Bréguet G.111

The Bréguet G.111 or alternatively, G.11E was a French passenger coaxial rotors helicopter flown soon after World War II. Only one was built, development ceasing when funding ran out.

Louis Bréguet designed his first helicopter, the Bréguet-Richet Gyroplane, in 1908 but his 1935 Gyroplane Laboratoire was much more successful. It had no tail rotor but instead had co-axial contra-rotating rotors. After World War II Bréguet was approached by the Société Francaises du Gyroplane (SFG, English: French Gyroplane Society) for a helicopter capable of carrying several passengers. Bréguet developed his wartime studies of a project named the G.34 into the two-passenger Bréguet G.11E, otherwise known as the Société Francaises du Gyroplane G.11E.

The first flight was made on 1948 but tests showed that the G.11E was underpowered, so a decision was made to replace the Potez engine with a bigger nine-cylinder radial, a 336 kW (450 HP) Pratt & Whitney R985. The type name was changed to G.111 and some re-design accompanied the power increase; the rotor diameter was increased by 1.00 m (3 ft 3 in) and the fuselage lengthened by 480 mm (1 ft 7 in) to include two more seats so that four passengers could be carried. Empty and maximum weights increased to 1,476 kg (3,254 lb) and 1,476 kg (3,254 lb) respectively.

Country: France

Designer: Louis Charles Bréguet

First flight: 9th December 1948

Number built: 1

Crew: One pilot

Capacity: Two passengers

Length: 9.20 m (30 ft 2 in)

Height: 4.05 m (13 ft 3 in)

Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney R985-SB 5

Power: 450 HP

Maximum speed: 240 km/h (150 mph, 130 kn)

Range: 470 km

Ceiling: 4,000 m (13,000 ft)

Weight: 850 kg (1,874 lb)

Bourget Museum (Paris, France)

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