Blériot-SPAD page 56
| Blériot-SPAD page 56 | |
|---|---|
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| Type: | Airliner |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
February 3, 1923 |
| Number of pieces: |
20th |
The Blériot-SPAD S. 56 was a biplane - passenger aircraft of the French manufacturer Blériot Aéronautique for up to seven passengers.
General
The aircraft was a further development of the Blériot-SPAD S.33 . A prototype, designated S. 56/1, took off on its maiden flight on February 3, 1923. It was motorized with a Gnome-Rhoné 9Aa Jupiter radial engine with an output of 280 kW (380 hp).
Compared to the p. 33, the machine had a different seating arrangement for the passengers and a second access hatch. However, the unusual arrangement of the open cockpit for the pilot and a passenger behind the passenger cabin in the fuselage was retained.
Another unique piece was the p. 56/2 in 1925, motorized with a Gnome-Rhoné 9Ab-Jupiter radial engine. This unit had an output of 294 kW (400 hp).
In 1926 (first flight June 14th) the S. 56/3 followed, again motorized like the S. 56/1 with a Gnome-Rhoné 9Aa-Jupiter radial engine and an improved chassis. Blériot produced a total of 8 copies of this version.
The S. 56/4 had its maiden flight on October 25, 1926. The most serious change was the arrangement of the cockpit, which in this variant was now conventionally located in front of the passenger area, i.e. in the area of the front half of the upper wing. It was therefore necessary to slightly raise the upper wing and move the passenger cabin to the rear. The S. 56/4 had space for seven passengers, six seats in the fuselage and one seat in the open cockpit next to the pilot. In addition, the p. 56/4 now had four portholes on each side of the fuselage (the previous models from p. 33 had three on each side). In addition, the lower wings in this variant had a slight rearward sweep.
Eight copies of the S. 56/4 were built, and two machines of the S. 56/3 type were converted to the standard of the S. 56/4 and redrawn. Five copies of the p. 56/4 were used by the airlines Air-Union and CIDNA .
The six machines of the type S. 56/5 from 1928 were converted S. 56/3. The renovation extended to the passenger area, which has now been divided into two compartments for four passengers in the front area and two in the area behind. The rear area could easily be converted into a freight compartment.
In 1929 (first flight September 6th) two more copies of the S. 56/6 variant were made. In this version, the pilot's cockpit was again in the rear of the fuselage, and the machine could only accommodate four passengers in the fuselage. This was due to the fact that these machines were not used as commercial aircraft, but were mainly used by the owner, the Air-Publicité company, for towing banners .
construction
The Blériot-SPAD p. 56 is a single-handle double-decker. The lower wings were made shorter than the upper ones, the upper wings were heavily swept, the lower, however, were at right angles to the fuselage (in the variant p. 56/4: slight swept back of the lower wings). The ailerons were on the lower wings. The machine had a two-wheeled chassis and a tail spur.
Technical data (p. 56/4)
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 1 |
| Passengers | 7th |
| length | 9.00 m |
| span | 13.13 m |
| height | 4.10 m |
| Wing area | 48.6 m² |
| Empty mass | 1453 kg |
| Takeoff mass | 2712 kg |
| Top speed | 181 km / h |
| Range | 620 km |
| Engines | a 9-cylinder Gnome-Rhône Jupiter 9Ady with 313 kW (426 PS) |
