aviation () is the air component of the Brazilian Navy, currently called ''Força Aeronaval''. Most of its air structure is subordinated to the Naval Air Force Command (''Comando da Força Aeronaval'', ComForAerNav), the milita ...

; *

Romanian Air Corps The Romanian Air Corps or Aviation Corps (RAC) () was the air arm of the Romanian army until the formation of the Romanian Air Force. It was established on 1 April 1913 as the Military Aeronautics Service () and subordinated to the Engineer Insp ...

; *

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty (United Kingdom), Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British ...

Specifications

From

''

l'Aérophile ''L’Aérophile'' ("The Aerophile") was a French aviation magazine published from 1893 to 1947. It has been described as "the leading aeronautical journal of the world" around 1910. History and contents ''L’Aérophile'' was founded and ru ...

,'' 15 April 1911, p. 170

References

External links

aviafrance.com

Borel-Morane Monoplane
Canada Aviation and Space Museum

''Flight'', July 29, 1911. {{Borel aircraft 1910s French sport aircraft Racing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1911 Mid-wing aircraft Rotary-engined aircraft Borel aircraft Morane-Saulnier aircraft