The Dassault MD.415 Communauté was a 1950s
French twin-engined light turboprop transport monoplane built by
Dassault Aviation
Dassault Aviation SA () is a French Aerospace manufacturer, manufacturer of military aircraft and business jets.
It was founded in 1929 by Marcel Dassault, Marcel Bloch as Société des Avions Marcel Bloch or "MB". After World War II, Marc ...
. Only one prototype was built and flown.
Development
The Dassault company designed a light transport aircraft in the late 1950s, designated MD.415 and later named ''Communauté'', as a potential replacement for the
Dassault MD 315 Flamant
The Dassault MD 315 Flamant is a French light twin-engined transport airplane built shortly after World War II by Dassault Aviation for the French Air Force.
Design and development
Design work on a twin-engined light transport started in 1946 wi ...
in its trainer, command transport or ambulance aircraft roles. The Communauté was a cantilever low-wing monoplane with retractable tricycle landing gear with room for two crew and up to ten passengers. Powered by two wing-mounted
Turbomeca Bastan
The Turbomeca Bastan was a turboprop engine developed in France in 1957. Early models developed 650 shp (485 kW), but by 1965 this had been increased to 1,048 shp (780 kW) with the Bastan VII.
Flight tests of some Bastan models were ca ...
turboprops, the prototype (''F-WJDN'') first flew on 10 May 1959.
[Lemaire ''Le Fana de l'Aviation'' December 1986, p. 13][Chillon, Dubois & Wegg 1980, p. 127]
The company also developed a military version designated the MD.410 Spirale.
[''Flying'' August 1961, p. 49] Retaining 90% commonality with the Communauté, the Spirale had all the windows removed and transparent nose panels added. It also had provision for cannon or machine-gun armament and was fitted with under-wing hardpoints for weapons. It was intended that the Spirale could be used for close-support, reconnaissance or transport roles.
Neither the Communauté nor the Spirale received any production orders and a high-wing development designated Spirale III was also abandoned.
Variants
;MD.410 Spirale
:Prototype military version, one built, powered by two
Turbomeca Astazou XIVD
The Turbomeca Astazou is a highly successful series of turboprop and turboshaft engines, first run in 1957. The original version weighed and developed at 40,000 rpm. It was admitted for aviation service on May 29, 1961, after a 150-hour test ru ...
engines.
;MD.415 Communauté
:Prototype light transport, one built.
;MD.415 Communauté A1:A proposed joint development from Dassault and
Sud-Aviation
Sud Aviation (, ''Southern Aviation'') was a French state-owned aircraft manufacturer, originating from the merger of Sud-Est (SNCASE, or ''Société nationale des constructions aéronautiques du sud-est'') and Sud-Ouest (SNCASO or ''Société n ...
for a new version of the MD 415, a liaison aircraft carrying eight passengers over or a feeder-liner carrying 21 passengers over .
;MD.415 Communauté A2: Proposed 14-seat variant.
;MD.415M Diplomate
:A proposed scaled-up executive transport variant.
;MD.455 Spirale III
:Proposed high-wing transport version,
[Taylor 1962, pp. 38–39] not built.
Specifications (MD-415 Communauté)
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dassault Communaute
1950s French civil utility aircraft
Communaute
Low-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1959
Twin-turboprop tractor aircraft