| Hy.479 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role | Military or commercial amphibian flying boat |
| National origin | France |
| Manufacturer | France-Aviation |
| Designer | François Denhaut |
| First flight | late 1926 |
| Number built | 1 |
The Denhaut Hy.479 was a French flying boat flown in 1926 and intended to be suitable for commercial or military applications. Only one, in military configuration, was built and was sometimes known as the France-Aviation Denhaut.
The Hy.479 was an unequal span, single bay biplane with thick section wings. The longer upper wing was in three parts, with a short, almost rectangular centre section and trapezoidal outer panels. The lower wings were attached to the upper hull and were swept with constant chord, then straight-tapered to the squared tips. The top surface of the upper wing was flat but deceasing thickness provided some dihedral; the lower wing carried dihedral on both surfaces. Ailerons, which covered over half the span. were only fitted on the upper wing. [1]
Structurally the wings were wooden, with two spars and plywood-covered leading edges; elsewhere the covering was fabric. The wings were braced together on each side by a pair of parallel, outward-leaning interplane struts. Below these, steeply angled stabilizing floats were attached close to the lower wing underside with short struts. To minimise hangar space, the outer wings could be folded back alongside the hull. [1]
The Hy.479 was powered by a pair of 280 kW (380 hp) Gnome & Rhône 9A Jupiter nine-cylinder radial engines strut-mounted midway between the wings immediately below the end of the upper centre-section, placing them as close together as the propellers allowed. The engines were uncowled, though their accessories were placed behind them under conical fairings. [1]
Its hull was deep, with steep sides and a shallow V-section bottom without steps. It was compartmented, double- and triple-planked below the waterline and plywood covered above. The pilots sat side by side in an open cockpit ahead of the propellers, protected by a generous windscreen. In the military configured first and only prototype there were machine gunners positions in the rounded nose and midway between the wings and tail. The Denhaut had a large, triangular fin, with a deep, curved, balanced rudder. Its delta plan tailplane was mounted halfway up the fin, braced on each side with a single strut to the lower hull, and carried balanced elevators with a cut-out for rudder movement. [1]
The Hy.479 could be easily configured as an amphibian, with mainwheels on V-struts hinged on extensions of the engine struts and inner V-struts braced to the lower hull. With the inner struts disconnected, the wheels could be raised outwards to the wing underside. [1]
The date of the Hy.479's first flight is not known but trials were under way in early December 1926, flown from Étang de Berre. Flight characteristics, including single-engined performance, were reported to be good; [2] allowing the aircraft to go to Saint Raphaël for official tests in January 1927. [3] After a minor accident when a crane cable failed, development was stopped as Denhaut withdrew from the project, possibly due to Aeronavale's preference for tandem engines (reducing problems of asymmetric thrust during engine failure / differential throttle settings).
The proposed passenger version with an internal cabin [1] was not built.
Data from Les Ailes, December 1926 [1]
General characteristics
Performance
The Aero A.23 was a Czechoslovakian airliner of the 1920s. Aero Vodochody had produced the first Czech airliner, the A.10, four of which had served with ČSA, the national airline. The A.23, another biplane, was bigger, more powerful and could carry more passengers.
The Albatros L.71 was a two-seat, single pusher engined biplane built in Germany in the 1920s.
The Heinkel HD 20 was a twin engine, three seat German biplane built in 1926 for civil survey work.
The SET 2 or Proto-SET 2 was a 1920s Romanian prototype reconnaissance and day-bomber aircraft.
The Rohrbach Ro VII Robbe was an all-metal, twin engine flying boat built in Germany in the 1920s. It could be adapted to commercial or military rôles.
The Avia 60-MP was a French motor glider with a wing based on that of the Avia 32-E, an advanced training glider. It was intended as both an advanced trainer and as an atmospheric research aircraft.
The Latham HB.5 was a French biplane flying boat with four engines in push-pull configuration pairs. Ten were used by the French Navy.
The Latham E-5 was a large French Naval four engine biplane flying boat, flown in 1925. It was successfully tested but only one was built.
The Dupuy D-40 was a French built, low powered monoplane designed for touring abroad. The only example was used for an uncompleted journey to Saigon.
The Weymann W-100, Weymann CTW-100 or Weymann W-100 RBL was a French three seat observation aircraft with a position for the observer within its partially glazed fuselage. Only one was built.
The Potez 50 or Potez 50 A2 was a French two seat military multi-rôle aircraft, first flown in 1931. It did not go into service but seven variants using five different engines were produced, one of them setting several speed with useful load records and another, the Potez 506, setting three altitude world records.
The Renard R.33 was a Belgian training aircraft with aerobatic capability. Two were flown in 1934 but no more were produced.
The CAMS 110 was a French twin engine biplane flying boat built to fill a range of maritime military rôles including long range reconnaissance, bombing and general exploration. it was not selected for production and only one was built.
The Caproni Ca.66 was an Italian night bomber designed to reequip the post-World War I Italian Air Force. Only two examples of the four-engined biplane were built.
The Bréguet 25 or XXV was a French two seat fighter from 1925. It was heavily armed, carrying seven machine guns.
The Aerial Service Mercury Senior, Aerial Mercury Senior or just Mercury Senior was a US biplane mailplane designed to operate at night between New York City and Chicago. A different, smaller, lower wing improved its performance for daytime flights. One was built and used by the United States Post Office Department.
The Hanriot H.38 was a French twin-engined sesquiplane flying boat built in the mid-1920s. Though the sole prototype was fitted with two defensive machine gun posts. the H.38 was described at the time as a utility aircraft.
The Lioré et Olivier Leo H-15 was a French twelve-seat civil flying boat, flown in a national contest in 1926. It did not win but set two load carrying records, one a world record.
The CAMS 54 was a strengthened and more powerful version of the French CAMS 51 civil transport and naval reconnaissance flying boat, developed for transatlantic flights. It is sometimes referred to as the 54 GR.
The Caudron C.92 was a passenger transport built by Caudron in 1925, powered by a 370 hp (280 kW) Lorraine-Dietrich 12D. Only one was built, and it was discarded in July 1934.
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Denhaut Hy.479 . |