The Potez 840 was a 1960s

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 ...

four-engined 18-passenger executive monoplane, the last aircraft to use the Potez name.

Development

The Potez 840 was an all-metal cantilever-wing monoplane with a retractable tricycle landing gear. It had a crew of three and a cabin for 18 passengers. It was powered by four 440 shp (328 kW)

Turbomeca Astazou 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 ...

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. Fuel ...

engines. The prototype first flew on 29 April 1961; a second aircraft flew in June 1962 and had more powerful 600 shp (447 kW)

XII engines. The second prototype carried out a sales tour of North America and it was planned to build a batch of 25 aircraft for Chicago-based Turbo Flight Inc. but only two more prototype aircraft were built, one for static testing. The next two aircraft were designated the Potez 841 and were powered by 550 shp (417 kW) Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-6 turboprop engines. Another two modified Astazou-powered aircraft were produced, one in 1965 and one in 1967. It was intended to build Potez 840s in a factory at

Baldonnel Aerodrome Casement Aerodrome ( ga, Aeradróm Mhic Easmainn) or Baldonnel Aerodrome is a military airbase to the southwest of Dublin, Ireland situated off the N7 main road route to the south and south west. It is the headquarters and the sole airfield of ...

in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

with financial aid from the

Government of Ireland The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The governm ...

but this factory was closed in 1968 without completing a single aircraft. The former Potez factory at Baldonnel became an engine maintenance facility for the German airline

Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...

with the factory finally closing in 2013.''Air-Britain Aeromilitaria'' March 2017, p. 13

Service

The two Potez 841s were delivered to German customers in 1965, remaining in use until the mid 1970s. The first Potez 842 was operated by the French national civil pilot training school, Service de la Formation Aéronautique (SFA) from 1966 to 1976, while the second 842 was purchased by the Moroccan Ministry of Defense, being sold on in 1978.

Variants

;Potez 840 :Astazou-powered variant, four built. ;Potez 841 :Production variant powered by

Pratt & Whitney PT6 The Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 is a turboprop aircraft engine produced by Pratt & Whitney Canada. Its design was started in 1958, it first ran in February 1960, first flew on 30 May 1961, entered service in 1964 and has been continuously upda ...

A-6 engines, two built.Chillon, Dubois & Wegg 1980, pp. 98–99 ;Potez 842 :Production variant powered by

XII engines, two built. ;Potez 843 : Unbuilt 1965 proposal with deeper fuselage and PT6 engines.Chillon, Dubois & Wegg 1980, p. 98 ;Potez 880 :Unbuilt military

STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh conditio ...

version with four

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 ...

engines. ;Potez 881 :Unbuilt civil version of 880.

Survivors

* One aircraft is displayed at the Musée de l’air et de l’espace in Paris. * The intact fuselage of a second is in the Shetland Islands. It suffered a wheels-up landing at

Sumburgh Airport Sumburgh Airport is the main airport serving Shetland in Scotland. It is located on the southern tip of the mainland, in the parish of Dunrossness, south of Lerwick. The airport is owned by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) and s ...

in 1981. Many years later the fuselage was recovered and moved to its current location at

North Roe North Roe is a village, and protected area at the northern tip in the large Northmavine peninsula of the Mainland of Shetland, Scotland. It is a small village, with a school with less than a dozen pupils in 2011. The moorland plateau to the so ...

in 2007.Pictures of crashed aircraft on Aviation Forum Potez 840 Shetland

Specifications (Potez 842)

References