Sud Aviation Caravelle

Caravelle
Sud SE-210 Caravelle 10B3 Super B of Finnair at Basel Airport in April 1976
Role Narrow-body jet airliner
National origin France
Manufacturer Sud Aviation
First flight 27 May 1955
Introduction 1959 with Scandinavian Airlines
Retired 2004
Status Retired
Primary user Air France
Produced 1958-1972[1]
Number built 282


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.[2] The Caravelle established the aft-mounted engine, clean-wing design that has since been used on a wide variety of aircraft.[2]

Design and development

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.[2]

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.[2]

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.[2]

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.[2]

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.[2] 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.

Detail of the Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet engines
The unusual cockpit window arrangement of the Caravelle, the entire cockpit design licensed directly from de Havilland's Comet.

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.[2]

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.[2]

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.[2]

Variants

The triangular windows of the Caravelle remained unaltered throughout its development
data from Lopez[2]
Variant Length Engines Passengers
Caravelle I 32.01 m (105 ft 0 in) RA-29 Mk.522 80
Caravelle IA 32.01 m (105 ft 0 in) RA-29 Mk.522A 80
Caravelle III 32.01 m (105 ft 0 in) RA-29 Mk.527 and 527B 80
Caravelle VI-N 32.01 m (105 ft 0 in) RA-29 Mk.531 and 531B 80
Caravelle VI-R 32.01 m (105 ft 0 in) RA-29 Mk.533R 80
Caravelle 10R 32.01 m (105 ft 0 in) P&W JT8D-7 80
Caravelle 11R 32.71 m (107 ft 4 in) P&W JT8D-7 89-99
Caravelle 10B 33.01 m (108 ft 4 in) P&W JT8D-7 105
Caravelle 12 36.24 m (118 ft 11 in) P&W JT8D-9 140
Caravelle I
Similar to the original prototypes; first flew on 14 May 1958. This variant was powered by two Rolls-Royce RA-29 Avon Mk.522 with 4,763 kgf (46,710 N; 10,500 lbf) of unitary thrust and a capacity of 80 passengers. The French certification was obtained on 2 April 1959, and the FAA certification was obtained six days later. The first revenue flight took place in that same year with Air France in the Paris-Rome-Athens–Istanbul route. The Air France Caravelle F-BHRB "Lorraine" was introduced in the Paris-London route on 27 July 1959.
Sales: 20 sold; to Air France (10), SAS (6), Air Algérie (2), and VARIG (2). One of the VARIG examples was leased by Sud to Air Vietnam and Middle East Airlines before delivery to Royal Air Maroc. In Australia, TAA had planned to re-equip with the Caravelle but as Ansett felt this was too advanced at that stage for their own needs, both airlines were required to purchase the Ansett preference; the less advanced turbo-prop Lockheed L-188 Electra.
Caravelle IA
This variant had the same external configuration as variant I but with more powerful engines, the Rolls-Royce Avon RA-29/1 Mk.526 giving improved capabilities. The first flight took place on 11 February 1960. Variants I and IA were later converted to the III variant.
Sales: 12 built. Deliveries were to Air France, SAS, Air Algérie, Finnair, and Royal Air Maroc.
Caravelle III
Later improvements of the Avon led to the Caravelle III. It first flew on 30 December 1959, beginning service with Alitalia in April 1960. The Caravelle III was powered with Rolls-Royce Avon RA-29/3 Mk.527 and RA-29/3 Mk.527B, both with 5,170 kgf (50,700 N; 11,400 lbf) of unitary thrust.
Sales: The Series III was the best-selling Caravelle with 78 built. Of the 32 Series I, 31 were upgraded to Series III standard. Air Inter used 16 of this type for its domestic routes. Major deliveries to Air France, as well as examples for Swissair, Alitalia, SAS, and Royal Air Maroc.
Corse Air VI-N variant
Caravelle VI-N
N standing for "normal".[3] Power-improved version with Avon RA-29/6 Mk 531 and RA 29/6 Mk 531B with 5,535 kgf (54,280 N; 12,200 lbf) of unitary thrust engines. The capabilities were improved and the weights increased; the payload was reduced. The Caravelle VI-N first flew on September 10, 1960 beginning service with Sabena (Belgium) on January 1961. Of the 78 Series III, 5 were upgraded to Series VI N.
Sales: 53 built. Deliveries to Saeta, Corse Air, Europe A.S., Minerve, Pushpaka Aviation and Yugoslav Airlines.
Caravelle VI-R
First Caravelle with thrust reversers. The cockpit windows were made bigger with redesigned layout and more powerful brakes were introduced. It first flew on February 6, 1961, obtaining the FAA certificate on June 5 that same year. It began service with United Airlines on July 14. Dash-6R was powered by Avon Ra-29 Mk. 533R and Mk 535R (R, for Reverse) with a unitary thrust of 5,715 kgf (56,050 N; 12,600 lbf).
Sales: 56 built, 20 for United Airlines. Other series VI customers included Indian Airlines (9), Panair do Brasil (4), Cruzeiro do Sul, Iberia Líneas Aéreas De España (4), LAN Chile (3), Aerolíneas Argentinas (3), TAP Portugal (3). This was also used by Filipinas Orient Airways , Aerocesar, Airborne Express and SA Nacionales.
Caravelle VII 
This was a Series III, (c/n 042), which was purchased by General Electric, ferried to the United States as Santa Marian 9 and equipped with General Electric CJ805-23 aft-fan engines, becoming, in effect, the engine test-bed for the Caravelle 10A. Flight tests with the new engines began on 29 December 1960 and a second aircraft was planned to be converted, (c/n 063), but this aircraft became the sole Caravelle 10A.
Caravelle 10A
Based on the Series VII, but intended for the US market, the 10A was 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) longer than the Series VI, with the windows located 200 mm (7.9 in) higher on the fuselage. The sole prototype was powered by two 71.62 kN (16,100 lbf) General Electric CJ-805-23C aft-fan engines and flew for the first time on 31 August 1962. A modified wing with improved flaps was fitted to meet FAA requirements, as was an auxiliary power unit (APU) in the rear fuselage. However TWA cancelled its order for 20 aircraft due to financial problems, and by the time TWA was in a position to purchase new aircraft, the Douglas DC-9 was preferred. After testing the prototype was scrapped
Caravelle 10B (Super Caravelle)
Based on the Series 10A, this variant offered many modifications in respect to other series. It introduced the leading edge extension (a fillet added to the front of an aircraft wings in order to provide usable airflow at high angles of attack). The wing mounted split flaps and the fuselage was extended 1.40 m (4 ft 7 in), with an increase in passenger capacity to 105. The engines used were the new Pratt & Whitney JT8D turbofan engines with 6,350 kgf (62,300 N; 14,000 lbf) of unitary thrust. The 10B first flew on August 31, 1964 and was produced as a run of 22 aircraft.
Sales: launch customer[4] and primary operator of the 10B was Finnair with 8 examples. Aviaco ordered 5 but this was cancelled, with those aircraft going to Sterling Airways, LTU, and Iberia Airlines. Alia and UTA also acquired aircraft.
Caravelle 10R
A combination of the 10B's engines on the Series VI-R fuselage, creating a smaller but higher powered plane. Maximum weight at take-off was increased to 52,000 kg (115,000 lb) (6,000 kg or 13,000 lb more than the Series I and 2,000 kg or 4,400 lb more than the Series VI-R). It first flew on January 8, 1965 and received the FAA certification on May 23 of that same year.
Sales: 20 were built, starting service with Alia on July 31, 1965. It also flew with Aero Lloyd, CTA, Hispania and SAT, among others.
Caravelle 11R
The 11R had a fuselage length of 31.72 m (104 ft 1 in) (70 cm or 28 in more than other variants) and incorporated a 3.32 m × 1.84 m (10.9 ft × 6.0 ft) cargo door in the port side. This enabled it to carry a mixed load of passengers and cargo. First flight of the series 11R was on April 21, 1967.
sales: Only 6 planes were built and delivered to Air Afrique, Air Congo, and Transeuropa of Spain.
Caravelle 12 of Air Inter at Paris Orly Airport in 1974 with an Air Algerie Caravelle in the background
Caravelle 12 (Super Caravelle)
This was the last version of the Caravelle to appear, the most advanced of them all which first flew on March 12, 1971. The Series 12 was a 10B with a noticeably longer fuselage, stretched by 3.2 m (10 ft 6 in), and a newer uprated version of the JT8D engines with 6,577 kgf (64,500 N; 14,500 lbf) of unitary thrust. This allowed for up to 140 passengers over a reduced range. The 12 was aimed primarily at the charter market, produced to 12 examples starting in 1972. By this point Concorde was in production; this design was originally known in France as Sud Aviation Super-Caravelle. The 12 was often referred to by this name.
Sales: Launch customer for the Series 12 was Sterling Airways with 7 delivered, while the remaining 5 went to Air Inter. Series 12s flew in Europe until October 1996, and in Africa until recently.

Operators

Civil operators

Aerolineas Argentinas Caravelle VI, Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, 1972
Air France Caravelle III deploying a drogue parachute
An Iberia Sud Aviation Caravelle seen in May 1973
 Algeria
 Argentina
 Austria
 Belgium
 Brazil
 Burundi
 Cambodia
 Central African Republic
 Chile
 Ivory Coast
 Colombia
 Congo
 Denmark
 Ecuador
 Egypt
 Finland
 France

Air Provence

 Gabon
 Germany
 India
 Italy
 Jordan
 Laos
 Lebanon
 Libya
 Luxembourg
 Mali
 Morocco
 Martinique
 New Caledonia
 Netherlands
 Philippines
 Portugal
 Spain
 Sweden,  Denmark &  Norway
 Sweden
  Switzerland
 Syria
 Taiwan
 Thailand
 Tunisia
 Turkey
 United States
 Venezuela
 Vietnam
 Yugoslavia
 Zaire

Military and government operators

 Algeria
 Argentina
 Central African Republic
 Chad
 France
 Gabon
 Mauritania
 Mexico
 Rwanda
 Senegal
 Sweden
 Yugoslavia

Incidents and accidents

Aircraft on display

Cockpit of Sud Caravelle airliner formerly PH-TRO of Transavia, on display at Aviodrome Lelystad in 2009
Europe
North America
N1001U
South America
Africa
Asia

Specifications (Caravelle III)

Data from Lopez[2]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
Related lists

References

  1. ↑ "The Sud SE-210 Caravelle". Airliners.net. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 López Ortega, Antonio (1999). Reactores comerciales: Dibujos del autor (in Spanish). Madrid: Agualarga. ISBN 978-84-95088-87-1. OCLC 47809267.
  3. ↑ Dougal p457
  4. ↑ "Reittilentoliikenteen ensimmäinen Super Caravelle luovutettiin Suomeen" [The first Super Caravelle for scheduled flights was delivered to Finland]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 26 July 1964. p. C 18 (2014).
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 Avrane (1981)
  6. ↑ "World Airline Directory". Flight International 133 (4106). 1988-03-26. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
  7. ↑ de:Istanbul Airlines
  8. ↑ "MEA Caravelle Lost", Flight International, 24 April 1964: 635
  9. ↑ "Accident Database".
  10. ↑ "Accident description PP-PDX". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
  11. ↑ Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "O mistério do Tirirical". O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928-1996 (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. pp. 279–284. ISBN 978-85-7430-760-2.
  12. ↑ "Kulturnett.no - Kultur i Norge på nett" (in Norwegian). Museumsnett.no. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
  13. ↑ "Preserving a classic airliner". Le Caravelle Club. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
  14. ↑ .
  15. ↑ "Caravelle at Musée Delta". Museedelta.free.fr. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
  16. ↑ "Présentation> Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace - Site officiel". Mae.org. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
  17. ↑ "Photo Royal Air Maroc (RAM) Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle CN-CCZ". Planepictures.net. 2006-02-01. Retrieved 2012-02-08.

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