Sole Caudron C68 to fly in Britain

摘要

A unique Caudron C68, the only survivor of seven examples of the type that were built in the early 1920s, arrived by road at a small, privately owned airstrip in Warwickshire during August for restoration by the splendidly named Association pour la Restauration et I'Exploitation du Caudron 68. Designed by Paul Delville — who had previously penned the twin-engine Caudron G6 reconnaissance machine in 1916 — the diminutive, 50hp Anzani two-row radial-powered C68 boasted a simple wing fold mechanism that could rapidly be utilised, the single-bay biplane being ready to be towed behind a car just four minutes after the process was initiated. Following its maiden flight, the first C68 went on display at the Paris Salon on 15 December 1922. The following day, another C68 landed in front of the Grand Palais, the pilot, Monsieur Becheler, then giving a demonstration of the folding wing mechanism. Despite all of this, only four examples of the C68 were ever put onto the French civil register.