CASA C-201 Alcotán

__NOTOC__ Infobox Aircraft
name=C-201 Alcotán


caption=
type=Military transport
manufacturer=Construcciones Aeronáuticas
designer=
first flight=11 February 1949
introduced=
retired=
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primary user=Spanish Air Force
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number built=11
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The CASA C-201 Alcotán ("Kestrel") was a Spanish military transport aircraft produced in the early 1950s. It was the result of an agreement between the Spanish government and manufacturer CASA to develop a transport aircraft for the military capable of carrying a payload of one tonne over a range of 1,000 km (620 miles). The resulting design was a twin-engine low-wing cantilever monoplane of conventional configuration. The main units of the tailwheel undercarriage retracted into the engine nacelles, the aircraft looking somewhat like a scaled-down DC-3.

Two prototypes were constructed, the first of these taking to the air on 11 February 1949. An order for twelve pre-production aircraft and one hundred series aircraft was soon forthcoming. The pre-production machines were to demonstrate a range of different equipment fits for the airframe, enabling it for a variety of roles including personnel transport, training for bombing and photo-reconnaissance work, and instrument flying training. A number of engines were also to be evaluated, including the Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah that had powered the prototypes, the Pratt & Whitney R-1340, and the locally-produced ENMASA Sirio.

Eventually, it was the supply of powerplants and propellers that doomed the Alcotán. Spain's domestic engine industry was simply incapable of producing powerplants in sufficient quantity for the project, and Spain was unable to afford to import foreign engines. While the entire production run had been scheduled to be completed before 1955, the shortage of engines meant that by 1956, only eleven complete aircraft had been delivered, all that would ever be finished. In 1962, the project was finally cancelled without the engine problem ever having been resolved. By now, CASA had 96 complete airframes in storage awaiting powerplants. These were scrapped, the Spanish government compensating the manufacturer for the debacle.

Variants

* C-201A - personnel transport with Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah engines
* C-201B - personnel transport with ENMASA Sirio engines
* C-201D - instrument flying, navigation, and radio training version with Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah engines
* C-201E - bombing and photo-reconnaissance training version with Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah engines
* C-201F - instrument flying, navigation, and radio training version with ENMASA Sirio engines
* C-201G - bombing and photo-reconnaissance training version with ENMASA Sirio engines

pecifications (C-201A)

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crew=Two pilots
capacity=10 passengers
length m=13.80
length ft=45
length in=3
span m=18.40
span ft=60
span in=5
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width m=
width ft=
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height m=3.85
height ft=12
height in=8
wing area sqm=41.8
wing area sqft=450
swept area sqm=
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volume m3=
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aspect ratio=
empty weight kg=3,550
empty weight lb=7,826
gross weight kg=5,095
gross weight lb=11,283
lift kg=
lift lb=

eng1 number=2
eng1 type=Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah XXVII
eng1 kw= 354
eng1 hp= 475
eng1 kn=
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max speed kmh=325
max speed mph=202
max speed mach=
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range km=1,000
range miles=620
endurance h=
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ceiling m=5,600
ceiling ft=18,370
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References

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* [http://www.eads.net/1024/en/eads/history/airhist/1940_1949/casac201_alcatan_1946.html EADS website]

ee also

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