View source for BFW M.31

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{|{{Infobox Aircraft Begin
|name=M.31
|image=Messerschmitt M.31 L'Aerophile December 1933.jpg
|caption=
}}{{Infobox Aircraft Type
|type=Two-seat sports plane
|national origin=[[Germany]]
|manufacturer= Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW)
|designer=[[Willy Messerschmitt]]
|first flight=1932
|introduced=
|retired=
|status=
|primary user=
|number built=1
|developed from=
|variants with their own articles=
}}
|}
The '''BFW M.31''', sometimes known as the '''Messerschmitt M.27''', was a [[Radial engine|radial-engine]]d [[Germany|German]] two-seat sports plane from 1932, with a low, [[Cantilever#Aircraft|cantilever]] wing, open [[cockpit]]s and fixed [[Landing gear|undercarriage]]. Only one was built.
==Development==
In the late 1920s and early 1930s, [[Willy Messerschmitt]], working at [[Messerschmitt|Bayerische Flugzeugwerke]] (BFW) produced a series of low-wing sports [[monoplane]]s with either one or two seats. These were the [[BFW M.19|M.19]], [[BFW M.23|M.23]], [[BFW M.27|M.27]], M.31 and [[BFW M.35|M.35]] with the M.23 the only one with sales of much over double figures. The ''M'', of course, stood for ''Messerschmitt''.<ref>{{harvnb|Smith|1971|pp=18–34}}</ref>
Like the M.27, the M.31 had the same wingspan as the M.23c. Like the M.23b and M.27, it was a tandem two-seat open cockpit monoplane machine, with a low cantilever wing and braced [[tailplane]]. The [[fuselage]] below the decking was more rounded than on the earlier aircraft, being built out of two longitudinal panels per side rather than one, with the lower one angled inwards. The fixed undercarriage was without the spats of the M.27. It was powered by a neatly [[Cowling|cowled]] radial engine driving the usual two-blade airscrew. Some considered it to be the most elegant of the series.<ref name="JRS">{{harvnb|Smith|1971|p=32}}</ref>
The first flight was in 1932, and it was on display at the German Aerosport exhibition of 1933. No orders were placed and only the [[prototype]] was built.<ref name="JRS"/>
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==Specifications==
[[File:Messerschmitt_M.31_3-view_L'Aerophile_December_1933.jpg|thumb|Messerschmitt M.31 3-view drawing from L'Aerophile December 1933]]
{{Aircraft specs
|ref={{harvnb|Smith|1971|p=32}}
|prime units? = met
|crew=two
|length m=7.85
|length ft=25
|length in=9
|span m=12.00
|span ft=39
|span in=4.25
|height m=1.90
|height ft=6
|height in=2.25
|wing area sqm=17
|wing area note=<ref name="laero33 p368">L'Aérophile December 1933, p. 368.</ref>|wing area sqft=183
|empty weight kg=335
|empty weight lb=739
|gross weight kg=650
|gross weight lb=1,433
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=[[BMW Xa]] five cylinder radial
|eng1 kw=45
|eng1 hp=60
|max speed kmh=170
|max speed mph=106
|range km=700
|range miles=435
|ceiling m=4500
|ceiling note=<ref name="laero33 p368"/>|ceiling ft=14760
}}
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{{aircontent
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==References==
{{commons category}}
;Citations
{{reflist}}
;Cited sources
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite magazine|title=L'Avion de Sport Messerschmitt M 31|magazine=[[L'Aérophile]]|date=December 1933|volume= 41|issue= 12|page=368|url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6553558n/f16.image|language=fr}}
*{{cite book |title= Messerschmitt an aircraft album|last=Smith|first = J Richard|year =1971|publisher = Ian Allan|location = London|isbn=0-7110-0224-X}}
{{refend}}
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{{Messerschmitt aircraft}}
[[Category:1930s German sport aircraft]]
[[Category:BFW aircraft|M 31]]
[[Category:Low-wing aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1932]]