| Caudron C.180 | |
|---|---|
| At the 1930 Paris Salon | |
| General information | |
| Type | 10 seat Airliner |
| National origin | France |
| Manufacturer | Caudron Airplane Company (Société des Avions Caudron) |
| Number built | 1 |
| History | |
| First flight | 1930 |
The Caudron C.180 was an all-metal, three-engine French ten-seat passenger aircraft, flown about 1930. Only one was built.
The Caudron C.180 was a high-wing cantilever monoplane with metal structure and duraluminium covering. [1] The skin on the wing was smooth [2] rather than corrugated in the Junkers style (e.g. Junkers Ju 52). The single spar wing was in three sections; the inner part carried the outer pair of 224 kW (300 hp) Lorraine 9N Algol 9-cylinder, air-cooled engines well ahead of the leading edge, cylinders exposed, on faired mountings which merged into the wing. The centre section also contained the fuel tanks. [1]
The third Algol engine was in the nose of the fuselage; behind it the cockpit was just ahead of the leading edge. The flat-sided fuselage consisted of two parts, bolted together, and contained a cabin for ten passengers with a lavatory and luggage compartment. [1] The tail surfaces were straight-edged and conventional, with a balanced rudder. [2]
The C.180 had a fixed tail wheel undercarriage. Each main wheel was mounted on a half-axle hinged from the lower fuselage and located by a hinged trailing strut, with a vertical, shock absorbing leg to the outer wing centre section below the engine, providing a wide track. [1] [2]
The exact date of the first flight is not known, but one source suggests 1930; [3] certainly the aircraft appeared, flown or unflown, at the December 1930 Paris Salon. [1] At that show the main wheels were enclosed in fairings. [2] Intended to be suitable for work in the French colonies, [3] the C.180 was designed to be powered by a range of engines, air- and liquid-cooled, in the 150–220 kW (200–300 hp) power range [1] but only one Algol-powered example seems to have been completed. [3]
Data from L'Aerophile Salon 1930 [1]
General characteristics
Performance