| Proto S.E.T.2 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role | Reconnaissance and day-bomber aircraft |
| National origin | Romania |
| Manufacturer | Societatea Pentru Exploatări Tehnice (SET) |
| Designer | Stefan Protopopescu |
| First flight | between late 1926 and January 1927 |
| Number built | At least one |
The SET 2 or Proto-SET 2 was a 1920s Romanian prototype reconnaissance and day-bomber aircraft.
The SET 2, Lieutenant-Colonel Stefan Protopopescu's design for a reconnaissance and bomber aircraft, owed a good deal to the Astra-Protopopescu reconnaissance machine that he designed about two years earlier. [1] A contraction of his name to Proto often appeared in variations of the new type's name. This was more powerful, over 25% greater in span and differed in many details, but shared the same layout and some features like the tail and the wing bracing were very similar. [1] [2] It was a wood-framed aircraft and only used locally resourced timber. [1]
The SET 2 was a single bay biplane with fabric covered, two spar wings of equal span and rectangular plan, though the corners were blunted. Mounted with almost no stagger (a horizontal displacement of just 80 mm (3.1 in)), the wings were braced together by a pair of vertical interplane struts on each side, assisted by bracing wires. The lower wings, which unlike the upper one carried considerable dihedral, were attached to the lower fuselage longerons and the upper one was held high above the fuselage by two parallel sets of transverse W-form cabane struts. Ailerons, which reached the wing tips, were placed on the upper wing alone. [1]
It had a nose-mounted, 340 kW (450 hp) Lorraine 12E Courlis W-12 engine water-cooled with a honeycomb radiator and a Lamblin oil cooler on the fuselage underside. The forward fuselage was ash framed, changing to pine aft. In the engine area it was covered with aluminium, the central part was fabric covered and the rear plywood skinned. The upper fuselage had a light, rounded wooden decking. There were two, tandem, open cockpits close to each other, with the forward one, from which it was flown, between the trailing edges. The upper edge had a rounded, almost semicircular cut out to improve the pilot's upward view and the lower edges had quadrantal cut-outs at the roots for downward vision. The rear cockpit had provision for a machine gun mounting. The fuselage tapered aft to conventional, unbalanced tail surfaces with a continuously curved tailplane and elevators positioned near the top of the fuselage. The fin and rudder were also smoothly curved together; the latter extended to the keel and worked in a rounded elevator cut-out. [1]
The SET 2 had a conventional, fixed tailskid undercarriage. A short V-form strut was attached to each lower fuselage longeron, joined by a cross-piece at their apexes, above which a single axle bearing the main wheels was rubber sprung. The wooden tailskid was also rubber sprung. [1]
The exact date of the SET 2's first flight is not known but the 2 February 1927 Les Ailes article notes that it had started tests "recently". [1] The number built apart from the prototype is also uncertain but here is no known record of production or service. Despite promising early test results, development of the SET-2 was abandoned after an in-flight fire and forced landing during flight-testing. [3]
Data from Les Ailes February 1927, [1] Romanian Aeronautical Constructions 1905 - 1974 [3]
General characteristics
Performance
The Aichi AB-1 was a result of a 1926 government call for a small, Japanese-built, civil transport biplane able to operate from land or water. It won the contest in both roles, but did not reach production as airlines moved from biplanes to monoplanes. Nonetheless, it remained in commercial use well into the 1930s.
The Potez 37 was a two-seat, long range reconnaissance aircraft built to compete for a French government contract. It flew in mid-1930 but did not win the competition, so only two were completed.
The Potez 27 was a French reconnaissance biplane first flown in 1924. 175 were operated by the Polish Air Force, most built in Poland by PWS under licence. Others went to Romania, where they were also used as light bombers.
The Caudron C.68 was a two-seat French training and touring aircraft, built in the early 1920s, which attracted interest at the time because of its simple and fast wing folding arrangement. Only a few were produced.
The Caudron C.67 was a simple single seat biplane with a low powered engine. It was built and flown in France in 1922.
The Descamps 17 A.2 was a two-seat reconnaissance fighter built under a French government programme of 1923. Two versions, with different engines, were tested and six examples were built under licence by Caudron as the Caudron C.17 A.2.
The Les Mureaux 3 C.2 and Les Mureaux 4 C.2 were French two seat, parasol winged fighters, flown in 1927-8, which differed only in their engines. They were developed into near identical army co-operation types, the ANF Les Mureaux 130 A.2 and ANF Les Mureaux 131 A.2, in 1929–31.
The Villiers XXIV or Villiers 24 CAN2 was a French army night fighter most notable as the first French military aircraft to be fitted with leading edge slats.
The Heinkel HD 20 was a twin engine, three seat German biplane built in 1926 for civil survey work.
The Astra-Protopopescu or Astra-Proto was a Romanian reconnaissance aircraft flown and tested in 1925.
The Potez 50 or Potez 50 A2 was a French two seat military multi-role 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 Wibault 260 R.2 was a contender for a French government contract for a long range, two seat reconnaissance aircraft, issued in 1928. There were eight prototypes in the 1931-2 contest and the Wibault was not selected for production.
The Astra-Șeșefschi was a two-seat Romanian reconnaissance aircraft designed and built in 1923.
The Potez 24 A.2 was a mid-1920s French biplane intended to replace the Potez 15 as an army observation aircraft. The further improved and larger Potez 25 was preferred for production.
The Bréguet 25 or XXV was a French two seat fighter from 1925. It was heavily armed, carrying seven machine guns.
The Magni PM.2 Vittoria was an Italian experimental, single seat, parasol wing aircraft built in the mid-1920s. It had a large area aerofoil on each of its single wing bracing struts which could be rotated together or independently to give lift or drag.
The CPA 1 was a French twin-engined, parasol-winged bomber designed and built in the mid-1920s.
The Aerial Engineering Corporation Standard 6W-3 was a commercial transport modification of the US Standard J-1 biplane military trainer aircraft, with new wings, engine and accommodation for four passengers. First flown in 1925, it was built in small numbers.
The Bulté RB.1 was a Belgian training and touring biplane first flown in 1928. Five examples flew with clubs and with private owners in contests and rallies.
The Borel C.A.P. 2, later SGCIM C.A.P. 2, was a prototype, all-metal framed, high-altitude sesquiplane fighter and reconnaissance aircraft with a supercharged engine, built in France around 1920. It was displayed, uncovered, at the 1922 Paris Salon.
