FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1953
1953 - 0819.PDF
FLIGHT, 26 June 1953 813 First production N.C.8S6 A.O.P. (Regnier 4L0). FRENCH ORIGINALITY . . . designed to be very easy to fly. It is a low-wing pusher monoplane with a fixed undercarriage. The tail is carried on booms, with the tailplane mounted high on top of the fins. The fuselage, which is heavily armoured, has an enclosed cockpit in the nose for the observer and an open one behind for the pilot, while at the rear there is the inverted vee air-cooled Potez 8D engine. It is quite a bulky aeroplane, since the span of the untapered, thick wing is 13 m (42ft) and one would expect it to be both heavy and slow, since it is expected to carry an armament of two 30 mm cannon and two anti-tank guided missiles. Barring accidents, both the S.N.C.A.S.E. Grognards, the short- nosed S.E. 2410 and long-nosed S.E. 2415, are to be presented in flight. These aeroplanes were flying before the last Salon, but were prevented from participating because of security restrictions. They represent an interesting attempt to solve the twin-jet installation problems. The two engines, Hispano-Suiza Nenes, are mounted in the fuselage, one ahead of and above the other, in a common plenum-chamber. This arrangement makes the fuselage bulky and concentrates the weight on the centreline— with consequent advantages and disadvantages—but it leaves the wing unobstructed and aerodynamically "pure." The Grognard specification called for a large machine to carry a heavy load a long way, and it is consequently a bulky aircraft. The unusual dorsal air-intake is efficient, although there was some preliminary trouble with stalled air during yawed flight; this was satisfactorily cured by fitting baffles. Leading-edge flaps, designed ad hoc without previous experience, proved effective and are trouble-free. Wing fences have been fitted to counteract the spanwise spread of the stall which is characteristic of many laminar-flow aerofoils. The wing is thin, so the fuselage carries all fuel and the under carriage as well as guns, ammunition and a large rocket-bay. The low-placed adjustable tailplane has proved effective at all speeds. A tail brake parachute was envisaged in the original design and has proved most successful. It is not generally known that the Grognards have an unusual control system; instead of a stick or a wheel operating the ailerons and rudder the arm-rests on each side of the seat are used. The gearing is arranged so that the movements follow arcs that are comfortable for the arms—fore-and-aft for the elevator, one-up, (Above) Fouga CM. 170R-02, showing the new conventional tail for" comparative trials with the "butterfly." (Below) Morane Saulnier M.S. 755 Fleuret. one-down for the ailerons. This idea was evolved by the chief engineer of the Toulouse factories of S.N.C.A.S.E., M. Pierre Satre, in an effort to overcome the customary obstruction of the instrument panel by the stick. On the ground the controls feel perfectly natural and, apparently, pilots have in general praised the arrangement and none has experienced any difficulty in getting used to them. The fact that the Grognards* fully fulfilled their specification did not secure a production order, because the requirement was dropped by the Armee de l'Air before flight trials had been com pleted. Data for both the S.E. 2410 and the S.E. 2415 are now unrestricted :— Span ... Length Height Sweepback, leading edge Wing area Basic weight ... Gross weight... Speed, sea level 20,000ft 30,000ft Climb, sea level Max. permissible, weight 18 tonnes. S.E. 2410 44ft 7in 50ft 6in 19ft 3in 47 deg 496 sq ft 24,510 lb 32,190 lb 652 m.p.h. 644 m.p.h. 624 m.p.h. 5,3O0ft/min S.E. 2415 51ft lin 55ft 3in 19ft 3in 32 deg 476 sq ft 29,270 lb 31,090 lb 606 m.p.h. 590 m.p.h. 569 m.p.h. 5,300ft/min The S.O. 4050 Vautour, produced by the S.N.C.A.S.O., is a relatively conventional twin-jet with a thin swept wing and under- slung nacelles. It has few outstanding features other than its general aerodynamic cleanness and it bears little resemblance to the preceding S.N.C.A.S.O. designs, such as the Espadon and the S.O.-4000. An unusual feature, necessitated by the thin wing, is a bicycle undercarriage with fuselage main wheels and balancing wheels in the nacelles. In its present form the Vautour has a long canopy covering two ejector seats, but there will also be a single-seater version. In addition to 30 mm cannon in the fuselage, there is a large bay for bombs or guided missiles. The very large tail surfaces are more akin to British than Continental practice. The engines are S.N.E.C.M.A. Atar 101s. The Vautour has been ordered into production. Another military—or more precisely, naval—type to be on view is the Breguet Vultur, which was fully described and illustrated in Flight for May 15th (pages 606-608). In the lighter military field there is the production version of the N.C.856, which is the French idea of what an Auster should look like. This rather ungainly looking aeroplane has been developed from the N.C. 853 Cub. This was a light two-seater designed by the defunct S.N.C.A. du Centre and now taken over by the S.N.C.A. du Nord. The N.C. 856 has a tube-and- fabric fuselage and fabric-covered light alloy main wings. The tail has twin fins and rudders, which give a remarkable amount of control below the stall. The shoulder wing and ample glazing give the crew an exceptional view both upward and downward, although the engine tends to blanket the forward view in slow flight. Fitted with a 140 h.p. Regnier 4LO inverted in-line engine, the N.C. 856 has a moderate performance. Span is 40ft, length 24ft, height 7ft, wing area 183 sq ft, tare weight 1,432 lb, gross weight 1,984 lb, max. speed 118 m.p.h., cruising speed 105 m.p.h., minimum speed 43 m.p.h., and endurance 1 hr. Unlike this country, France can show several new light aero planes, both in the normal and the ultra-light categories. There is now a two-seater version of the Bebe Jodel, still with the charac teristic turned-up wing-tips. The Jodels and several other types are available for purchase and there are also a number of attractive prototypes, which is a remarkable achievement in a country where finance and costs have run amok. France is also to be congratulated on a flying start with light jet trainers. Following the S.I.P.A. 200, Miniiet, shown partly finished at the Grand Palais in 1951, there came first the Fouga CM-170R Magister and then, early this year, the Morane Saulnier M.S. 755 Fleuret. All three are aeroplanes of character —and they owe their origin to men of character. The Mini jet is the work of the brilliant and dynamic Yves Gardan, whose Minicab and S.I.P.A. 901 are two of the most delightful light aeroplanes in the world. The Magister is the result of the per sistent application and vision of Pierre Mauboussin, one of the most pleasant personalities in French aviation, and follows the tradition of his jet-gliders with their high aspect-ratios and butterfly tails. Behind the Fleuret lies a 40-year tradition of making trainers for the French services. All three owe their existence to the genius of Joseph Szydlowski which produced the Turbomeca light jet engines. The Minijet is the tiniest aeroplane and, with its tail booms, the most unusual. Even with high-lift double-slotted flaps its * A word about the picturesque names chosen by S.N.C.A.S.E. would not be amiss. "Grognard" was a name given to soldiers of Napoleon's Old Guard and is most nearly rendered as "old sweat," while "Baroudeur" means a bold fighter of the Foreign Legion, being derived from the Arabic "baroud," meaning "battle."
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
