Released on Simmarket today, hopefully I'll manage to get a review of this done this weekend after finishing up the two I'm already working on lol, but in the interim this is a fun vintage aeroplane to thrash around in. Quirky and not that easy to fly with that long nose and rear cockpit view making forward visibility pretty difficult, but very entertaining to get the hand of and beautifully modeled:

 

 

Only two were ever made, and one killed her pilot. Just sayin’...😏

4 hours ago, Dominique_K said:

Only two were ever made, and one killed her pilot. Just sayin’...😏

In regard to the crash of the Caudron in which Helene Boucher was killed, she was a pioneer of racing, aerobatics, and record-breaking flying feats. Much of what she did was of necessity on the ragged edge of things. Being also a pioneer of women's equality in showing they could do more than be mere mistresses and housewives to the extent that there are many memorials to her in her native France, including a number of girl's schools, so I daresay she would have echoed what Otto Lilienthal (allegedly) said in regard to aviation after his fatal crash: 'Opfer müssen gebracht werden!'

To understand how pioneering the aeroplane was, the Caudron 430, and the single-seater variants of it, were able to do almost 200 mph and so they absolutely dominated the races they entered at a time when many Governments were throwing everything they had at winning such contests because of the prestige it engendered. Benito Mussolini in particular was keen on such funding and had instructed Italian aeroplane manufacturers to 'win the Schneider Trophy at all costs!', as he wanted it to demonstrate the effectiveness of his Fascist government.

So at the time, 200mph was a pretty impressive turn of speed for land-based aeroplane in level flight, and especially one which could maintain that kind of speed for a long period of time, particularly with an engine of such a power rating as it had (between about 75 and 210 hp and with a displacement of around six litres, depending on the variant). This was three years after the Supermarine S.6B Schneider Trophy winning racing plane had made just over 400 mph using a supercharged V-12 Rolls Royce R engine rated at 2,350 hp and with a displacement of over thirty-six litres!

Most of the Schneider Trophy aeroplanes, whilst they were faster than the Caudron, could only run their engines at the necessary power settings for such speeds for a limited period of time over the Schneider course and usually had to be completely rebuilt after having done so, with many of them breaking down to the extent that often the winner of the Schneider Cup would be the one which was still operational after all the other entrants had retired. Their impressive speed runs were usually made right near the end of the final lap, since there was a good chance that they'd conk out after having wound the engine up that much. Those Schneider aeroplanes also delivered so much torque that they typically had to have all their fuel in one float in order to counteract the massively imbalanced effect the engine and prop caused. This made them extremely tricky to get in the air, usually requiring a massive stretch of water for their take off run and having to be gingerly lifted into the air at speeds often well in excess of 90 mph, whereas the Caudron could get off the deck from an average airfield, although even that was no easy aeroplane to fly, requiring it to be landed at over 60 mph at a time when most other land-based aeroplanes were coming in at very much lower speeds than this.

The same year in which that Caudron managed that record-breaking speed (1934), the Supermarine 224, which was Supermarine's first stab at making what would eventually be the Spitfire, could not even manage to make the 250 mph speed (it topped out at 228 mph) which the British Air Ministry had specified for their prospective fighter, and that was equipped with the twenty-one-litre 600 hp V-12 Goshawk engine, which is three times the power rating of the Caudron's six litre engine and nearly four times its displacement. This gives us an idea of how efficient and streamlined the Caudron actually was. The Caudron also had a variable pitch propeller too, something even most Spitfires didn't get until 1940, just prior to the Battle of Britain. So we have to view the Caudron it its proper context, it was a really pioneering aeroplane and one which required a good deal of skill to fly. Thus it is not too surprising that it should result in the death of one of its most celebrated pilots.

Of course it is somewhat doubtful as to whether Lilienthal really said that about sacrifices having to be made after being extracted from the wreckage of his crashed glider; most accounts say that he never really regained consciousness to be in a position to say anything, let alone something so inspirational, and so whilst I daresay both he and Boucher would have preferred not to crash at all, with Boucher and Lilienthal, it's the idea and the inspiration of what they achieved which remains important; it stands taller than the circumstances of their deaths, which is why we still remember their feats and contribution to aviation.

Boucher was every bit as good a pilot as other pioneering aviators of her day such as Amy Johnson, Hanna Reitsch and Amelia Earhart, and possibly even the best among them, so it's a shame more people do not know of her exploits outside of France. Sometimes being in that position comes at a heavy price too, as evidenced by the fact that three of these four aviatrix pioneers were killed in aeroplanes, although in the case of Johnson, she may possibly have been shot down by friendly fire from an RN ship during WW2 when she was delivering an Airspeed Oxford for the ATA. This seems quite likely when we look at the facts, although at the time it may have been suppressed since that would obviously have been a big blow to British morale, so we may never know the truth of that one. Similarly, there is some speculation that Earhart may have been shot down too (allegedly by the Japanese while performing reconnaissance for the US), although that's more in the realms of a fanciful conspiracy theory than it is genuinely believable.

Edited May 29, 20215 yr by Chock

Its now on "sale" 2 euros off.

No thanks, to ugly.

Might buy the A1R Design Bureau looks really nice.....ALAN!

5 hours ago, Chock said:

In regard to the crash of the Caudron in which Helene Boucher was killed, she was a pioneer of racing, aerobatics, and record-breaking flying feats. Much of what she did was of necessity on the ragged edge of things. Being also a pioneer of women's equality in showing they could do more than be mere mistresses and housewives to the extent that there are many memorials to her in her native France, including a number of girl's schools, so I daresay she would have echoed what Otto Lilienthal (allegedly) said in regard to aviation after his fatal crash: 'Opfer müssen gebracht werden!'

To understand how pioneering the aeroplane was, the Caudron 430, and the single-seater variants of it, were able to do almost 200 mph and so they absolutely dominated the races they entered at a time when many Governments were throwing everything they had at winning such contests because of the prestige it engendered. Benito Mussolini in particular was keen on such funding and had instructed Italian aeroplane manufacturers to 'win the Schneider Trophy at all costs!', as he wanted it to demonstrate the effectiveness of his Fascist government.

So at the time, 200mph was a pretty impressive turn of speed for land-based aeroplane in level flight, and especially one which could maintain that kind of speed for a long period of time, particularly with an engine of such a power rating as it had (between about 75 and 210 hp and with a displacement of around six litres, depending on the variant). This was three years after the Supermarine S.6B Schneider Trophy winning racing plane had made just over 400 mph using a supercharged V-12 Rolls Royce R engine rated at 2,350 hp and with a displacement of over thirty-six litres!

Most of the Schneider Trophy aeroplanes, whilst they were faster than the Caudron, could only run their engines at the necessary power settings for such speeds for a limited period of time over the Schneider course and usually had to be completely rebuilt after having done so, with many of them breaking down to the extent that often the winner of the Schneider Cup would be the one which was still operational after all the other entrants had retired. Their impressive speed runs were usually made right near the end of the final lap, since there was a good chance that they'd conk out after having wound the engine up that much. Those Schneider aeroplanes also delivered so much torque that they typically had to have all their fuel in one float in order to counteract the massively imbalanced effect the engine and prop caused. This made them extremely tricky to get in the air, usually requiring a massive stretch of water for their take off run and having to be gingerly lifted into the air at speeds often well in excess of 90 mph, whereas the Caudron could get off the deck from an average airfield, although even that was no easy aeroplane to fly, requiring it to be landed at over 60 mph at a time when most other land-based aeroplanes were coming in at very much lower speeds than this.

The same year in which that Caudron managed that record-breaking speed (1934), the Supermarine 224, which was Supermarine's first stab at making what would eventually be the Spitfire, could not even manage to make the 250 mph speed (it topped out at 228 mph) which the British Air Ministry had specified for their prospective fighter, and that was equipped with the twenty-one-litre 600 hp V-12 Goshawk engine, which is three times the power rating of the Caudron's six litre engine and nearly four times its displacement. This gives us an idea of how efficient and streamlined the Caudron actually was. The Caudron also had a variable pitch propeller too, something even most Spitfires didn't get until 1940, just prior to the Battle of Britain. So we have to view the Caudron it its proper context, it was a really pioneering aeroplane and one which required a good deal of skill to fly. Thus it is not too surprising that it should result in the death of one of its most celebrated pilots.

Of course it is somewhat doubtful as to whether Lilienthal really said that about sacrifices having to be made after being extracted from the wreckage of his crashed glider; most accounts say that he never really regained consciousness to be in a position to say anything, let alone something so inspirational, and so whilst I daresay both he and Boucher would have preferred not to crash at all, with Boucher and Lilienthal, it's the idea and the inspiration of what they achieved which remains important; it stands taller than the circumstances of their deaths, which is why we still remember their feats and contribution to aviation.

Boucher was every bit as good a pilot as other pioneering aviators of her day such as Amy Johnson, Hanna Reitsch and Amelia Earhart, and possibly even the best among them, so it's a shame more people do not know of her exploits outside of France. Sometimes being in that position comes at a heavy price too, as evidenced by the fact that three of these four aviatrix pioneers were killed in aeroplanes, although in the case of Johnson, she may possibly have been shot down by friendly fire from an RN ship during WW2 when she was delivering an Airspeed Oxford for the ATA. This seems quite likely when we look at the facts, although at the time it may have been suppressed since that would obviously have been a big blow to British morale, so we may never know the truth of that one. Similarly, there is some speculation that Earhart may have been shot down too (allegedly by the Japanese while performing reconnaissance for the US), although that's more in the realms of a fanciful conspiracy theory than it is genuinely believable.

A superb post which I have thoroughly enjoyed reading. Thank you.

6 hours ago, Chock said:

In regard to the crash of the Caudron in which Helene Boucher was killed,  

She died at 26 after flying since she was 22. She begun as an aerobatics stunt pilot with a Gipsy Moth !  Tried to reach the Far East  with an Avro AVian but went only to Damascus and had to turn back. She also set several world records for speed. Quelle bonne femme (what a woman) ! 

 

2 hours ago, Dominique_K said:

She died at 26 after flying since she was 22. She begun as an aerobatics stunt pilot with a Gipsy Moth !  Tried to reach the Far East  with an Avro AVian but went only to Damascus and had to turn back. She also set several world records for speed. Quelle bonne femme (what a woman) ! 

 

 

2 hours ago, Dominique_K said:

Tried to reach the Far East  with an Avro AVian but went only to Damascus and had to turn back.

Worth bearing in mind that was due to a lack of funds as opposed to a lack of skill. She was from a reasonably well off family and had some connections, but she didn't have access to the kind of funds and press support which Amy Johnson had access to courtesy of her father's businesses, not to mention Lord Wakefield - the founder of Castrol Oil - who was quite philanthropic in regard to funding Johnson. Connections such as these made it feasible for Johnson to fund her famous flight to Australia and it was a similar story with Amelia Earhart who was for a long time a darling of the press in the US. If Boucher had known people like that, she'd probably be as famous as Johnson and Earhart if not more so, since she was no mere average pilot with funding and PR behind her, Boucher had real talent as a flyer.

Edited May 29, 20215 yr by Chock