Blériot 125

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 two separate fuselage pods. 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 actually 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.

Specifications

General 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 ft²)
• 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)
• Range: 1,000 km (621 miles)

References

• Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 162. 

External links

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