  We report on direct measurements of the basal force components for granular
material flowing down a smooth incline. We investigate granular flows for a
large range of inclination angles from teta=13.4{\deg} to 83.6{\deg} and
various gate opening of the chute. We find that the effective basal friction
coefficient, muB, obtained from the ratio of the longitudinal force to the
normal one exhibits a systematic increase with increasing slope angle and a
significant weakening with increasing particle hold-up H (the depth-integrated
particle volume fraction). At low angles, the basal friction is slightly less
than or equal to tan(teta). The deviation from tan(teta) can be interpreted as
a contribution from the side-wall to the overall friction. At larger angles,
the basal friction muB saturates at an asymptotic value that is dependent on
the gate opening of the chute. Importantly, our data confirm the outcomes of
recent discrete numerical simulations. First, for steady and fully developed
flows as well as for moderately accelerated ones, the variation of the basal
friction can be captured through a unique dimensionless number, the Froude
number Fr, defined as Fr=U/(gHcos(teta))^1/2, where U is the mean flow
velocity. Second, the mean velocity scales with the particle hold-up H with a
power exponent close to 1/4, contrasting with the Bagnold scaling (U~H^3/2).
