The Couzinet 33 Biarritz was a French long-range monoplane built by René Couzinet in the early 1930s.
Design
The Couzinet 33 was made of wood, with a thick cantilever wing with thickness of 60 cm (24 in) at the wing roots; with no dihedral on the upper surface. The wing main-spar was continuous from wing-tip to wing-tip; and the rear spars attached to the fuselage sides. The aircraft was covered with birch plywood, with the fuselage thinning to the rear, forming the characteristic tail of a René Couzinet signature aircraft.[1]
Couzinet designed the plane when he was 27 years old with only 28 flight hours.[2]
Operational history
The biarritz made its first flight in November 1931, clocking up 27 hours flying before departing on a flight from Paris to Nouméa. From 6 March 1932 to 5 April 1932 Emile Munch, Max Dévé and Charles Verneilh flew the Biarritz from France to New Caledonia, the first time a direct flight had succeeded. On arrival at Nouméa the aircraft crashed and was destroyed.[1]
Biarritz No.2
After the wreckage of the Biarritz was shipped back to France, a second aircraft was built using salvageable parts of the first. This aircraft set off on a non-stop flight from Paris to Algiers on 30 October 1933, flown by Charles Verneilh, but crashed in fog at Blaisy-Bas in the Côte-d'Or.[3]
Specifications
rear view
Data from Aviafrance : Couzinet 33 'Biarritz',[1] Aviafrance : Couzinet 33 'Biarritz' n ° 2 [3]
General characteristics
Crew: 4
Length: 11.73 m (38 ft 6 in)
Wingspan: 16.16 m (53 ft 0 in)
Height: 2.75 m (9 ft 0 in)
Wing area: 34.4 m2 (370 sq ft)
Empty weight: 1,600 kg (3,527 lb)
Biarritz No.2: 1,722 kg (3,796 lb)
Gross weight: 3,500 kg (7,716 lb)
Biarritz No.2: 3,090 kg (6,810 lb)
Powerplant: 3 × de Havilland Gipsy III 4-cyl inverted air-cooled in-line piston engines, 89 kW (120 hp) each
Biarritz No.2: 3x de Havilland Gipsy Major 4-cyl inverted air-cooled in-line piston engines 140 hp (100 kW) each
Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch metal prop[ellers
