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Aviation History
1921
1921 - 0824.PDF
DECEMBER 15, 1921 THE • PAQIS -AEBO -SHOW-1921 BY THE TECHNICAL EDITOR" (Continued from page 814.) LIGNES AERIENNES LATECOERE,182,, Boulevard Haussmann, Paris (8e) ALTHOUGH not a newcomer to the aircraft industry—havingexhibited a machine at the Paris Aero Show of 1919—the name Latecoere is probably associated, in the minds of mostreaders of FLIGHT, with the operational rather than with theconstructional side of commercial aviation. For more than two year% the Lignes A enemies Latecoere, or, to give the firm its modern name, Compagnie Generate d'Enterprises Ae'ro-nautiques, have been operating the Tolouse-Barcelona- Alicante-Malaga-Morocco air service. The firm was re-constructed some months ago, and we understand that con- struction is to be undertaken on a much larger scale thanbefore. The Lateco^re works of Toulouse are really coach and carriage manufacturers, and aviation is one of theirside issues. Incidentally, the Latecolre firm is one of the few who combine air transport with aeroplane construction.At the Paris show of 1919 a small postal aeroplane was exhibited, which was little more than a two-seater fighter,minus guns and other gear, and with a corresponding increase in useful load. At the present exhibition, two completemachines are shown, and an all-metal fuselage of very unusual construction. The Latecoere type " Lat. 8 " is a single-engined machine,with 300 h.p. Renault. It has a small cabin with accommoda- tion for five passengers. The pilot is placed aft of the cabin,and, as far as it was possible to ascertain, there are no means •for communication between him and the passengers: Theonly feature of this machine which is worth placing on record is that there is a celluloid panel in the roof by way of providingan emergency exit, a feature, by the way, which French constructors generally do not appear to deem necessary,as a great many of the machines shown did not possess even this elementary precautionary measure. The ailerons ofthe Latecoere 8, as also of the large three-engined machine, are of the same unusual type as those of the 1919 machine,i.e., the aileron horn balance works in a cut-out portion of the wing, and the trailing edge of the latter is thinned downjust in front of the leading edge of the horn balance. The resulting section at this point is not unlike a Howard Wright,but with the rear portion movable. As the feature has been retained, it may be presumed to have proved effective.Following are the main characteristics of the " X-at. 8 " : Engine, 300 h.p. Renault. Span, 43 ft. 4 ins. ; wing area,530 sq. ft. ; wing loading, 9 lbs./sq. ft.; power loading, 15 4 lbs./h.p. ; speed near ground, 112 m.p.h. ; at G,6oo ft,105 m.p.h. The type " Lat. 4 " is a very large three-engined machine,with three 300 h.p. Salmson engines, placed one in the nose of the fuselage, and the other two on the wings, or rather betweenthe wings, as they are supported mainly from the fuselage. The machine is far from being pretty, and its bulk appearsunnecessary compared with the number of passengers carried. The fuselage is of ample dimensions, and the large cabinis divided by a partition into two more or less separate cabins. A count of the seats discloses only 16, although the passengeraccommodation claimed is 20. Possibly the remaining passengers are tucked away in the pilot's cockpit, and in theanteroom, near the entrance door. The pilot's cockpit is immediately aft of the fuselage engine, and has a raisedroof, somewhat like a conning tower. An opening in its roof allows the navigator to get his head outside to surveythe situation. The front engine is neatly covered in by the fuselagecovering, and the two wing engines are enclosed in streamline power eggs, presumably with their tanks mounted just behindthem. The method of supporting the engines is unusual, T_h e three- engined Late- coere is a very large machine for the number of pas sengers carried. " Flight " Copyright 824 .
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