The Blériot 125 (or Bl-125) was a highly unusual French airliner of the early 1930s. Displayed at the 1930 Salon de l'Aéronautique in Paris, it featured accommodation for twelve passengers in separate twin fuselages. Between them, these pods shared a tailplane and a high wing. The centre section of wing joined the fuselage pods and also carried a nacelle that contained an engine at either end and the crew compartment in the middle. When flown the following year, it displayed very poor flight characteristics and although attempts to improve it continued on into 1933, certification could not be achieved and the sole prototype was scrapped the following year.
| 125 | |
|---|---|
 Wind tunnel model | |
| General information | |
| Type | Airliner |
| Manufacturer | Blériot |
| Designer | |
| Status | scrapped |
| Number built | 1 |
| History | |
| First flight | 9 March 1931 |
Specifications
editGeneral characteristics
- Crew: two pilots and one navigator
- Capacity: 12 passengers
- Length: 13.83 m (45 ft 4 in)
- Wingspan: 29.4 m (96 ft 5 in)
- Height: 4.0 m (13 ft 1 in)
- Wing area: 100.0 m2 (1,076 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 4,440 kg (9,789 lb)
- Gross weight: 7,260 kg (16,006 lb)
- Powerplant: 2 × Hispano-Suiza 12Hbr , 410 kW (550 hp) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 220 km/h (137 mph, 119 kn)
- Range: 1,000 km (621 mi, 540 nmi)
References
edit- Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 162.
External links
edit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Blériot 125.
- "Aircraft With Twin Cabins Carries Larger Loads", September 1931, Popular Mechanics
- "Cabins Under Wings Of Plane For Passenger Service" Popular Mechanics, August 1933
- "Report on Paris Air Show"l Flight 12 Dec 1930