Blériot 165
The Blériot Blériot 165 and 175 (short BL -165 and BL -175 ) were twin-engine, designed as a biplane transport aircraft of the French manufacturer Blériot Aéronautique from the 1920s. Of the machines, only one copy was built. The Bl- 175 was later converted into a Bl- 165. An unrealized military variant was the Blériot 123
History and construction
The Blériot 165 and its sister model should be the successor of the obsolete Farman Goliath. The designers drew on the plans of the four-engined Bleriot 115. The first flight took place on 27 October 1926.
The two pilots sat side by side in an open cockpit. In the cabin behind it were up to 16 passengers can be accommodated. The body had a rectangular cross section.
When driving the Bl- 165 two of Gnôme et Rhône produced under license Bristol Jupiter radial engines that were placed between the wings of the biplane served. The specially designed for night flights Bl- 175 was originally equipped with Renault 12 series engines and, after their conversion to Jupiter engines also the name of Bl- 165th
Use
Both machines came into the possession of the airline Air Union. Baptized in the name of Léonard de Vinci and Octave Chanute machines operated the route from Paris to London. Competing with the Lioré -et -Olivier LeO 21 they proved to be inferior, therefore renounced the airline to obtain further copies.
The addition of a Bl- 175, which wanted to use for a long-haul flight from Paris to Tokyo, the aviation pioneer Paul Codos, did not materialize. Also failed plans to develop the aircraft to a Blériot bomber called 123 on.