Blériot 115

what is it?

The Blériot Bl-115 was a French biplane airliner of the 1920s, best remembered for the part it played in the French exploration of Africa. For its day, it was a large aircraft, mounting one pair of engines on the upper wing and one pair on the lower. First flying on 9 May 1923, the prototype crashed on 23 June, killing its pilot, Jean Casale.

🔎How to recognise it: 4 piston engines with propellers · 25 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 180 km/htop speed
• range 600 kmwithout refuelling
• seats 8passengers
• size 4,900 kgmax take-off weight
• built 6made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 103 years ago, in 1923.
• 🚗Wingspan of 25 m: about 6 cars parked nose to tail.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1923

number built

6

role

airliner

engines

4× Hispano-Suiza 8Ac

crew

3

passengers

8

length

14.5 m

wingspan

25 m

height

5 m

max take-off weight

4,900 kg

top speed

180 km/h

range

600 km

ceiling

6,000 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.