The Bleriot-SPAD S.33 was a small French airliner developed soon after World War I. The aircraft was a biplane of conventional configuration whose design owed much to the Blériot company's contemporary fighter designs such as the S.20. Four passengers could be accommodated in an enclosed cabin within the monocoque fuselage, and a fifth passenger could ride in the open cockpit beside the pilot. A great success, the S.33 dominated its field throughout the 1920s, initially on CMA's Paris-London route, and later on continental routes serviced by Franco-Roumaine.
| Blériot-SPAD S.33 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Airliner |
| Manufacturer | Blériot |
| Primary users | Franco-Roumaine, CMA |
| Number built | ca. 41 |
| History | |
| First flight | 12 December 1920 |
| Variants | Blériot-SPAD S.46 Blériot-SPAD S.56 |
One interesting development was a sole example converted by CIDNA to act as a blind-flying trainer. A set of controls was installed inside the passenger cabin, the windows of which had been blacked out.
Variants
edit- S.33
- Single-engined passenger transport aircraft, powered by a 260 hp (190 kW) Salmson CM.9 radial piston engine. 41 aircraft built.
- S.46
- Improved version of the S.33, powered by a 370 hp (280 kW) Lorraine-Dietrich 12Da engine. 38 built and sold to the Franco-Roumaine Company.
- S.48
- A single S.33 temporarily re-engined in 1925, fitted with a 275 hp (205 kW) Lorraine 7M Mizar engine.
- S.50
- Luxury version with passenger cabin enlarged to six seats, fitted with a 300 hp (220 kW) Hispano-Suiza 8Fb engine. Three were converted from S.33s, plus two all-new aircraft.
Operators
edit
- Franco-Roumaine (20 aircraft)
- CMA (15 aircraft)
- SNETA (6 aircraft)
Specifications (S.33)
edit
Data from Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1924,[1] Aviafrance:SPAD S-33,[2] Flight 7 July 1921:[3]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Capacity: 4/5 pax
- Length: 9.08 m (29 ft 9 in)
- Wingspan: 11.66 m (38 ft 3 in)
- Height: 3.3 m (10 ft 10 in)
- Wing area: 43 m2 (460 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 1,050 kg (2,315 lb)
- Gross weight: 1,797 kg (3,962 lb)
- Powerplant: × Salmson CM.9 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 190 kW (260 hp)
- Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed: 180 km/h (110 mph, 97 kn) at 2,000 m (6,600 ft)
- Range: 1,060 km (660 mi, 570 nmi)
- Endurance: 5 hours
- Service ceiling: 4,000 m (13,000 ft)
- Time to altitude: 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in 10 minutes 5 seconds; 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in 23 minutes; 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 45 minutes 32 seconds
- Wing loading: 46.5 kg/m2 (9.5 lb/sq ft)
- Power/mass: 0.0932 kW/kg (0.0567 hp/lb)
See also
editRelated development
References
edit- ^ Grey, C.G., ed. (1924). Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1924. London: Sampson Low, Marston & company, ltd. p. 95b.
- ^ Parmentier, Bruno. "SPAD S-33". Aviafrance (in French). Paris. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
- ^ "The Spad "Berline" S.33bis". Flight. XIII (27): 460–462. 7 July 1921. No. 654. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
Further reading
edit- Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 163.
- World Aircraft Information Files. London: Bright Star Publishing. pp. File 890 Sheet 42.
- Warner, Edward P. (May 2008). "Les avions de ligne au banc d'essai en 1921" [Airlines on the Test Bench in 1921]. Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French) (462): 44–55. ISSN 0757-4169.