The Caudron C.800, at first also known as the Epervier ( en, Sparrowhawk) is a French two seat
training
Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or Physical fitness, fitness that relate to specific practicality, useful Competence (human resources), competencies. Training has specific goals of improving on ...
glider
Glider may refer to:
Aircraft and transport Aircraft
* Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight
** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...
, designed and first flown during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and put into large scale post-war production. It was the dominant basic training glider with French clubs until the 1960s and several still fly.
Design and development
Design of the Caudron C.800 began soon after the Franco-German
Armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...
of June 1940, proceeding in parallel with that of the
Castel C.25S. Both aircraft were intended to increase the number of machines available for recreational gliding in the southern, unoccupied region of France. Its wood framed,
fabric
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
covered
high wings are braced from below with short and quite broad
chord faired strut
A strut is a structural component commonly found in engineering, aeronautics, architecture and anatomy. Struts generally work by resisting longitudinal compression, but they may also serve in tension.
Human anatomy
Part of the functionality o ...
s, one on each side, from the lower
fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...
to the constant chord wing centre section. Outboard the wing panels taper roughly elliptically, with obliquely hinged
ailerons
An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in Flight dynamics, roll (or ...
filling their whole
trailing edge
The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge meets.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 521. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. ...
s.
The fuselage is a
plywood
Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...
covered wooden
monocoque
Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell".
First used for boats, ...
with an oval cross section; the wing is mounted at the highest point immediately behind the
cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft.
The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...
, which places instructor and pupil in
side-by-side seats ahead of the
leading edge
The leading edge of an airfoil surface such as a wing is its foremost edge and is therefore the part which first meets the oncoming air.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 305. Aviation Supplies & Academics, ...
, equipped with dual control and covered by a short, upward opening, rear hinged, multi-piece
canopy
Canopy may refer to:
Plants
* Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests)
* Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes
Religion and ceremonies
* Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...
.
[ There is another pair of opening fuselage transparencies immediately below the canopy. Behind the wing the fuselage tapers, initially quickly, to the tail where the narrow chord, round tipped ]tailplane
A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplane ...
is mounted, with some dihedral, on top of it. The broader, split elevators
An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They are ...
are ahead of a straight edged, blunt tipped narrow fin
A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...
and wide rudder
A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...
. Like the wings, the empennage
The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third ed ...
is wood framed and fabric covered. The monowheel undercarriage is assisted by a sprung, wooden skid reaching forwards from the wheel to the nose, and by a tail skid.[
Two prototype C.800s were flown during ]World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the first in April 1942. A single-seat version, the C.810 was also flown in 1942 but these two prototypes were destroyed by bombing. An improved single-seat variant, the C.811 was flown after 1945 but not developed; it was seen by the French Air Ministry as too similar to existing types such as the Grunau.[
In 1951 an improved version of the C.800 named C.801 was designed by Raymond Jarlaud. This had a reinforced structure, an enlarged rudder and balanced ailerons. Cockpit visibility was improved by simplifying the frames with more curved glazing and ground handling was made easier by moving the monowheel forward.]
Operational history
After the liberation of France in 1944, the French government ordered 450 as part of an effort to revive French aviation, though this was later reduced to 248.[ Production of 300 began in 1945 at the Aire-sur-Adour factory of the Fouga company, by then part of ]SCAN
Scan may refer to:
Acronyms
* Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN), a psychiatric diagnostic tool developed by WHO
* Shared Check Authorization Network (SCAN), a database of bad check writers and collection agency for bad ...
. Most went to civil gliding clubs becoming, along with the Castel C.25S, the national standard two-seat trainer type until their replacement by the Wassmer WA 30 Bijave in the early 1960s. It remained an important club stalwart for twenty years after its introduction.[ Some were operated by the ]French Air Force
The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Army; ...
and Aéronavale.[
Ten C.801s were built at Aire-sur-Adour][ but were withdrawn from use in 1957 on safety grounds.][
In 2010 six C.800s remained on the ]French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
civil aircraft register and one on the Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
.
Variants
;C.800: Original 1940s production; 302 built.
;C.800 Motorized version: Little is known of this one-off modification.
;C.801: Improved 1950s version; 10 built.
;C.810: Single-seat variant, flown 1942. The two prototypes were destroyed by bombing.
;C.811: Improved C.310 flown post-war but not developed.
Aircraft on display
''Data from'' Aviation Museums and Collections of Mainland Europe.
C.800s are on public display at
* The Army Museum, Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
;* Musée de l'Agriculture et de la Locomotion, Uzès
Uzès (; ) is a commune in the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. In 2017, it had a population of 8,454. Uzès lies about north-northeast of Nîmes, west of Avignon and south-east of Alès.
History
Originally ''Ucetia ...
;* Musée Maurice Dufresnes, Azay-le-Rideau
Azay-le-Rideau () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France.
Château
The château of Azay-le-Rideau was built from 1515 to 1527, one of the earliest French Renaissance châteaux. Built on an island in the river Indre, its ...
;* Musée Régional de l'Air, Angers
Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the prov ...
;* Musée de l'Aviation de Mas Palegry, Perpignan
Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...
;* Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace, le Bourget
Le Bourget () is a Communes of France, commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero#France, center of Paris.
The commune features Paris - Le Bourget Airport, Le Bourget Airport, which in turn hos ...
;* Ailes Anciennes Toulouse, Blagnac
Blagnac (; oc, Blanhac) is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France. The city hosts the aviation museum Aeroscopia.
It is the third-largest suburb of the city of Toulouse, although governed by a separate council, and is ...
Specifications (C.800)
Notes
Bibliography
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External links
{{Caudron aircraft
1940s French sailplanes
Caudron aircraft
Glider aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1942