L.Opdyke French Aeroplanes Before the Great War (Schiffer)

Журнал Flight

Flight, January 6, 1912.

PARIS AERO SHOW.

Morane-Saulnier.

   THE exhibit on this stand consisted of four monoplanes, a school type, a military two-seater, a racing type, and an uncompleted all-steel monoplane. Both the little Anzani-engined school type machine, and the 70-h.p. military are identical as far as their general outline is concerned, the only difference in the two models being the slightly increased size of the more powerful machine. The fuselage in both cases is of the customary box-girder type, being fairly deep in the neighbourhood of the pilot's seat and tapering off from that point towards the tail where its termination may be represented by a horizontal line. In the case of the two-seater machine the 70-h.p. Gnome engine with which it is equipped is almost totally enclosed in a large oil-shield, an idea of which may be gained from the accompanying sketch. This feature is naturally omitted in the school machine, as this is fitted with a stationary air-cooled engine for the proper operation of which a maximum volume of air-cooling draught is imperative. Both are equipped with a Henry Farman type of landing gear, the only difference being that the skids, not being up-turned in front, are apparently not intended to come into action when landing, and the wheels are mounted in a slightly different manner. The fuel tanks are arranged under the steel wind-screen, which latter is heavily padded along its rear edge in order to prevent any personal damage to the pilot should he be thrown forward from his seat as the result of a heavy landing. The main body is covered in throughout its whole length to reduce head-resistance.
   In its main characteristics the Morane-Saulnier racer is identical with the two machines already described, its only difference lying in the design of its under-carriage. This latter being entirely constructed of oval section steel tubing, to which are attached the two landing-wheels. As no attempt has been made to endow the chassis with any degree of flexibility, it is doubtful whether it will prove successful under the pilotage of any but the most expert pilots at landing, and even then the ground would have to be of an almost billiard-table-like surface. The wings, in plan form, are similar to those on the Borel machine, and they are stayed by means of stranded steel cable to the middle point of the chassis. Control of the wing warping and the rear elevator is maintained from a vertical universally-jointed lever, of which the action is identical with the Bleriot cloche.
   The fuselage of the all-steel war monoplane, which is exhibited in an uncompleted stage, is of torpedo form and constructed throughout of sheet steel. From its blunt nose, which is ventilated, and which encloses the motor, to a point to the rear of the pilot's seat, this steel body is of circular section, but from that point to the tail it flattens out horizontally. Even the skeletons of the wings and the rear controlling surfaces are carried out very cleverly in metal.