FROG 1/96-SCALE SUD AVIATION SE 210 CARAVELLE JET
AIRLINER AIR FRANCE KIT#357P (1957)
OPEN BOX UNBUILT PLASTIC MODEL KIT INVENTORIED 100% COMPLETE
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS PLEASE ASK ME BEFORE BIDDING /
PURCHASING I WANT EVERYONE TO BE 100% SATISFIED WITH NO SURPRISES OR
MIS-UNDERSTANDINGS
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Additional Information from
Internet Encyclopedia
The Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle was the
world's first short/medium-range jet airliner, produced by the French Sud
Aviation firm. Its maiden flight occurred in 1955 when the company was known as
SNCASE. The Caravelle was one of the most successful European first-generation
jetliners, selling throughout Europe and even penetrating the United States
market, with an order for 20 from United Airlines. The Caravelle established
the aft-mounted engine, clean-wing design that has since been used on a wide
variety of aircraft.
On 12 October
1951, the Comité du matériel civil
(civil aircraft committee) published a specification for a medium-range
aircraft, which was later sent to the aviation industry by the Direction technique et industrielle.
This called for an aircraft carrying 55 to 65 passengers and 1,000 kg
(2,200 lb) of cargo on routes up to 2,000 km (1,100 nmi;
1,200 mi) with a cruising speed of about 600 km/h (320 kn;
370 mph). The type and number of engines were not specified. Various
design studies for aircraft in this category had been underway since 1946 by
several of the leading French aircraft manufacturing organisations, but none
had the financial power to start construction.
Response from the
French industry was strong, with every major manufacturer sending in at least
one proposal, and a total of 20 different designs were received. Most of the
proposals used all-turbojet power, although Breguet entered a number of designs
for both turbojet and turboprop types; among these was one for an Atar-powered
tri-jet to be developed in association with the SNCA du Nord and a turboprop
type, all known as Br. 978.
Hurel-Dubois entered several turboprop designs based on a narrow fuselage and
shoulder mounted wing similar to many regional propliners. Proposals from the
SNCA du Sud-Ouest included the S.O.60 with two Rolls-Royce Avon RA.7 engines,
with two smaller Turbomeca Marborés as auxiliaries. SNCA du Sud-Est (SNCASE)
returned a number of designs from the X-200 to X-210, all of them pure-jet.
After studying the
various entries, the Comité du
Matériel Civil cut the list to three entrants on 28 March 1952: the four-engined
Avon/Marbore S.0.60, the twin-Avon Hurel-Dubois project, and the three-Avon
Sud-Est X-210. At this point Rolls-Royce started offering a new version of the
Avon that could develop 9,000 lbf (40 kN) thrust, making the
auxiliary engines on the S.O.60 and the third engine on the X-210 unnecessary.
The Committee
requested SNCASE re-submit the X-210 as a twin-Avon design. In doing so, they
decided not to bother moving the remaining engines from their rear-mounted
position; most designs placed the engines under the wing where they could be
mounted on the spar for lower overall weight, but SNCASE felt the savings were
not worth the effort. This turned out to be a benefit to the design, as the
cabin noise was greatly reduced. The revised X-210 design with twin Avons was
re-submitted to the SGACC in July 1952.
Two months later
the SNCASE received official notification that its design had been accepted. On
6 July 1953 the SGACC ordered two prototypes and two static airframes for
fatigue testing. Sud's design licensed several fuselage features from de
Havilland, a company Sud had had dealings with for several earlier designs. The
nose area and cockpit layout were both taken directly from the de Havilland
Comet jet airliner, while the rest of the plane was locally designed. A
distinctive design feature was the cabin windows in the shape of a curved
triangle which were smaller than conventional windows but gave the same field
of view downwards.
The first
prototype of the Caravelle (F-WHHH), christened by Madame de Gaulle, was rolled
out on 21 April 1955 and flew on 27 May, powered by two British Rolls-Royce
RA-26 Mk.522 with 4,536 kgf (44,480 N; 10,000 lbf) of unitary
thrust. The crew consisted of Pierre Nadot (first officer), André Moynot
(second officer), Jean Avril (mechanic), André Préneron (radio operator) and
Roger Beteille. The flight duration was 41 minutes. The second prototype flew a
year later on 6 May 1956. The first prototype had a cargo door on the lower
left side of the fuselage, but this was removed in the second prototype for an
all-seating arrangement. The first order was from Air France in 1956, followed
by SAS in 1957. That year Sud-Est merged with Sud-Ouest to become Sud Aviation,
but the original SE naming was retained. More orders followed, mainly triggered
by presentations at airshows and demonstrations to potential customers. The
Caravelle was certified in May 1959 and shortly afterwards entered service with
SAS and Air France.
Several models
were produced over the lifetime of the production run, as the power of the
available engines grew and allowed for higher takeoff weights. By this time
most of Sud Aviation's design department had turned to working on a supersonic
transport of the same general size and range as the Caravelle, naturally naming
it the Super-Caravelle; however, this work would later be merged with similar
work at Britain's Bristol Aeroplane Company to produce the Concorde. In some
configurations, aircraft had a number of rearward-facing passenger seats, an
uncommon arrangement for civil aircraft.
In total, 282
Caravelles of all types were built (2 prototypes or pre-production aircraft and
280 production aircraft), with Sud Aviation's break-even point at around the
200 mark.