SNECMA C.450

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SNECMA Coléoptère 1959

The SNECMA C.450 Coléoptère was a VTOL - experimental aircraft , were united in which two unconventional concepts: There was a tail-sitter with annular wing . As with the American Ryan X-13 , a jet engine was used , but the Coléoptère managed without a launch pad. Instead, fixed rollers were attached to the rear edge of the ring wing, on which the aircraft rested vertically.

history

In the mid-1950s, the French companies Nord Aviation and SNECMA were researching a concept for a whiz . As early as 1952, SNECMA had acquired the rights to the circular wing construction from the Bureau Technique Zborowski (BTZ). From 1955 to 1957, various models and a first manned model ( C.400 Atar Volant ) were researched until the C.450 Coléoptère (Coléoptère = Celeopter = ring-winged) was completed in April 1958. The fuselage and wing were from Nord Aviation, the engine and some control elements were designed by SNECMA. The first tethered hover took place on April 17, 1959, the aircraft was attached to a mast with a wire rope so as not to get lost in the event of a loss of control. The first free hover took place on May 3rd of the same year and lasted three minutes and 38 seconds.

During the ninth test flight on July 25, the machine got out of control during an attempted transition to level flight. The pilot Auguste Morel had to get out of the ejector seat at a height of less than 50 meters and was seriously injured. The machine was completely destroyed. After this setback, the program was discontinued.

Technical specifications

Parameter Data
Manufacturer Snecma and Nord Aviation
Diameter of the ring wing 3.20 m
Length of the ring wing 3.00 m
overall length 8.02 m
Takeoff mass approx. 3000 kg
crew 1
Top speed not specified
Service ceiling no information, the maximum height reached
was about 900 m.
Range not specified
Engines 1 × jet engine Snecma Atar 101E.V
with about 36 k N prior relapsing

See also

Web links