Caudron Type L

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Caudron Type L
Caudron Type L.png
Type L at the 1913 Paris Salon
Role Naval observation aircraft
National origin France
Manufacturer Caudron
First flight c.1913
Number built 4

The Caudron Type L was a two-seat French pusher configuration amphibious biplane, flown around 1913 and intended for naval use.

France Republic with mainland in Europe and numerous oversea territories

France, officially the French Republic, is a country whose territory consists of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The metropolitan area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany to the northeast, Switzerland and Italy to the east, and Andorra and Spain to the south. The overseas territories include French Guiana in South America and several islands in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. The country's 18 integral regions span a combined area of 643,801 square kilometres (248,573 sq mi) and a total population of 67.3 million. France, a sovereign state, is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Other major urban areas include Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lille and Nice.

Pusher configuration arrangement of propellers on an aircraft to face rearward

In a vehicle with a pusher configuration, the propeller(s) are mounted behind their respective engine(s). According to British aviation author Bill Gunston, a "pusher propeller" is one mounted behind the engine, so that the drive shaft is in compression.

Amphibious aircraft aircraft that can routinely both operate in water and in land

An amphibious aircraft or amphibian is an aircraft that can take off and land on both land and water. Fixed-wing amphibious aircraft are seaplanes that are equipped with retractable wheels, at the expense of extra weight and complexity, plus diminished range and fuel economy compared to planes designed for land or water only. Some amphibians are fitted with reinforced keels which act as skis, allowing them to land on snow or ice with their wheels up.

Contents

Design

With unequal span, two bay, unstaggered wings and an open frame fuselage the Type L had much in common with the smaller Caudron-Fabre pusher amphibian, as well as with the tractor configuration Type J amphibians and Type H floatplanes, some of which were also amphibians. Most of the earlier Caudron biplane types had similar wings and fuselages. The Type L had three sets of parallel and vertical interplane struts on each side, the innermost close to the central nacelle and bracing the centre section. The overhanging upper wing were braced by a pair of parallel, outward leaning struts which joined the lower wing at the base of the outer vertical struts. [1] The inner struts, to which the engine was attached, were ash and the remainder hollowed out spruce; all joined the rather close pairs of spars in the upper and lower wings. [2] Diagonal flying wires completed the bracing. The interplane gap was 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in). [1] Lateral (roll) control was by wing warping. [2]

Stagger (aeronautics)

In aviation, stagger is the relative horizontal fore-aft positioning of stacked wings in a biplane, triplane, or multiplane.

Fuselage aircraft main body which is the primary carrier of crew, passengers, and payload

The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, and cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, as well, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage, which in turn is used as a floating hull. The fuselage also serves to position control and stabilization surfaces in specific relationships to lifting surfaces, which is required for aircraft stability and maneuverability.

Tractor configuration arrangement of propellers on an aircraft to face forward

An aircraft constructed with a tractor configuration has the engine mounted with the airscrew in front of it so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air, as opposed to the pusher configuration, in which the airscrew is behind and propels the aircraft forward. Through common usage, the word "propeller" has come to mean any airscrew, whether it actually propels or pulls the plane.

The Type L did not have a long, enclosed fuselage but instead the empennage was supported on an open girder. The Type L, unusually for Caudron, had two parallel sided, cross braced side frames. [1] The longitudinal members were steel and the cross-members ash. [2] The side frames began from the rear spars of both upper and lower wings and converged rearwards to meet at the tail, with upper and lower cross-members towards the rear. [1] A short nacelle on the lower wing contained an open, wide cockpit with side-by-side seating, the pilot on the right. Controls were conventional. The nacelle ended behind the forward wing spar, ahead of the 100 hp (75 kW) Gnome Delta nine cylinder rotary engine mounted on the rear interplane struts and driving a two blade propeller via 2:1 reduction gearing and a long shaft to clear the trailing edge. At the extreme tail, the final vertical frame member served as the axis for the rudder, with a small, roughly triangular fin ahead of it. The elevator hinge was also mounted high on this member, [2] with a straight edged tailplane ahead of it. [1]

Empennage tail section of an aircraft containing stabilizers

The empennage, also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow. The term derives from the French language word empenner which means "to feather an arrow". Most aircraft feature an empennage incorporating vertical and horizontal stabilising surfaces which stabilise the flight dynamics of yaw and pitch, as well as housing control surfaces.

Cockpit area, usually near the front of an aircraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft

A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft.

Gnome Delta rotary 9-cylinder piston aircraft engine

The Gnome 9 Delta was a French designed, nine-cylinder, air-cooled rotary aero engine that was produced under license in Britain. Powering several World War I era aircraft types it produced 100 horsepower (75 kW) from its capacity of 16 litres.

The Type L had short floats, flat bottomed with no chine but in plan and profile curving inwards to the nose. Unlike the Fabre floats of the Caudron-Fabre, these had a step about halfway back. A landing wheel was located on the float centreline, working on an unsprung axle in a slot through to the upper side. The floats were mounted on outer N-form struts to the bases of the inner interplane struts and by W-form struts to the lower longitudinal girder member, [1] pivoted at the front with rubber shock absorbers at the rear. [2] Another rectangular cross-section but unstepped float was positioned under the tail.

Chine steep-sided river valley

A chine is a steep-sided coastal gorge where a river flows to the sea through, typically, soft eroding cliffs of sandstone or clays. The word is still in use in central Southern England—notably in East Devon, Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight—to describe such topographical features. The term 'bunny' is sometimes used to describe a chine in Hampshire. The term chine is also used in some Vancouver suburbs in Canada to describe similar features.

Shock absorber mechanical or hydraulic device designed to absorb, smooth out or damp any sudden shock impulse and dissipate kinetic energy (typically heat); usually consists of a combination of a spring and a dashpot; most shock absorbers are a form of dashpot

A shock absorber is a mechanical or hydraulic device designed to absorb and damp shock impulses. It does this by converting the kinetic energy of the shock into another form of energy which is then dissipated. Most shock absorbers are a form of dashpot.

The first prototype, intended for delivery to the British Navy, appeared at the 1913 Paris Salon in December [2] but it is not known if it had been flown by then. It was destroyed by fire after an engine backfire during tests. The second was trialled by the French Navy, who found it unsatisfactory, it was then delivered to the British as a replacement for the lost first prototype. The last two were rebuilt as Type J marines and used by the French Navy. [1]

Royal Navy Maritime warfare branch of the United Kingdoms military

The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by the English kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years War against the Kingdom of France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is known as the Senior Service.

French Navy Maritime arm of the French Armed Forces

The French Navy, informally "La Royale", is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces. Dating back to 1624, the French Navy is one of the world's oldest naval forces. It has participated in conflicts around the globe and played a key part in establishing the French colonial empire.

Specifications

Data from Hauet (2001) p.53 [1]

General characteristics

Rotary engine internal combustion engine with cylinders rotating around a stationary crankshaft

The rotary engine is an early type of internal combustion engine, usually designed with an odd number of cylinders per row in a radial configuration, in which the crankshaft remained stationary in operation, with the entire crankcase and its attached cylinders rotating around it as a unit. Its main application was in aviation, although it also saw use before its primary aviation role, in a few early motorcycles and automobiles.

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 90 km/h (56 mph; 49 kn)

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hauet, André (2001). Les Avions Caudrons. 1. Outreau: Lela Presse. pp. 53–5. ISBN   2 914017-08-1.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The Paris Aero Salon 1913 - Caudron". Flight . Vol. V no. 51. 20 December 1913. pp. 1379–80.


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