The Nord 260, built in prototype form as the Max Holste MH.260 Super Broussard, ("Super Bushranger"), was a

turboprop A turboprop is a Gas turbine, gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction drive, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propellin ...

-powered, uprated version of the piston-engined Max Holste MH.250 Super Broussard, that was further developed into the

Aérospatiale N 262 The Aérospatiale N 262 is a French twin-turboprop high-wing airliner built first by Nord Aviation (merged into Aérospatiale in 1970). The aircraft was also known as the Nord 262. Design and development In 1957, the French aircraft manufactu ...

Design and development

In 1957,

Avions Max Holste Avions Max Holste was a French aircraft manufacturer formed in 1933 by the French aeronautical engineer Max Holste. History Following the end of the Second World War the company concentrated on the design of a two-seater light training/touring ...

began work on a twin-engined follow on to its successful Broussard single-engined utility aircraft. The new aircraft, the Max Holste MH.250 Super Broussard, was a

high-wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing config ...

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilev ...

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

Pratt & Whitney R-1340 The Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp is an aircraft engine of the reciprocating engine, reciprocating type that was widely used in United States, American aircraft from the 1920s onward. It was the Pratt & Whitney aircraft company's first engine, an ...

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating engine, reciprocating type internal combustion engine, internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinder (engine), cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. ...

s and could accommodate 17–22 passengers. The sole MH-250 made its first flight on 20 May 1959. Max-Holste developed the MH.250 into the turboprop-powered MH.260, to meet a perceived market for a replacement for the

DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper ...

and for feeder-liner services. Like the MH.250, the MH.260 was a

aircraft with a square-section

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 ...

, which was of all-

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

construction. The aircraft had a retractable

tricycle undercarriage Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', that is arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has one or more nose wheels in a single front undercarriage and two or more main wheels slightly aft of th ...

, with the main wheels retracting into fuselage-mounted fairings. Control surfaces were fabric covered. The MH.260 was longer than the MH.250, allowing 20–23 passengers to be carried, or up to of cargo in place of passengers. The aircraft was powered by two

Turbomeca Bastan The Turbomeca Bastan was a turboprop engine developed in France in 1957. Early models developed 650 shp (485 kW), but by 1965 this had been increased to 1,048 shp (780 kW) with the Bastan VII. Flight tests of some Bastan models were ca ...

engines. The prototype MH.260, powered by two Bastan IIIs, first flew on 29 July 1960. The prototype was re-engined with Bastan IVs in October 1960. The construction of a batch of 10 MH.260s was started with a French government subsidy, and a collaboration arrangement agreed with

Nord Aviation Nord-Aviation () was a state-owned French aircraft manufacturer. The bulk of its facilities were based on the site of Bourges airport, in the département of Cher, in central France. On 1 October 1954, Nord Aviation was created as a result of ...

, but financial problems at Max Holste led to the programme being taken over by completely by Nord, with production aircraft known as Nord 260s. Only nine production Nord 260s were completed, with the tenth aircraft remaining unflown and used as a source of spare parts. Production was switched to the more advanced

Nord 262 Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televi ...

development.

Operational history

Three Nord 260s were briefly operated under a lease agreement by the Norwegian airline

Widerøe Widerøes Flyveselskap AS, trading as Widerøe, is a Norwegian airline, and the largest regional airline operating in the Nordic countries. The airline's fleet of 48 aircraft includes 45 De Havilland Dash 8 turboprops as well as 3 Embraer 1 ...

before being returned to Nord, while the French domestic airline

Air Inter Air Inter () (legally ''Lignes Aériennes Intérieures'') was a semi-public French domestic airline in France that operated from 1954 until it merged with Air France in 1997. It was last headquartered in Paray-Vieille-Poste, Essonne.''World Ai ...

also evaluated the Nord 260. No commercial orders followed, however, although Air Inter later ordered the Nord 262. Five Nord 260s were delivered to the

Centre d'essais en vol Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricit ...

(CEV), the French flight test establishment, being used for experiments or as transports supporting the CEV's operations.

Variants

;MH.250 Super Broussard : Piston-engined light transport. One prototype built. ;MH.260 Super Broussard : Turboprop powered derivative of MH.250, initially powered by Bastan III turboprop and later by more powerful Bastan IV engines. One built. ;Nord MH.260 :Ten Bastan IV-powered production aircraft were ordered by the French government, but only nine were completed.

Operators

; : CEV ; :

- Three aircraft leased

Specifications (Nord 260)

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

Civil registrations of Nord 260 aircraftMax Holste MH-260 'Super Broussard'Plane Pictures.netAirliners.net Nord N-260
{{Nord aircraft 1960s French airliners MH.260

260 __NOTOC__ Year 260 ( CCLX) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Saecularis and Donatus (or, less frequently, year 1013 ''Ab urbe condita ''Ab urbe condita' ...

High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1960 Twin-turboprop tractor aircraft Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear