Caudron C.800 Épervier
In September 1941, the "section des Sports Aériens" established a programme to renew the country’s glider fleet. Caudron responded with the C.800, of which two examples were ordered. The prototype of this two-seat training glider, with side-by-side seating, made its first flight in April 1942. Built entirely of wood, it features a high-mounted wing braced by a rigid strut. A total of 450 machines were ordered to equip gliding club and by late 1945, the SNCAN factory at Chalais-Meudon was producing one machine per day.finaly 410 machines were eventually built.
Widely used by gliding clubs, the C.800 was used to train civilian pilots as well as French Air Force (Armée de l’Air) and French Naval Aviation (Aéronautique navale) pilots. Its main shortcomings included a fragile underside, a canopy that restricted visibility, heavy aileron controls and limited manoeuvrability. Nevertheless, its conventional flight characteristics made it useful for demonstrating basic flying techniques and it remained a familiar sight at gliding clubs until the mid-1960s.
The caudron 800 preserved by BAPA is the No. 106. It entered service with the SALS (Service de l’Aviation Légère et Sportive) at Lognes in October 1945. It was subsequently assigned to various gliding clubs and suffered several accidents that required repairs. It was registered as F-CBAM on 5 September 1955 and removed from the register on 6 December 1983.
The machine was acquired through an exchange with the "Musée Espace Air Passion" of Angers,.
Widely used by gliding clubs, the C.800 was used to train civilian pilots as well as French Air Force (Armée de l’Air) and French Naval Aviation (Aéronautique navale) pilots. Its main shortcomings included a fragile underside, a canopy that restricted visibility, heavy aileron controls and limited manoeuvrability. Nevertheless, its conventional flight characteristics made it useful for demonstrating basic flying techniques and it remained a familiar sight at gliding clubs until the mid-1960s.
The caudron 800 preserved by BAPA is the No. 106. It entered service with the SALS (Service de l’Aviation Légère et Sportive) at Lognes in October 1945. It was subsequently assigned to various gliding clubs and suffered several accidents that required repairs. It was registered as F-CBAM on 5 September 1955 and removed from the register on 6 December 1983.
The machine was acquired through an exchange with the "Musée Espace Air Passion" of Angers,.
Above: Caudron C.800 No. 274 landing. Below: Caudron C.800 OO-ZVD with a pylon mounted engine, at Ghent, 26 September 1970.
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Caudron 800 characteristics : |
Performances : |
| Length : 8.35 m | Maximum glide ratio : 22 at Vc : 76 km/h |
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Wingspan : 16 m |
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Wing area : 20.05 m² |
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| Empty weight : 246 kg | |
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Height : 2.35 m |
A few photos of Caudron C.800 No. 106 during its transport from Angers to a storage location not far from the BAPA workshop.
