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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0691.PDF
689 i ne nr$i prototype of the Laravelle after it had been wheeled out on April 21st. The S.N.C.A.S.E. S.E.210 Caravelle France's First Jet Airliner THE first jet airliner to emerge from the French aircraftindustry as a complete commercial project is the S.E.210Caravelle. The prototype, F-WHHH, was rolled out on April 21st and is now undergoing a thorough ground-check, including engine runs and taxying trials. It is expected to make its first flight in the very near future. Work started in February 1953, when metal was first cut and actual assembly began one month later when the first pieces arrived at the S.E. experimental hangar at Toulouse-Blagnac. The project was originally proposed in November 1951 when the Service Technique of the French Government, the Ministry of Transport and several aircraft companies met to formulate a specification. The requirement was for a new medium-range transport withan all-up weight of 35 to 40 tonnes (77,000 to 88,000 lb) powered by any French turbojet then available. Besides the Caravelle, fiveother projects were formulated and submitted, but for one reason or another all but the Caravelle were eventually dropped.S.N.C.A.S.O. and Breguet designs were not proceeded with; a Latecoere design required by-pass turbojets, but none was thenavailable; a S.N.C.A.N. design was held up for a similar reason; and the Hurel Dubois 45 was initially accepted. S.E. decided to use the Atar, which was then able to deliver2300 kg (6,170 lb) thrust, but this required the use of three engines; so extensive studies were made to find a suitable powerplant layout. Since the third engine would obviously have to be installed on the centre-line, the tail suggested itself and itappeared that there was much to be gained from grouping all three engines there. Wind-tunnel tests showed that the problems of such an unusualarrangement were far less than might be expected and that there were even a number of very significant advantages. The wingwould be clear of all aerodynamic and structural interference from the engines (either podded or buried) and the flaps wouldlikewise benefit. Since all fuel would logically be held in the wing, the fire risks would be greatly reduced by the separationof tanks from engines. Noise levels in the cabin also promised to be exceptionally low. The change of intake angle of attackwith wing angle of attack for engines mounted in the tail is half that for engines mounted in pods under the wing and fuselage.In the event of wheels-up landing, the fire risk would be small, due to the wide separation of engines and tankage, and alsobecause the engines would not touch the ground. The asymmetric power case would also be simpler, and the company claims thatfull thrust from one engine only at take-off can be held with 6 deg of rudder. By April 1952 the project had been finalized and detail designbegan on the Caravelle and on the Hurel Dubois H.D.45 high- aspect-ratio jet transport. This latter design now appears to havebeen dropped, leaving the Caravelle alone in the field. In 1952 it became apparent that engines of considerably greaterpower than the original Atar would be available in time for incorporation in the Caravelle. The company therefore decidedto make use of what seemed likely to become one of the standard NATO power plants, namely a late mark of Rolls-Royce Avon.The thrust which could be expected was 4,200 kg (9,260 Ib) and two of these engines would give as much power as the threeoriginally considered. No change in the basic layout was made and Avon RA. 26s were eventually chosen. It might be arguedthat if three RA. 26s had been installed the Caravelle's perform- ance and range would have been greatly increased, but this, thecompany claims, would bring the Caravelle into direct rivalry with the Comet 3; there is no intention of taking this course, or ofgoing beyond the original specification for a medium-range transport. At the beginning the S.E.210 was to be called Annapurna, butearly in its history this name was changed to Caravelle and has remained so since. At the time of Flight's visit to Toulouse itwas intended that the Caravelle should be demonstrated in flight at the Paris Salon in June and the test schedule has been arrangedso that the necessary ten hours' flying will be completed in time for the show.There are at the moment no firm orders for the Caravelle, but construction and tooling are being planned for a probable run of50 aircraft. With this in mind, the second prototype is scheduled to fly 10 months after the first, and the first production aircraftcould be ready for delivery in January 1958. Constructors' flight trials should take 500 hours, followed by a period of tests by pilotsand technicians of the Centre d'Essais en Vol. After that an operator (and there is a strong feeling that it will be Air France)will carry out a further 1,000 hours of range, endurance and pro/ing flights. Despite the fact that there are no orders yet, it is noteworthythat Air France has taken a constructive part in the Caravelle project since its beginnings. An electrical expert, a structuralengineer and a pilot have been attached to the company for some time past in an advisory capacity, and co-operation between thetwo organizations has been close and continuous. The participation of a commercial operator in the design fromsuch early stages gives promise of an excellent result. Even in the partly clothed skeleton of the aircraft many points couldbe noted which showed careful thought and ingenious design. The control system, in particular, gave the appearance of beinga real "copy book" layout. The design of a jet airliner, particularly in view of the eventsof last year, would appear to be a difficult task indeed. When many of the critical sections of the Caravelle were in the designstage, less was known about the behaviour of such parts in service than is now the case. S.E. have, however, been able to benefit inthis respect from a close liaison with de Havilland's in England, and a number of features of the CaraveUe have been prepared inthe light of the English company's experience. The question which particularly came to mind when Flightvisited Toulouse was that of the qualities of the pressure cabin and the strength of the windows and cut-outs. Naturally the nowcustomary tank-tests were mentioned. S.E. had, of course, already
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