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The Boland 1912 Tailless Biplane was a refinement of the Boland 1911 Tailless Biplane. The major change in the 1912 biplane is the addition of a central nacelle that contained the pilot, passenger and the engine.
Design and development
The Boland 1912 biplane was more of a refinement of Frank Boland's previous tailless aircraft. Still using the wing 'jibs' he developed for lateral control, this aircraft introduced a crudely constructed nacelle for the pilot, passenger and engine. This was the aircraft that Boland took on tour toVenezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
and the West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
in 1912, becoming the first person to fly an aircraft in Venezuela. It was also the aircraft he was flying in Port of Spain, Trinidad
Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...
on January 23, 1913 when a failure in the forward structure of the aircraft caused it to dive unexpectedly into the ground, killing him.
After Frank's death, his brother, Joseph, continued the development of the aircraft. Working with the financial backing of Inglis M. Uppercu, by 1913, he had substantially revised the nacelle and front structure of the aircraft and improved the overall fit and finish of the entire aircraft. He also had a pair of floats designed for the aircraft that could be easily bolted to each of the skids with six bolts, turning it into a seaplane.
In 1914, Uppercu bought out the Boland brothers and reorganized the Boland Airplane and Motor Company as the Aeromarine Plane and Motor Company and marketed this as the Aeromarine Model B.
Specifications (1913-Aeromarine B)
References
{{Boland aircraft Boland aircraft 1910s United States experimental aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft Canard aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1912