The Caudron C.33 "Landaulet Monsieur-Madame" was a French twin engined

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

with four seats, two in open

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, on the front part of an aircraft, spacecraft, or submersible, from which a pilot controls the vehicle. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the controls th ...

s and two in an enclosed cabin.

Design and development

Between 1919 and 1922 Caudron built a series of multi-engined civil passenger transport biplanes of similar design but increasing size and engine power, the C.33, C.37, C.39, C.43 and C.61. The C.33 was the only twin engined aircraft in the series and the smallest in span and passenger capacity, while the others had three or five engines. Rather than being a small airliner taking paying passengers, the ''Landaulet Monsieur-Madame'' was intended as the equivalent of a chauffeur driven car carrying a couple and one other member of the household, as its name suggested. The C.33 was a three

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

biplane with fabric covered, rectangular plan wings mounted without stagger. Only the shorter lower wings had dihedral, which began outboard of the engines. The wings were joined by vertical pairs of interplane struts, the forward members attached near the leading edges, and the centre section was supported by similar, shorter cabane struts from the upper forward fuselage. Each inner bay was defined by two close pairs of parallel interplane struts, supporting a 60 kW (80 hp) Le Rhône 9C nine cylinder rotary engine between them, about halfway between the wings. Each wing mounted engine was in a long, tapered cowling, open at the rear. Fuel was held in wedge shaped tanks within the cowlings, their horizontal rear edges visible from behind. Each held . Both upper and lower wings carried

ailerons An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...

, which were not balanced. The

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

of the C.33 was rectangular in section. Two open

s were located in

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which two or more animals, machines, or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. ''Tandem'' can also be used more generally to refer to any group of persons or objects w ...

in the wedge shaped nose. A passenger sat in front with the pilot behind. Behind the pilot there was an enclosed cabin, with a window on each side and a port side door. It contained a pair of upholstered

wicker Wicker is a method of weaving used to make products such as furniture and baskets, as well as a descriptor to classify such products. It is the oldest furniture making method known to history, dating as far back as . Wicker was first documented ...

chairs mounted on swivels. Behind the wings the fuselage tapered gently to a broad, triangular

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. F ...

which carried a vertical edged

balanced rudder Balanced rudders are used by both ships and aircraft. Both may indicate a portion of the rudder surface ahead of the hinge, placed to lower the control loads needed to turn the rudder. For aircraft the method can also be applied to elevator (air ...

that reached down to the keel. The

tailplane A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabilizer, is a small lift (force), lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters ...

was mounted on top of the fuselage so its

elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...

s had a notch for rudder movement. The C.37 had a fixed tailskid undercarriage. There were pairs of main wheels mounted on single axles attached at their centre to a longitudinal bar held under the engine at each end on short, forward raked V-struts. The ''Landaulet Monsieur-Madame'' probably first flew late in 1919 or early in the next year. It was on display at the Paris Aero Show of 1919, though possibly unflown. Two appeared on the French civil register, remaining on it until 1931.

Specifications

References

* {{Caudron aircraft C.033 1910s French airliners Biplanes Aircraft first flown in 1919 Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft