Caudron C.270 Luciole
Caudron · France · first flew 1931 · light aircraft
The Caudron C.270 Luciole was a sporting, touring and trainer aircraft produced in France in the 1930s, derived from the C.230.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Mid-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Fabric-covered fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Conventional single-bay biplane with unstaggered equal-span wings
- Pilot and passenger in tandem open cockpits
- Fabric-covered fuselage
Twentieth Century Fox, United Artists and EMI used Lucioles in films, converted to resemble First World War aircraft.
Specifications
- The Caudron C.270 Luciole has a length of 7.67 m (25 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 9.9 m (32 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 158 km/h (98 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
It was a conventional single-bay biplane with unstaggered wings of equal span, and a fabric-covered fuselage in place of the C.230's wooden one. It first flew in 1931.
Variants
Variants included the C.270 with a Salmson 7Ac radial, the C.272 with a Renault 4P inline engine, the C.275 as the main production version without wing folding, and the C.276 with a de Havilland Gipsy III.
Where you'll see it
More than 700 were built in the decade before the Second World War. The French government bought 296 for its Aviation Populaire pilot training programme, and many served as liaison aircraft in the war and as glider tugs afterwards.
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- Caudron C.240
- Caudron C.251
- Caudron C.280 Phalène
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