Breguet Colibri
| Colibri | |
|---|---|
| Role | Ultralight |
| National origin | France |
| Manufacturer | Louis Breguet |
| Number built | 1 |
The Breguet Colibri was a
Design and development
In 1923 the French newspaper Petit Parisien organised a contest for low-powered aircraft, called the Grand-Prix de la Moto-Aviette. It attracted nineteen entries and began on Sunday 15 July. The Breguet Colibri (Hummingbird) was one participant.[1]
It was a high, braced-wing monoplane of mixed construction. The wing was trapezoidal in plan out to rounded tips, tapered slightly in thickness outward and built around two wooden spars. It was braced from below with V-struts from the spars at about one-third span to the lower fuselage. Broad ailerons filled the outer halves of the trailing edges out to the tips.[2]
the first choice of engine for the Colibri was a water-cooled, twin-cylinder, 509 cc (31.1 cu in), 10 hp (7.5 kW) Renault but this was not ready for the Grand-Prix. Instead Breguet used an air-cooled, 750 cc (46 cu in) four-cylinder upright inline Sergant, which was geared down to produce 16 hp (12 kW) at 3,200 rpm.[2][3] This was mounted in the upper nose under a narrow, dural cowlingnose and drove a two-blade propeller.[2]
The fuselage of the Colibri was almost rectangular in section, with tubular duralumin longerons and frames which slightly rounded its canvas covering. Its top and underside were flat and met at a wide horizontal edge below the engine below the engine. The pilot's cockpit was just behind the wing leading edge, with a faired headrest behind it. At the rear the dural-framed horizontal tail was mounted on top of the fuselage and was almost semi-circular in plan, with a ground-adjustable tailplane and unbalanced elevators. The vertical tail had an irregular, blunted quadrilateral profile and its rudder, which worked in a gap between the elevators, was also unbalanced.[2]
The Colibri had a very simple tailskid undercarriage with its thin-tyred mainwheels on an axle elastically mounted from the lower longerons, inset into the fuselage sides and centred just below its underside. Its track was only about 790 mm (31 in).
Specifications (Renault engine)
Data from l'Aéronautique, July 1923[4]
General characteristics
- Crew: One
- Length: 6.10 m (20 ft 0 in)
- Wingspan: 10.40 m (34 ft 1 in)
- Height: 1.54 m (5 ft 1 in)
- Wing area: 15 m2 (160 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 98 kg (216 lb)
- Gross weight: 188 kg (414 lb)
- Fuel capacity: 25 L (5.5 imp gal; 6.6 US gal)
- Powerplant: 1 × Renault water-cooled 2-cylinder inline, 7.5 kW (10 hp)
- Propellers: 2-bladed Breguet
References
- ^ "Le Grand-Prix du "Petit Parisien"". Les Ailes (114): 1–2. 12 July 1923.
- ^ a b c d e Serryer, J (6 September 1923). "Le "Colibri" Louis Breguet". Les Ailes (116): 2.
- ^ "Le Moteur Sergant 16 HP". Les Ailes (108): 2. 23 August 1923.
- ^ a b "Le Breguet". L'Aéronautique. 5 (50): 275. July 1923.
category:Breguet aircraft Category:French sport aircraft 1920–1929