Caudron C.450
| C.450 and C.460 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Flying replica of the Caudron C.460 at Paris Air Show 2009. | |
| Role | Racing aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Caudron |
| Designer | Marcel Riffard |
| First flight | 1934 |
| Number built | 6 |
The Caudron C.450 and C.460 were French racing aircraft built to participate in the Coupe Deutsch de la Meurthe race of 1934.
Developed from the Caudron C.362 flown in the previous year's race, a single C.450 and three C.460s were built for the 1934 event. All were powered by a supercharged Renault 456 six-cylinder inverted air-cooled engine driving a Ratier two-position variable-pitch propeller. The airframe was primarily built from spruce and birch plywood, with steel and alloy engine bearers and magnesium cowling and fuel tanks. The wings were fitted with split flaps and the angle of incidence of the tailplane could be varied while in flight. The principal difference between the types was that the C.450 had a fixed spatted undercarriage, while the C.460 had a retractable undercarriage. This difference resulted in structural differences, the retractable undercarriage necessitating a two-spar wing for the C.460 in contrast to the single-spar wing used by the C.450.
For the 1936 Coupe de la Meurthe competition Caudron built two examples of a development of the C.460, the C.461. This was slightly larger, 8.185 metres (26 ft 10 in) long with a wingspan of 6.75 metres (22 ft 2 in) and weighing 661 kilograms (1,457 lb) empty and had a radically redesigned cockpit, the top being flush with the top of the fuselage and forward vision being limited to what could be seen through glazed-over semi-circular channels set into either side of the fuselage.
In the 1934 Coupe de la Meurthe the C.450 took first place, piloted by Maurice Arnoux, and one of the C.460s took third, piloted by Albert Monville. The C.460s had been handicapped by problems with the retractable undercarriage, which resulted in them flying with the undercarriage fixed in the down position during the contest.
On 22 May 1934, flying the C.450, Raymond Delmotte set a world record for light aircraft over 100 km of 431.65 km/h (268.21 mph). In August that year, Hélène Boucher set an airspeed record for aircraft in its class with the C.450, of 455 km/h (284 mph) and on Christmas Day 1934 Delmotte set a new airspeed record for light aircraft over a 3 km course of 505.85 km/h (314.32 mph) in a C.460.
A C.460 won the Coupe Deutsch de la Meurthe in 1935, piloted by Delmotte, with an average speed of 443.96 km/h (277.5 mph).
In 1936, a C.460, piloted by , also won the Greve Trophy and Thompson Trophy at the 1936 National Air Races in the United States.
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