| Caudron C.43 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role | Five-enginedairliner or military aircraft. Type of aircraft |
| National origin | France |
| Manufacturer | Caudron |
| Designer | Paul Deville |
| First flight | 1919 or 1920 |
| Number built | 1 |
| Developed from | Caudron C.39 |
TheCaudron C.43 was the firstFrench five-engined aircraft, abiplane intended for passenger transport or military use and multi-engined for safety. A development of the three-enginedCaudron C.39, it had onetractor configuration engine in the nose and twopush-pull pairs between the wings. It was capable of carrying eight passengers but was not developed.
Apart from its engine configuration, the C.43 was conventional and shared itsairframe with the three-engined C.39.[1] The first five engine aircraft built in France,[1] it was athree bay biplane withfabric-covered, rectangular-plan wings mounted withoutstagger.[2][3] The lower wing haddihedral outboard of the engines, reducing the large inter-wing gap from 2.80 m (9 ft 2 in) inboard to 2.50 m (8 ft 2 in) outboard. Though their spans were about equal (on the C.39, the upper span was 20.92 m (68 ft 8 in) and the lower one 19.52 m (64 ft 1 in)) or 93% of the upper)[4] the area of the lower wing was only 76% that of the upper because of a narrowerchord.[2] The wings were joined by vertical pairs ofinterplane struts, the forward members attached near theleading edges, and the centre section was supported by similar, shortercabane struts from the upperfuselage. The inner bay was defined by two close pairs of interplane struts, which between them supported the push-pull pairs of 60 kW (80 hp)Le Rhône 9C nine-cylinderrotary engines about halfway between the wings. Each pair was mounted in a long, cylindricalcowling.[3] Itsailerons, on the upper wing only, wereaerodynamically balanced[2] by overhanging extensions beyond the tips, as on the C.39.[4]
The fifth engine, another cowled Rhône, 9 was in the nose; behind it the fuselage had a square section with sides of 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in). The pilot and engineer had a very large, opencockpit, with an impressive array of levers controlling the five engines.[2] Behind the wings the fuselage tapered gently to a broad, triangularfin which carried a vertical edged unbalanced rudder that reached down to the keel. As thetailplane was mounted on top of the fuselage, itselevators had a notch for rudder movement.[3]
The C.43 had a fixedtailskid undercarriage. There were pairs of mainwheels mounted on single axles attached to a longitudinal bar held under the engine on short V-struts. To prevent nose-overs, there was a fifth wheel mounted under the nose.[3][4] The wheels could be replaced by flat sided floats, each fixed to the fuselage by two pairs of inverted V-struts, one to each side of the float. Though infloatplane configuration the C.43 sat level over the water, the tailskid was joined by a small, cylindrical float to protect the tail at take-off.[2]
The main reason for having five engines was safety.[2] In addition, since the C.43, with a total power of 298 kW (400 hp), could lift a useful load of 580 kg (1,279 lb)[1] it could have carried eight passengers[2] or freight or arms.[1] There is no evidence in contemporary sources[1][2] that passenger accommodation or armament was ever fitted.
The C.43, along with the C.39 and all but one other competitors, was unsuccessful at the Monaco Grand Prix forseaplanes, held in the spring of 1920.[5]
The sole example was purchased by theSection Technique de l'Aéronautique (S.T.Aé.) to investigate the instrumentation and control requirements of multi-engined aircraft.[2]
Data from L'Année des Aéronautique (1920–1)[1]
General characteristics
Performance
