Météore 63 | |
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Role | Airliner [1] |
National origin | France |
Manufacturer | SPCA |
First flight | 3 September 1925 [1] |
Primary user | Air Union Lignes d'Orient [2] [3] [4] |
Number built | 3 [1] |
The SPCA Météore 63 (French for "Meteor") was a flying boat built in France in the 1920s for use as an airliner. [1] It was the first product of the SPCA company (Société Provençale de Constructions Aéronautiques), founded by Laurent-Dominique Santoni when he left CAMS in 1925. [5]
The Météore was a conventional biplane design for its day, with single-bay wings of unequal span braced with struts and wire. [4] [6] The lower wing was mounted to the top of the aircraft's hull, with trusswork above it that carried three engines mounted tractor-fashion in the interplane gap. [4] [6] The lower wing also carried outrigger pontoons near its tips. [4] [6] The empennage was of conventional design, with the stabilizer carried part-way up the fin. [4] [6] The flight deck was open but the separate cabin, with seating for six passengers, was fully enclosed within the hull and electrically heated. [6] The structure was of timber throughout except for the struts that carried the engines, which were steel tube. [6] The wings were covered in fabric. [6]
In 1926, SPCA entered a Météore in a competition for transport seaplanes organised by the French Undersecretariat for Aeronautics, [6] the Grand Prix des Hydravions de Transport Multimoteurs (Grand Prize of multi-engine transport seaplanes). [4] Piloted by Ernest Burri, the Météore won first place and a FF 100,000 prize. [7] It was also the first French transport seaplane to which Bureau Veritas awarded a first-class airworthiness certificate. [6] The same year, Lignes Aériennes Latécoère trialled the type on a mail route between Marsailles and Algiers, [6] the first trip taking place on 22 October. [4]
Because of the Météore's long range, Air Union Lignes d'Orient (AULO) ordered an example in January 1927. [4] [8] In October that year, Maurice Noguès flew it from Marsailles to Beirut but crashed and sank off Naples during the return journey. [4] [8] Nevertheless, AULO purchased a second example in May 1928, and with this aircraft inaugurated a regular service between the two cities on 6 June 1929. [8] On 17 February 1931, the Météore also established the Paris– Saigon route for Air Orient, which had been formed by a merger of AULO and Air Asie the previous year. Over its lifespan, the Météore covered 100,000 km (62,000 mi). [4]
Data from Parmentier 1998
General characteristics
Performance
Related lists
Météore 63 | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Role | Airliner [1] |
National origin | France |
Manufacturer | SPCA |
First flight | 3 September 1925 [1] |
Primary user | Air Union Lignes d'Orient [2] [3] [4] |
Number built | 3 [1] |
The SPCA Météore 63 (French for "Meteor") was a flying boat built in France in the 1920s for use as an airliner. [1] It was the first product of the SPCA company (Société Provençale de Constructions Aéronautiques), founded by Laurent-Dominique Santoni when he left CAMS in 1925. [5]
The Météore was a conventional biplane design for its day, with single-bay wings of unequal span braced with struts and wire. [4] [6] The lower wing was mounted to the top of the aircraft's hull, with trusswork above it that carried three engines mounted tractor-fashion in the interplane gap. [4] [6] The lower wing also carried outrigger pontoons near its tips. [4] [6] The empennage was of conventional design, with the stabilizer carried part-way up the fin. [4] [6] The flight deck was open but the separate cabin, with seating for six passengers, was fully enclosed within the hull and electrically heated. [6] The structure was of timber throughout except for the struts that carried the engines, which were steel tube. [6] The wings were covered in fabric. [6]
In 1926, SPCA entered a Météore in a competition for transport seaplanes organised by the French Undersecretariat for Aeronautics, [6] the Grand Prix des Hydravions de Transport Multimoteurs (Grand Prize of multi-engine transport seaplanes). [4] Piloted by Ernest Burri, the Météore won first place and a FF 100,000 prize. [7] It was also the first French transport seaplane to which Bureau Veritas awarded a first-class airworthiness certificate. [6] The same year, Lignes Aériennes Latécoère trialled the type on a mail route between Marsailles and Algiers, [6] the first trip taking place on 22 October. [4]
Because of the Météore's long range, Air Union Lignes d'Orient (AULO) ordered an example in January 1927. [4] [8] In October that year, Maurice Noguès flew it from Marsailles to Beirut but crashed and sank off Naples during the return journey. [4] [8] Nevertheless, AULO purchased a second example in May 1928, and with this aircraft inaugurated a regular service between the two cities on 6 June 1929. [8] On 17 February 1931, the Météore also established the Paris– Saigon route for Air Orient, which had been formed by a merger of AULO and Air Asie the previous year. Over its lifespan, the Météore covered 100,000 km (62,000 mi). [4]
Data from Parmentier 1998
General characteristics
Performance
Related lists