Blériot 111
Bleriot 111
Role Executive transport monoplane
Manufacturer Blériot Aéronautique
Designer André Herbemont
First flight 24 January 1929
Number built 2+

The Blériot 111 was a French four-seat executive transport monoplane designed by André Herbemont.[1] The first French aircraft to be fitted with a retractable landing gear, after six years development it was not ordered into production.[1]

Design and development

The Bleriot 111 was a low-wing single-engined monoplane with an enclosed passenger cabin and an open cockpit for the pilot forward of the cabin.[1] The first variant was the Bleriot 111/1 which first flew on 24 January 1929 powered by a 280 hp (209 kW) Hispano-Suiza 6Mbr 6-cyl. water-cooled in-line engine.[1] In October 1929 a second variant flew (known as the 111bis or 111/2) which had a modified landing gear.[1] The 111/2 was re-engined with a 420 hp (313 kW) Gnome & Rhône 9Ady radial engine and re-designated 111/3.[1] The 111/3 was flown as part of the Patrouille Blériot which gave exhibitions and demonstrations around France and Spain in the 1930s.[1]

The 111/1 was modified as the 111/4 with a revised wing bracing, a 400 hp (298 kW) Hispano-Suiza 12Jb engine and retractable landing gear,a first for a French aircraft.[1] The 111/4 flew on 27 October 1930.[1] The next variant was the 111/5 which moved the pilot's cockpit to the rear of the passenger cabin and was fitted with a 500 hp (373 kW) Hispano-Suiza 12Mbr engine.[1] A re-engined variant of the 111/5 was fitted with a 500 hp (373 kW) Gnome-Rhône K-14(sic) radial engine and was named Sagittaire (English: Sagittarius).[1]

Sagittaire later fitted with a new wing and 840 hp (626 kW) Gnome & Rhône 14Kbrs and was re-designated 111/6.[1] The 111/6 was entered into the 1934 London to Melbourne air race but it was withdrawn when the landing gear was damaged two days before the race start.[1] With no commercial interest in the design no more Bleriot 111s were built.[1]

Variants

Bleriot 111/1
Powered by a 280 hp (209 kW) Hispano-Suiza 6Mbr 6-cyl. water-cooled in-line engine.[1]
Bleriot 111/2 / bis
Modified landing gear.
Bleriot 111/3
The 111/2 re-engined with a 420 hp (313 kW) Gnome & Rhône 9Ady radial engine. This aircraft ended up in the Spanish Republican Air Force during the Spanish Civil War.[2]
Bleriot 111/4
The 111/1 was modified as the 111/4 with a revised wing bracing, a 400 hp (298 kW) Hispano-Suiza 12Jb engine and retractable landing gear,a first for a French aircraft.[1]
Bleriot 111/5
Bleriot 111/5 photo from L'Aerophile Salon 1932
The pilot's cockpit moved to the rear of the passenger cabin and fitted with a 500 hp (373 kW) Hispano-Suiza 12Mbr engine.[1]
Sagittaire
Blériot Sagittaire photo from L'Aerophile November 1934
A re-engined variant of the 111/5 was fitted with a 500 hp (373 kW) Gnome-Rhône K-14(sic) radial engine and was named Sagittaire (English: Sagittarius).[1]
Bleriot 111/6
Sagittaire later fitted with a new wing and 840 hp (626 kW) Gnome & Rhône 14Kbrs

Operators

 France
 Spain
Republican Air force Bleriot 111/3

Specifications (111/6)

Blériot 111 3-view drawing from L'Air November 15, 1928

Data from [3]The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Capacity: four passengers
  • Length: 10.66 m (34 ft 11.75 in)
  • Wingspan: 17.00 m (55 ft 9.25 in)
  • Height: 4.07 m (14 ft 4.25 in)
  • Wing area: 34.57 m2 (372.12 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 2,136 kg (4,709 lb)
  • Gross weight: 3,400 kg (7,496 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Gnome-Rhône 14Kbrs radial engine , 636 kW (840 hp)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 370 km/h (230 mph, 200 kn)
  • Range: 1,000 km (621 mi, 540 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 5,500 m (18,045 ft)

See also

Related lists

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Blériot 111.
Notes
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Orbis 1985, p. 712
  2. ↑ "Aircraft that took part in the Spanish Civil War". Archived from the original on 2015-02-05. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
  3. ↑ Orbis 1985, p. 713
Sources


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