The Maurice Farman MF.7 Longhorn is a French biplane developed before World War I which was used for reconnaissance by both the French and British air services in the early stages of the war before being relegated to service as a trainer.
Maurice Farman's 1910 biplaneMF.7 Longhorn at Preveza in 1912MF.7 Longhorn at Preveza in 1913
The "Longhorn" is a three bay biplane with a forward elevator mounted on upcurved extensions of the landing skids and an empennage carried on four booms consisting of biplane horizontal stabilisers with an elevator attached to the trailing edge of the upper surface and twin rudders. The airframe was constructed using a combination of ash and silver spruce, and many of the members including the outer interplane struts and the outrigger booms carrying the tail surfaces are hollow.[1] It is powered by a Renault air-cooled V8 engine driving a pusher propeller mounted at the back of a fabric-covered nacelle. The propeller is mounted on the engine's camshaft, and therefore revolves at half the engine speed.[1] Its name was derived from the distinctive front-mounted elevator and elongated skids.
The design originated with Maurice Farman's second aircraft, which was built in 1910. This was 12.75 m (41.8 ft) long and had upper and lower wings both spanning 11 m (36 ft). The wings had rounded ends and the outer pair of interplane struts were fabric covered to form voisin-style side curtains. The undercarriage was also of Voisin pattern, with a pair of mainwheels mounted on trailing arms below the skids. Lateral control was effected by ailerons mounted on the lower wings only. Pitch control was effected solely by a front-mounted elevator, the tail surfaces consisting of biplane fixed stabilising surfaces and twin rudders. The gap between the wings was 1.5 m (5 ft).[2]
The side curtains were soon removed, and subsequent aircraft, including that flown by Maurice Tabateau to win the 1910 Coupe Michelin, had square-ended wings and modified tail surfaces, with an elevator added to the upper rear stabiliser.
The 1911 Maurice Farman aircraft flown to win the Michelin Puy de Dôme prize had an increased wingspan, the upper wing spanning 16 m (52 ft 6 in) and the lower 14.5 m (47 ft 7 in). Ailerons were mounted on both upper and lower wings. The undercarriage now had two pairs of wheels attached to the skids using elastic cords.[3]
The Maurice Farman is the subject of a detailed technical description in the issue of Flight dated 6 July 1912. This describes it as a new type, but also notes that in essence the design was at least two years old. The aircraft described differs from earlier aircraft principally in having a 2 m (6 ft 7 in) gap between the wings.[1]
Operational history
Early civil flights
Early versions of the design were used for instruction purposes at Maurice Farman's flying school at Buc.
On October 28, 1910 Maurice Tabateau won the Coupe Michelin prize by flying 464.72 km (288.76 mi) in 6 hr 1 min 35 s [4]
On 7 March 1911 Eugène Renaux flew an example to win the Michelin Prize offered for a passenger-carrying flight from Paris to the summit of the Puy de Dôme.[5]
A variant with an extra bay, increasing the span of the upper wing to 20 m (66 ft), was used by Géo Fourny to set an endurance record of 720 km (450 mi) in 11 hr 29 min 11 s on 2 September 1911. This was one of the two aircraft entered by Maurice Farman for the French military aircraft competition held in November 1911.[6] The second aircraft was of similar span, but was rigged so that it had staggered wings.
MF.7s were used by the Imperial Japanese forces in the World War IBattle of Tsingtao, with one downed by the German force's sole working aircraft. This was the first documented downing of an airplane in battle.
^Jackson, Robert, The Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft, Paragon, 2002. ISBN0-7525-8130-9
^Angelucci, Enzo (1983). The Rand McNally encyclopedia of military aircraft, 1914-1980. The Military Press. p. 21. ISBN0-517-41021-4.
Bibliography
Liron, Jean (1984). Les avions Farman. Collection Docavia. Vol. 21. Paris: Éditions Larivière. OCLC 37146471.
Bruce, J. M. (1982). The Aeroplanes of the Royal Flying Corps (Military Wing). London: Putnam. ISBN0-370-30084-X.
Further reading
Hartmann, Gérard. "Le grand concours d'aviation militaire de Reims 1911" [The Reims Military Aviation Competition, 1911] (PDF). Dossiers historiques et techniques aéronautique française (in French). Gérard Hartmann. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
Moulin, Jean (October 2004). "Reims 1911, le premier concours d'appareils militaires au monde!" [Reims 1911, the First Military Aircraft Concours in the World!]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (139): 51–58. ISSN 1243-8650.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Farman MF.7.
"The Maurice Farman Biplane" (PDF). Flight. IV (27): 603–606. July 6, 1912. No. 184. Retrieved June 10, 2011. Contemporary technical description of the MF.7 with photographs and drawings.
August 23, 2023
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The Maurice Farman MF 7 Longhorn is a French biplane developed before World War I which was used for reconnaissance by both the French and British air services in the early stages of the war before being relegated to service as a trainer MF 7Role ReconnaissanceManufacturer Farman Aviation WorksDesigner Maurice FarmanRetired 1922Primary users French Air ForceRoyal Flying Corps Australian Flying Corps Royal Danish Air Force Contents 1 Design and development 2 Operational history 2 1 Early civil flights 2 2 Military use 3 Operators 4 Survivors 5 Specifications MF 7 6 See also 7 References 8 Bibliography 9 Further reading 10 External linksDesign and development Edit Maurice Farman s 1910 biplane MF 7 Longhorn at Preveza in 1912 MF 7 Longhorn at Preveza in 1913The Longhorn is a three bay biplane with a forward elevator mounted on upcurved extensions of the landing skids and an empennage carried on four booms consisting of biplane horizontal stabilisers with an elevator attached to the trailing edge of the upper surface and twin rudders The airframe was constructed using a combination of ash and silver spruce and many of the members including the outer interplane struts and the outrigger booms carrying the tail surfaces are hollow 1 It is powered by a Renault air cooled V8 engine driving a pusher propeller mounted at the back of a fabric covered nacelle The propeller is mounted on the engine s camshaft and therefore revolves at half the engine speed 1 Its name was derived from the distinctive front mounted elevator and elongated skids The design originated with Maurice Farman s second aircraft which was built in 1910 This was 12 75 m 41 8 ft long and had upper and lower wings both spanning 11 m 36 ft The wings had rounded ends and the outer pair of interplane struts were fabric covered to form voisin style side curtains The undercarriage was also of Voisin pattern with a pair of mainwheels mounted on trailing arms below the skids Lateral control was effected by ailerons mounted on the lower wings only Pitch control was effected solely by a front mounted elevator the tail surfaces consisting of biplane fixed stabilising surfaces and twin rudders The gap between the wings was 1 5 m 5 ft 2 The side curtains were soon removed and subsequent aircraft including that flown by Maurice Tabateau to win the 1910 Coupe Michelin had square ended wings and modified tail surfaces with an elevator added to the upper rear stabiliser The 1911 Maurice Farman aircraft flown to win the Michelin Puy de Dome prize had an increased wingspan the upper wing spanning 16 m 52 ft 6 in and the lower 14 5 m 47 ft 7 in Ailerons were mounted on both upper and lower wings The undercarriage now had two pairs of wheels attached to the skids using elastic cords 3 The Maurice Farman is the subject of a detailed technical description in the issue of Flight dated 6 July 1912 This describes it as a new type but also notes that in essence the design was at least two years old The aircraft described differs from earlier aircraft principally in having a 2 m 6 ft 7 in gap between the wings 1 Operational history EditEarly civil flights Edit Early versions of the design were used for instruction purposes at Maurice Farman s flying school at Buc On October 28 1910 Maurice Tabateau won the Coupe Michelin prize by flying 464 72 km 288 76 mi in 6 hr 1 min 35 s 4 On 7 March 1911 Eugene Renaux flew an example to win the Michelin Prize offered for a passenger carrying flight from Paris to the summit of the Puy de Dome 5 A variant with an extra bay increasing the span of the upper wing to 20 m 66 ft was used by Geo Fourny to set an endurance record of 720 km 450 mi in 11 hr 29 min 11 s on 2 September 1911 This was one of the two aircraft entered by Maurice Farman for the French military aircraft competition held in November 1911 6 The second aircraft was of similar span but was rigged so that it had staggered wings Military use Edit The Australian Flying Corps AFC provided with the MF 7 by the British Indian Army operated it during the Mesopotamian campaign of 1915 16 Some Maurice Farman 7 were sold to Spain and served with the Servicio de Aeronautica Military since 1913 Four MF 7s were sold to Norway and served with the Norwegian Army Air Service MF 7s were used by the Imperial Japanese forces in the World War I Battle of Tsingtao with one downed by the German force s sole working aircraft This was the first documented downing of an airplane in battle A Greek example was converted to a hydroplane flown by Michael Moutoussis with Aristeidis Moraitinis as observer and carried out the world s first air naval co operation mission during the First Balkan War Operators Edit United KingdomRoyal Flying Corps 7 No 2 Squadron RFC No 3 Squadron RFC No 4 Squadron RFC No 5 Squadron RFC No 6 Squadron RFC No 7 Squadron RFC No 9 Squadron RFC No 15 Squadron RFC No 30 Squadron RFC No 41 Squadron RFC AustraliaAustralian Flying Corps Central Flying School AFC at Point Cook Victoria Mesopotamian Half Flight Kingdom of ItalyCorpo Aeronautico Militare SpainSpanish Air Force MexicoMexican Air Force FranceFrench Air Force BelgiumBelgian Air Force NorwayNorwegian Army Air Service operated four aircraft until the late 1920s JapanImperial Japanese Navy Air Service DenmarkRoyal Danish Air Force MakhnovshchinaAir Fleet of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine RussiaImperial Russian Air Service GreeceRoyal Hellenic Navy Royal Hellenic Air ForceSurvivors EditMusee de l Air et de l Espace Paris Norsk Teknisk Museum Oslo Greek War Museum in Athens GreeceSpecifications MF 7 EditData from Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft 8 9 General characteristicsCrew 2 Length 11 35 m 37 ft 3 in Wingspan 15 4 m 50 ft 6 in Height 3 45 m 11 ft 4 in Gross weight 855 kg 1 885 lb Powerplant 1 Renault 8C V 8 air cooled piston engine 52 kW 70 hp Performance Maximum speed 95 km h 59 mph 51 kn Service ceiling 4 000 m 13 000 ft See also EditRelated development Farman MF 11Related lists List of military aircraft of FranceReferences Edit a b c The Maurice Farman Biplane Flight 603 6 6 July 1911 Le Biplan Maurice Farman 1910 l Aerophile in French 251 3 June 1910 Le Biplan Maurice Farman de Pais Puy de Dome l Aerophile in French 126 7 15 March 1911 Pour La Coupe Michelin 1910 l Aerophile in French 506 15 November 1910 Renaux wins the Michelin Puy de Dome Prize Flight 11 March 1911 Les Records de Distance et Duree San Escale l Aerophile in French 439 40 15 September 1911 Bruce 1982 p 241 Jackson Robert The Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft Paragon 2002 ISBN 0 7525 8130 9 Angelucci Enzo 1983 The Rand McNally encyclopedia of military aircraft 1914 1980 The Military Press p 21 ISBN 0 517 41021 4 Bibliography EditLiron Jean 1984 Les avions Farman Collection Docavia Vol 21 Paris Editions Lariviere OCLC 37146471 Bruce J M 1982 The Aeroplanes of the Royal Flying Corps Military Wing London Putnam ISBN 0 370 30084 X Further reading EditHartmann Gerard Le grand concours d aviation militaire de Reims 1911 The Reims Military Aviation Competition 1911 PDF Dossiers historiques et techniques aeronautique francaise in French Gerard Hartmann Retrieved 11 September 2022 Moulin Jean October 2004 Reims 1911 le premier concours d appareils militaires au monde Reims 1911 the First Military Aircraft Concours in the World Avions Toute l aeronautique et son histoire in French 139 51 58 ISSN 1243 8650 Opdycke Leonard E 1999 French Aeroplanes before the Great War Atglen Pennsylvania Schiffer Publishing ISBN 0 7643 0752 5 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Farman MF 7 Luftfahrtmuseum The Maurice Farman Biplane PDF Flight IV 27 603 606 July 6 1912 No 184 Retrieved June 10 2011 Contemporary technical description of the MF 7 with photographs and drawings Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Farman MF 7 amp oldid 1163316513, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
