NOTE: This add-on aircraft was built with Discreet GMax for FS2002.
INSTALLATION:
Through the wonders of PKZip, borelds.zip unzips into a folder called borel, this text file (read for details of operation) and file named file_id.diz (an id file which you may delete).
Place the borel folder in your Aircraft folder and it'll appear as one of the choices. Its dedicated sounds are included; its gauges are all default Sopwith.
HISTORY:
Gabriel Borel had a flying school north of Paris at Vidamee; by 1911 he was an aeroplane
manufacturer on his own right. During the spring of 1913, this Monoplane designed by Borel's associate Odier made its appearance. However, there's also a bit of mystery concerning the plane. Kenneth Munson's fine "Pioneer Aircraft 1903-1914" includes it as a Borel. But the highly respected "Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1913" has it as a Bleriot: "Early in 1913 a special experimental military machine was produced with considerable secrecy." No mention is made of Borel.
A trio of steel booms, forming a triangular section, support the tail assembly. What's more, and really astounding, is how the upper boom also acts as a bearing for the Gnome rotary engine and its propeller. That is, as a rotary, this engine has its crankshaft fixed to the firewall; the engine itself spins with the propeller. And, with the Borel, the propeller also seemingly splits the aeroplane in two!
The pilot sits to the right and slightly aft of the observer; this, to give the observer a clear line of vision and of fire. It's said the Borel's undercarriage immediately below was kept free of cross struts or bracing wire so that bombs or other objects could be dropped overboard.
What a wonderfully bizarre design!
THE REAL BOREL MONOPLANE, 1913:
Wing span 11.20 m (36 ft 9 in.) Aspect ratio 5.56 Length 7.45 m (24 ft 5 1/3 in.)
Wing area 19.00 sq m (204 1/2 sq ft) Horizontal stabilizer area 3.07 sq m (33 sq ft)
Rudder area 0.89 sq m (9 3/5 sq ft) Height 2.80 m (9 ft 2 1/4 in.) Weight 420 kg (926 lb)
Airframe: steel tube and ash Covering: aluminum (front and rear of nacelle); plywood (its center); rubber-proofed fabric (wing and tail surfaces)
Power: One Gnome 7-cylinder rotary, 80 hp; 2-blade pusher propeller, 2.5 m (7 1/2 ft) diameter
Maximum speed: 78 mph (68 kts)
THE VIRTUAL ONE:
I was attracted to the Borel by its bizarre pusher-prop-amidst-tail-boom layout. In rendering this bizarre layout and its Gnome rotary, I went a bit crazy with GMax capabilities. Wings and horizontal tail surfaces are fabricated with spars and ribs, covered with "fabric." The Gnome has lots of little details which, of course, transform into a gray rotational haze in operation. No matter; they're neat-looking when the engine is shut down.
One moral: I'm using a relatively ancient (4 year old!) 600-MHz machine, and compilation time for something like the Borel takes 8-9 minutes. It's probably the last highly detailed plane I'll build on this marchine...
The Flight Dynamics proved surprisingly easy. Initially, I gave the GMax Borel the flight dynamics of my earlier FS98 Borel. The values in the Aircraft.cfg file are directly out-of-the-book. I believe you'll find the Borel handles with a light, floaty appeal that I like to imagine early aeroplanes possessed. It has none of their vices, however!
NOTE: Slash, /, activates the observer's binoculars.
CONCLUDING COMMENTS:
Inspiration came from a wonderful book that is providing me with years of projects: "Pioneer Aircraft, 1903-1914 The Pocket Encyclopedia of World Aircraft in Color," by Kenneth Munson, Macmillan, New York, 1969. Also useful was "Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1913," Fred T. Jane, a reprint of the 1913 edition, Arco Publishing, New York, 1969.
As I've noted in earlier FS documentations, being part of the fltsim community gives much pleasure. (How else to explain freely sharing all these hours of labor!) Needless to say, this aircraft is freeware. No responsibility is taken for any loss or damage incurred directly or indirectly from its use. The original unaltered files may be freely distributed, uploaded, downloaded and shared. Please maintain proper credit, of course, and make no financial gain whatsoever.
