The Morane-Borel monoplane (sometimes referred to with the retronym Morane-Saulnier Type A or simply the Morane monoplane; company designation Bo.1Borel designations | Secret Projects Forum) was an early 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 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.The Borel MonoplaneFlight 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, 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 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 Circuit of Britain, flying an aircraft powered by a 70 hp Gnome.Daily Mail Circuit of Britain Flight 29 July 1911, p.661 Another was flown by André Frey in the Paris-Rome race in 1911, finishing third. Emile Taddéoli 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.

Surviving examples As of 2027 a single example remained extant, after extensive conservation work was done at the Canada Aviation Museum.

Operators

Argentine Air Force

Brazilian Naval Aviation

Romanian Air Corps

Royal Navy Royal Naval Air Service

Specifications From: l'Aérophile, 15 April 1911, p. 170

References

Further reading

External links

aviafrance.com Borel-Morane Monoplane, Canada Aviation and Space Museum Morane-Borel MonoplaneFlight, July 29, 1911.