#snecma c450

[becauseimfrenchandproudofit]

snecma C450 coléoptère

[friendball-irl]

//ooc this is the SNECMA C450 Coleoptere if you need a reference image for this thing.

Ooc: gotcha!

[skyfire85]

FLIGHTLINE: 195 - SNECMA COLÉOPTÈRE ("BEETLE")

-The SNECMA Coléoptère on its specially designed cradle/erector. | Photo: USN

FLIGHTLINE: 195 - SNECMA COLÉOPTÈRE ("BEETLE")

Designed by French engine manufacturer SNECMA, the Coléoptère was an experimental VTOL aircraft using an annular wing.

In the wake of WWII, a number of aircraft design and manufacturing organizations around the world sought to create an aircraft capable of taking off and landing vertically (VTOL), using a number of cutting edge technologies, including turbojet engines. One such company was SNECMA (Société nationale d'études et de construction de moteurs d'aviation , now Safran Aircraft Engines), which along with its own R&D work, integrated the research of Austrian-born Helmut von Zborowski, who had designed an annular wing he felt was capable of acting "as power plant, airframe of a flying wing aircraft and drag-reducing housing". SNECMA began design work of an aircraft incorporating von Zborowski's wing with their own jet engines into a ramjet interceptor, capable of taking off vertically and accelerating to supersonic speeds. This work culminated in the C.450 Coléoptère. Prior to building the Coléoptère, however, a number of test vehicles were built, known as the Atar Volant (either "Shuttlecock" or "Flying Atar").

-The second Atar Volant (C.400 P.2), on display at the Musée de l'air et de l'espace in Le Bourget, France. | Photo: ignis

Essentially an Atar 10DV engine with a metal skin providing space for fuel and remote control equipment, the first Volant, model C.400 P.1, had its first tethered flight on 22 September 1956 and completed 205 flights to validate control systems, which included an early thrust vectoring nozzle.

-Cutaway of the P.1. | Illustration: SNECMA

-Photo of the P.2 (L) and P.1 (R) in the late 1950s. | Photo: Nico Braas

The P.1 was followed by the P.2, which was also powered by a 10DV, but had a platform above the intake for an ejection seat and controls, allowing a pilot to fly the Volant. The P.2 supplemented the nozzle control of the P.1 with control jet nozzles on the landing legs. a 500kg capacity fuel tank gave an endurance of almost 5 minutes. The first tethered flight was on 8 April 1957, with the first free flight on 14 May 1957. The P.2 made 102 flights by 1958, after which it was displayed at the Paris Air Show before being preserved at the Museum of Air and Space in La Bourget. A third Volant, the P.3, used a more powerful 101E engine, and had a fully-enclosed cockpit atop the stack, which also had a tilting ejection seat for both vertical and horizontal flight.

-The C.400 P.3 during an early tethered flight. | Photo: SNECMA

The P.3 was used in two separate phases, one testing vertical flight, then a second stage with the engine mounted in a horizontal position on a rail car to test airflow and other aspects of horizontal flight.

-The P.3 being prepped for a horizontal test. | Photo: SNECMA

THE BEETLE

After the conclusion of the Volant test series, SNECMA proceeded with the construction and testing of the full annular wing aircraft, designated the C.450-01 Coléoptère. Lacking the needed experience with manufacturing a full airframe, SNECMA contracted Nord Aviation to complete the Coléoptère, with the aircraft being ready for its maiden flight in 1959.

-Orthograph of the C.450-01. | Illustration: aviastar.org

The C.450 stood eight meters tall on four small swiveling caster wheels, and while the diameter of the wing was just over three meters, four small fins for maneuvering in horizontal flight increased the 'wingspan' to 4.5 meters from tip to tip. At maximum weight the Coléoptère weighed 3,000 kilos, while the Atar EV 101E engine produced 3,700kg of thrust. An annular tank provided 700kg of fuel. Two small retractable canards on either side of the nose aided with stability during the transition from vertical to horizontal flight, while deflection of the exhaust provided directional control during vertical flight. As with the P.3 test rig, the seat and instrument panel tilted with the aircraft, keeping the pilot relatively upright in all phases. Two windows were added to the fuselage to give the pilot a frame of reference for the ground during landing and takeoff, and auxiliary doors would open to direct air into the engine as needed.

-The C.450 resting in the transporter/erector, with pilot Auguste Morel in the pilot's seat. | Photo: SNECMA

The C.450 arrived at Melun Villaroche Aerodrome for testing in 1958, with the first tethered test occurring in December. Test pilot Auguste Morel, who had also flown the Volant during its test phase, found almost immediately that the Coléoptère had a tendency to slowly rotate during hover (likely a result of torque from the engine), that the vertical speed indicator was inaccurate, and that the control system was almost ineffective during vertical flight. Dead stick (i.e.: engine off) landings were impossible. Adjustments were made to the aircraft, and the first free flight was undertaken on 6 May 1959. Seven more successful test flights were completed, with the aircraft demonstrating its ability to hover before a public audience. The C.450 established a maximum ceiling of 800m (2,600 feet).

-The Coléoptère in a hover. | Photo: SNECMA

The ninth and final flight occurred on 25 July 1959, and was intended to be the first full transition from vertical to horizontal flight. Poor instrumentation and a lack of visual references resulted in Morel becoming disorientated however, and the Coléoptère began to stall. The aircraft entered a series of oscillations and Morel triggered the ejection seat at 150m (490') altitude. The C.450 impacted the ground and was destroyed, and Morel was injured but survived. SNECMA had planned on having a second Coléoptère built, but the funds were never provided, and the test program ended with the 450.1's destruction. SNECMA's brief entry into experimental aircraft ended as well, though the company continued to innovate within that field, working with Rolls-Royce on the Olympus 593 engine for Concorde as well as with GE on several airliner engines, and developing the SNECMA M53 for the Mirage 2000 as well as the M88 for the Rafale fighters. The company also branched out into rocket engines, developing the Viking and Vulcain motors for the Ariane series of launch vehicles. In 2016, after a series of acquisitions and mergers, the company was renamed Safran Aircraft Engines as a subsidiary of Safran S.A.

-Box art for a contemporary model kit of the Coléoptère, released by French company Heller. | Illustration Heller SA

[crownedstoat]

When France pushed the limit.

[sumikko-antena]

翼のない飛行機！？フランスのC450 コレオプテール「怪盗グルー感ww」「スターウォーズっぽい！」海外の反応

C450 コレオプテール(C450 Coléoptère)は、1950年代にフランスのSNECMAで開発されたVTOL実験機です。 フランス語で甲虫を意味し、1959年に初飛行に成功したものの、同年飛行に失敗しプロジェクトは終了しました。 続きを読む Source: 翻訳ちゃんねる

[papermodelsinternational]

SNECMA C450 Coleopter.

Small, smaller,....built by Bruno Vanhecke, 1/300th, scaled to 1/600th.

[damenahikouki]

スネクマ C.450 コレオプテール

フランスの垂直離着陸(VTOL)機。 後部は巨大なエンジンのように見えるが、これは環状翼。 垂直に着陸するときは後ろを振り返って地面を見ながらの操縦という問題点があり、水平飛行と垂直飛行の切り替えにも危険があった。 9回目の試験飛行中にホバリングに失敗、墜落し、プロジェクトは終了した。