AIRCRAFT
The Caravelle was the first jet airliner to enter production in continental Europe and pioneered the rear mounted engine layout. At the end of 1952, SNCA Sud-Est (one of the state-owned companies later merged to form Aerospatiale) was selected by the French air ministry to develop a twinjet civil transport for short/medium-range operations. Designs had been submitted to meet the official specification drawn up in 1951, and covered a number of conventional layouts. The design by Sud-Est selected for further development featured engines mounted on the rear fuselage &emdash; an innovative idea at that time, and one which had a number of attractions.Two Caravelle prototypes were funded by the French government and made their first flight on May 27, 1955, and May 6, 1956, powered by Rolls-Royce Avon RA.26 Mk. 521 engines. The first orders (from Air France and SAS Scandinavian) were obtained soon after the first flight, allowing Sud-Est to establish a production line at its Toulouse-Blagnac factory, where the Airbus is now assembled.
Production continued until March, 1973, with a total of 282 built, in addition to the prototypes, making the Caravelle at that time the most successful jet transport of European origin.
The first production versions were the Caravelle I and IA with Rolls-Royce Avon RA.29 Mk. 522 and Mk. 526 turbojets respectively, initially flown on May 14, 1958, and Feb. 11 1960; 20 Series I and 12 Series IA aircraft were built.
The Caravelle III, first flown on Dec. 30, 1959, had more powerful 50.7kN (11,400lb) Avon Mk. 527s and increased weights; 78 were built and 31 Series VI-As were converted to this standard. Initial French certification was achieved on April 2, 1959, with U.S. FAA endorsement following on April 8, 1959.
The first customer delivery (apart from precertification deliveries for crew training) took place on April 2, 1959, to Air France. First service was flown May 6, 1959. The first revenue service by SAS (using leased aircraft) was flown on April 26, 1959.
A further change of the Avon version (to the Mk. 531) produced the Caravelle VI-N, first flown on Sept. 10, 1960, and then, with thrust reversers on Avon 532R or 533R engines, the Caravelle VI-R; 53 and 56 were built, respectively. The first service in the U.S. (Series VI-R of United Airlines, this version also included an improved electrical system) took place on July 14, 1961.
The Caravelle VII prototype with General Electric CJ805-23C engines, flown on Dec. 29, 1960, led to the Caravelle 10A (also known as Caravelle Horizon or Caravelle Super A), with fuselage lengthened by 3 ft 4 in (l.00 m), raised cabin window line and wing modifications. This prototype flew on Aug. 31, 1962, and the Series 10B3 (or Horizon B or Super B) was similar with JT8D-7 or -9 engines; 22 were built. First flight was on Mar. 3, 1964.
First flown Jan.18, 1965, the Caravelle 10B-1R or 10R was similar to the Series VI-R but used Pratt & Whitney JT8D-1 or -7 engines; 20 were built. It was certificated on May 23, 1965, and entered service (Alia Royal Jordanian Airlines) on July 31, 1965.
The Caravelle 11R was known as the Series 11B-1R with JT8D-7 engines and having a forward side cargo door for mixed cargo/passenger operations; the first of six flew on Apr. 21, 1967. Final variant was the Caravelle 12, based on the Series 10B3, with the fuselage lengthened a further 10 ft 7 in (3.23 m). With JT8D-9 engines, its first flight was on Oct. 29, 1970, and 12 were built. The Caravelle 12 was certificated on Mar. 12 ,1971, and entered service (Sterling Airways) on Mar. 20, 1971.
At the height of their utilization, Caravelles served with some 35 airlines and a few were deployed by small armed forces in the transport role. Four or five examples are thought to be still flying in mid-2000 in Africa and Latin America.
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