| C.530 Rafale | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role | Two seatracing andsports aircraft Type of aircraft |
| National origin | France |
| Manufacturer | Société des Avions Caudron |
| Designer | Marcel Riffard |
| First flight | early 1934 |
| Number built | 7 |
TheCaudron C.530 Rafale (English:Gust) was aFrench two seat competition aircraft. Only seven were built but they had great success in several contests during 1934.
The C.530 was alow wingcantilevermonoplane, wood framed andfabric covered, with a good deal in common with its predecessor and namesake, theCaudron C.430 Rafale, though with a lowerwing loading. Its wing was tapered, round tipped and carriedsplit flaps. Itsfuselage was flat sided, with a deep, rounded decking running the full length. It had anair cooled 113 kW (152 hp) Renault Bengali Junior inverted four cylinderinline engine in the nose, driving a two blade, variablepitchpropeller. This engine was a version of theRenault 4P with its compression increased to 6:1 and running at the higher speed of 2,450 rpm. The Rafale's two seats were in tandem, one over the wing and the other just behind thetrailing edge, under a long (about a third of the fuselage length), narrowmulti-framed canopy with a blunt, vertical windscreen and sliding access. Behind the canopy a longfairing continued its profile to the straight tapered, round tipped vertical tail. The horizontal tail was mounted largely ahead of thefin on the top of the fuselage.[1]
The Rafale had a fixedwide track, tailskid undercarriage. Its wheels were on vertical, slenderaerofoil section legs from the wings and were largely enclosed within magnesium alloy fairings.[1]
The date of the first flight is not certain but it was certainly flying by 7 June 1934,[2] possibly for the first time.[3] Another six examples built were registered soon after.[4]
The C.530 Rafale was intended as a competition aircraft and in 1934 it was very successful. On 8 July Rafales took the first three places in the Angers 12 hour event[5] and later that month filled the top six Esders Cup positions.[1][6] Late in August, one won the Zénith Cup with a flight over the prescribed 1,578 km (981 mi) course at 240 km/h (149.1 mph).[7]
In 1935 two of the C.530s were converted intoC.660 Rafales, powered by Renault 134 kW (180 hp) six cylinder inverted inline engines. One of these won that year's Angers 12 hour event.[4][8]
Data from Le Génie Civil December 1934[9]
General characteristics
Performance
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