Sud Aviation Caravelle

The Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle is a rear-engine narrow-body jet airliner produced by French Sud Aviation.

It was developed by SNCASE in the early 1950s, and made its maiden flight on May 27, 1955. It included some de Havilland designs and components developed for the de Havilland Comet, the first jet airliner. SNCASE merged into the larger Sud Aviation conglomerate before the aircraft entered revenue service on April 26, 1959, with Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS); 282 were built until production ended in 1972. It was ordered by airlines on every continent and operated until its retirement in 2005.

The short-range, five-abreast airliner is powered by two aft-mounted Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet engines, allowing a clean low wing.

The configuration was later retained in many narrow-body aircraft and regional jets.

The initial I, III and VI variants could seat 90 to 99 passengers over .

The later, slightly longer 10/11 variants could seat 99 to 118 passengers over and were powered by Pratt & Whitney JT8D low-bypass turbofans.

The stretched Caravelle 12 could seat 131 over .

Development

Origins

On 12 October 1951, the Comité du matériel civil (civil aircraft committee) published a specification for a medium-range aircraft, which was later sent to the aviation industry by the Direction technique et industrielle. This called for an aircraft capable of carrying 55 to 65 passengers and of cargo on routes up to with a cruising speed of about . The type and number of engines were not specified. Since 1946, various design studies for aircraft in this category had already been underway at several of the leading French aircraft manufacturing organisations, and had resulted in some ambitious concepts being mooted. None of these firms possessed the financial power to independently embark on the substantial development work involved, let alone to establish a manufacturing line for the construction of such aircraft. while the rest of the airliner was locally designed. shortly thereafter, the type commenced operations with Air France as well. Aviation writer M.G. Douglas attributed the type's favourable early sales record to the effective marketing campaign of performing demonstrations to prospective customers using the two prototypes, as well to the Caravelle having effectively no jet-powered rivals, being the only short-haul jetliner for several years following its introduction.

The final assembly line for the Caravelle was at Sud Aviation's factory at Blagnac Airport near Toulouse. Much of the aircraft was manufactured at other sites across France and in other countries, however. The production of large portions of the Caravelle had been subcontracted to other manufacturers; these included the Italian aircraft manufacturer Fiat Aviazione, which produced the aircraft's tailplane, fin, ailerons, and engine nacelles; and French aviation firm Breguet Aviation, which performed the outfitting of the rear fuselage; while much of the ancillary equipment of the Caravelle originated from either British or U.S. manufacturers. Sud Aviation constructed and outfitted the nose section, along with manufacturing the tailcone, rudder, Fowler flaps, both the leading edges and trailing edges of the wing, and the majority of the fuselage.

! style="text-align: center" |Variant

! style="text-align: center" |Length

! style="text-align: center" |Engines

! style="text-align: center" |Passengers

| Caravelle I || || RA-29 Mk.522 || 80

| Caravelle IA || || RA-29 Mk.522A || 80

| Caravelle III || || RA-29 Mk.527 and 527B || 80

| Caravelle VI-N || || RA-29 Mk.531 and 531B || 80

| Caravelle VI-R || || RA-29 Mk.533R || 80

| Caravelle 10R || || P&W JT8D-7 || 80

| Caravelle 11R || || P&W JT8D-7 || 89–99

| Caravelle 10B || || P&W JT8D-7 || 105

| Caravelle 12 || || P&W JT8D-9 || 140

;Caravelle I

: Similar to the original prototypes; first flew on 14 May 1958. This variant was powered by two Rolls-Royce RA-29 Avon Mk.522 with of unitary thrust and a capacity of 80 passengers. French certification was obtained on 2 April 1959, and U.S. certification was obtained six days later. The first revenue flight took place that year with Air France on the Paris-Rome-Athens–Istanbul route. Air France Caravelle registration F-BHRB "Lorraine" was introduced in the Paris-London route on 27 July 1959.

: Sales: 20 were sold; to Air France (10), SAS (6), Air Algérie (2) and VARIG (2). One of the VARIG aircraft was leased by Sud to Air Vietnam and Middle East Airlines before delivery to Royal Air Maroc. In Australia, Trans Australia Airlines had planned to re-equip with the Caravelle but as Ansett felt this was too advanced at that stage for its own needs, under Australia's Two Airlines Policy both airlines were required to purchase the Ansett preference (the less-advanced turbo-prop Lockheed L-188 Electra).

;Caravelle IA

: This variant had the same external configuration as variant I but with more powerful engines, the Rolls-Royce Avon RA-29/1 Mk.526 giving improved capabilities. The first flight took place on 11 February 1960. Caravelle I and IA aircraft were later converted to the III variant.

: Sales: 12 built. Deliveries were to Air France, SAS, Air Algérie, Finnair, and Royal Air Maroc.

thumb|[[Scandinavian Airline System|SAS Caravelle III, powered by Rolls-Royce Avon turbojets]]

;Caravelle III

: Later improvements to the Avon led to the Caravelle III. It first flew on 30 December 1959, entering service with Alitalia in April 1960. The Caravelle III was powered by Rolls-Royce Avon RA-29/3 Mk.527 and RA-29/3 Mk.527B engines, both with of unitary thrust.

: Sales: The Series III was the best-selling Caravelle with 78 built. All but one of the 32 Series Is built were upgraded to Series III standard. Air Inter used 16 of this type for its domestic routes. Major deliveries were to Air France, as well as aircraft for Swissair, Alitalia, SAS, and Royal Air Maroc.

;Caravelle VI-N

: N standing for "normal". A version with more powerful Avon RA-29/6 Mk 531 and RA 29/6 Mk 531B engines producing of unitary thrust. The capabilities were improved and the weights increased; the actual payload was reduced. The Caravelle VI-N first flew on 10 September 1960, beginning service with Belgian airline Sabena in January 1961. Five of the 78 Series IIIs were upgraded to Series VI-N.

:Sales: 53 built. Deliveries to Saeta, Corse Air, Europe A.S., Minerve, Indian Airlines and Yugoslav Airlines.

;Caravelle VI-R

: First Caravelle with thrust reversers. The cockpit windows were made larger with redesigned layout and more powerful brakes were introduced. It first flew on 6 February 1961, obtaining U.S. certification on 5 June that same year. It began service with United Airlines on 14 July. The VI-R was powered by Avon Ra-29 Mk. 533R and Mk 535R (R, for Reverse) engines with a unitary thrust of .

:Sales: 56 built, 20 for United Airlines. Other series VI customers included Indian Airlines (9), Panair do Brasil (4), Cruzeiro do Sul, Iberia Líneas Aéreas De España (4), LAN Chile (3), Aerolíneas Argentinas (3) and TAP Portugal (3). This model was also used by Filipinas Orient Airways [http://www.abpic.co.uk/photo/1048631/], Aerocesar, Airborne Express and SA Nacionales.

;Caravelle VII : This was a Series III (c/n 042) that was purchased by General Electric, ferried to the United States as Santa Marian 9 and equipped with General Electric CJ805 aft-fan engines, becoming, in effect, the engine test-bed for the Caravelle 10A. Flight tests with the new engines began on 29 December 1960 and a second aircraft was planned to be converted, but this aircraft became the sole Caravelle 10A.

;Caravelle 10A

: Based on the Series VII, but intended for the U.S. market, the 10A was longer than the Series VI, with the windows located higher on the fuselage. The sole prototype was powered by two General Electric CJ-805-23C aft-fan engines and flew for the first time on 31 August 1962. A modified wing with improved flaps was fitted to meet U.S. certification requirements, as was an auxiliary power unit (APU) in the rear fuselage. Trans World Airlines (TWA) cancelled its order for 20 aircraft due to financial problems, however, and by the time TWA was in a position to purchase new aircraft, the Douglas DC-9 was preferred. After testing the prototype was scrapped.

thumb|The 10B Super Caravelle, longer, powered by [[Pratt & Whitney JT8D turbofans]]

;Caravelle 10B (Super Caravelle)

: Based on the Series 10A, this variant offered many modifications in respect to other series. It introduced a leading edge extension (a fillet added to the front of an aircraft wings in order to provide usable airflow at high angles of attack). The wing had plain flaps instead of the earlier models' double-slotted Fowler flaps and the fuselage was extended , with an increase in passenger capacity to 105. The engines used were the new Pratt & Whitney JT8D turbofan engines with of unitary thrust. The 10B first flew on August 31, 1964 and was produced as a run of 22 aircraft.

: Launch customer and primary operator of the 10B was Finnair with 8 examples. Aviaco ordered 5 but this was cancelled, with those aircraft going to Sterling Airways, LTU, and Iberia Airlines. Alia and Union des Transports Aériens (UTA) also acquired aircraft. The last operational Caravelle was a Type 3 10B that flew with Waltair until 2005.

;Caravelle 10R

: A combination of the 10B's engines on the Series VI-R fuselage, creating a smaller but higher powered aircraft. Maximum weight at take-off was increased to ( more than the Series I and more than the Series VI-R). It first flew on 8 January 1965 and received U.S. certification on 23 May of that same year.

: A total of 20 were built, starting service with Alia on July 31, 1965. It also flew with Aero Lloyd, CTA, Hispania and SAT, among others.

;Caravelle 11R

: The 11R had a fuselage length of ( more than other variants) and incorporated a cargo door in the port side. This enabled it to carry a mixed load of passengers and cargo. First flight of the series 11R was on 21 April 1967.

: Only six were built, delivered to Air Afrique, Air Congo, and Transeuropa of Spain.

thumb|upright=1.1|A Caravelle 12 of [[Air Inter, lengthened by ]]

;Caravelle 12 (Super Caravelle)

: This was the last version of the Caravelle to appear, first flying on 12 March 1971. The Series 12 was a 10B with a noticeably longer fuselage, stretched by , and a newer uprated version of the JT8D engines with of unitary thrust. This allowed for up to 140 passengers over a reduced range. The Caravelle 12 was aimed primarily at the charter market, produced to 12 examples starting in 1972. By this point Concorde was in production; this design was originally known in France as Sud Aviation Super-Caravelle. The Caravelle 12 was often also referred to by this name.

: The launch customer for the Series 12 was Sterling Airways with seven delivered, while the remaining five went to Air Inter. Series 12s flew in Europe until October 1996, and in Africa until more recently.

: The unit cost was US$5.5M. (1972)

Operators

The Caravelle served with airlines on every continent except Australia. In 1957, Trans-Australia Airlines (TAA) sought to order two Caravelles, to service its longest routes, Perth-Sydney and Perth-Melbourne, from 1960. However, the Australian government blocked the order, saying that any further diversity in full-size airliners used on domestic routes would have an adverse impact on aircraft servicing within Australia.

Civil operators

thumb|[[Aerolineas Argentinas 1973]]

thumb|upright|[[Finnair]]

thumb|[[Scandinavian Airlines System|SAS]]

thumb|[[Swissair]]