The Latécoère 26 was a French monoplane mail plane designed and built by Latécoère.

Latécoère 26
Role Mail-carrying monoplane
Manufacturer Latécoère
First flight 1926
Primary user Aéropostale
Number built 90

Development

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The Latécoère 26 was designed in the 1920s as a mail carrier, based on the earlier Latécoère 25 with a longer fuselage, and first flew in 1926. It had a parasol wing with a fixed tailskid landing gear. The main landing gear was both robust and wide-track, to enable the aircraft to land on unprepared surfaces. It was powered by a single nose-mounted Renault 12Ja piston engine, and had room for only two passengers and an open cockpit for the pilot.

Operational history

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Most of the aircraft were operated by Aéropostale on North and West African mail routes; two aircraft were sold in Argentina.

Variants

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Laté 26
Initial production variant.
Laté 26-2-R
Introduced in 1927 it had a radio compartment.
Laté 26-3
Added fuel tank in wing centre-section.
Laté 26-3-R
With a balanced rudder.
Laté 26-6
Added a co-pilots cockpit in tandem behind the pilot, different landing gear and increased fuel capacity.
Laté 26-6/2
Re-engined with a 500hp (373kW) Renault engine and reduced wing area and tail surfaces.

Operators

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  Argentina
  France

Specifications (26-2-R)

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Data from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing. p. 2293.

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Capacity: 2 passengers and 5 m³ (176.57 ft³) of mail.
  • Length: 17.4 m (57 ft 0 in)
  • Wingspan: 17.40 m (57 ft 1 in)
  • Height: 3.90 m (12 ft 1.5 in)
  • Wing area: 48.60 m2 (523.14 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 1,590 kg (3,505 lb)
  • Gross weight: 3,364 kg (7,416 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Renault 12Ja V-12 piston engine , 336 kW (450 hp)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 188 km/h (117 mph, 102 kn)
  • Range: 680 km (423 mi, 368 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 4,750 m (15,585 ft)

See also

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References

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  • de Joux, Joseph (September 1984). "Les Latécoère 26". La Fana de l'Aviation (in French). No. 178. pp. 11–16.
  • de Joux, Joseph (October 1984). "Les Latécoère 26 (deuxième partir)". La Fana de l'Aviation (in French). No. 179. pp. 17–23.
  • de Joux, Joseph (November 1984). "Les Latécoère 26 (troisième partie et fin)". La Fana de l'Aviation (in French). No. 180. pp. 29–31.
  • Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions.
  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing. p. 2293.