Balsan

   A wealthy businessman and Deputy Chairman of the Aero Club de France, Jacques Balsan had been one of the first members of the Aviation Committee, an experienced pilot in both lighter - and heavier-than-air machines. In 1911 Liore et Olivier had completed the graceful Balsan monoplane, and Balsan was flying it at Mourmelon in the summer of 1911 and most of 1912. fitted with a 60-70 hp semi-radial REP motor; it was exhibited at the 1911 Salon de la Locomotion Aerienne with a 50 hp Gnome, mounted between steel and copper plates. Balsan donated it to the French army in September 1912 - a common practice with single prototypes. It is not clear who designed this neat monoplane. Balsan himself or engineers at Liore et Olivier. The rectangular wings had elliptical tips and built-in ailerons; the front of the fuselage was rectangular in section and covered with 2 mm ply; the rear was triangular, with the spine at the top. The machine was all wood, fabric-covered, and remarkably clean, the finish being comparable to that of the 1912 Deperdussins. The cross-shaped tail was made of fabric-covered steel tubing; the 4-wheel undercarriage was of Zens design.

   (Span: 11.4 m; length: 9 m; wing area: 18 sqm; gross weight: 438 kg)