CASA C-201
| CASA C-201 Alcotán | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Airliner , transport aircraft |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
February 11, 1949 |
| Production time: |
until 1956 |
| Number of pieces: |
11 |
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The CASA C-201 Alcotán (Spanish for falcon ) was a twin-engine transport and airliner made by the Spanish manufacturer Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA in the 1940s and 1950s. It was the first commercial aircraft designed in Spain and could carry up to ten passengers. Due to problems with the procurement of suitable drives, only eleven copies were produced at the Getafe plant .
history
Until the Second World War, the Spanish aviation industry was largely content with the license production of foreign models. In order to reduce dependency on foreign countries, the Spanish government commissioned the aircraft manufacturer CASA in 1946 to design four different commercial and transport aircraft. The largest variant, a four-engine long-haul aircraft, was never realized. In contrast, with the models C-201, C-202 and C-207, three different twin-engine aircraft were created. None of these models found a civilian buyer. The few copies built were therefore taken over by the Spanish military.
Initially, CASA began developing the C-201 light transport aircraft. In June 1946, the manufacturer received the order to build two prototypes. The first made its maiden flight on February 11, 1949, the second followed in 1950. In July 1950, the government then placed an order for twelve pre-production models and one hundred production aircraft. The first copy was not delivered until 1953 because neither the engines nor the propellers were available in time.
The pre-production models came into the possession of the Spanish Air Force . Some of them received ten passenger seats. The rest served as bombers , reconnaissance or training aircraft .
Delivery ended in 1956 after a total of eleven copies. The Spanish industry was unable to supply sufficiently powerful engines for the 96 main series aircraft structures, which were completed in 1955. The procurement of foreign products failed due to the state's lack of foreign currency and its political isolation. In 1962 the government canceled the order, whereupon the manufacturer had the aircraft structures dismantled.
construction
The C-201 was a cantilever low wing aircraft and had a retractable landing gear. Either ten people or a ton of cargo could be transported over 1,000 kilometers in the cabin.
The eleven aircraft built received radial engines from different manufacturers. The prototypes and some pre-production models had Cheetah XXVII engines from Armstrong Siddeley . One aircraft received two Pratt & Whitney Wasp engines, three more two Elizade Sirio from ENMASA . The engine was later changed to the Alvis Leonides 503.
Military users
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 2 |
| Passengers | 10 |
| length | 13.94 m |
| span | 18.40 m |
| height | 3.95 m |
| Wing area | 41.8 m² |
| Empty mass | 3550 kg |
| Takeoff mass | 5095 kg |
| Top speed | 350 km / h |
| Service ceiling | 5600 m |
| Range | 1000 km |
| Engines | two radial engines Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah XXVII with 475 HP each (approx. 350 kW) |
