The Renard R.35 was a prototype
pressurised airliner
An airliner is a type of airplane for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. The modern and most common variant of the airliner is a long, tube shaped, and jet powered aircraft. The largest ...
of the 1930s built by the
Belgian aircraft manufacturer ''
Constructions Aéronautiques G. Renard''. A
three-engined low-winged
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 ...
with retractable undercarriage, the R.35 was destroyed in a crash on its first flight.
Development and design
In 1935, Alfred Renard, chief designer and co-founder of the Renard company, started design of a pressurised airliner for use by
SABENA on its routes to the
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...
. Renard designed a low-winged monoplane of all-metal construction, powered by three engines as required by SABENA, and received an order for a single prototype on 3 April 1936.
[De Wulf 1978, pp. 147-148.] The R.35 had a circular section fuselage, housing a pressurised cabin which accommodated twenty passengers and a flight crew of three. It was intended to be powered by a range of radial engines with the 950 hp (709 kW)
Gnome-Rhône 14K preferred by Renard, but the prototype was fitted with 750 hp (560 kW)
Gnome-Rhône 9K
The Gnome-Rhône 9K Mistral was a nine-cylinder 550 hp (405 kW) to 700 hp air-cooled radial engine, that started life as an enlarged Gnome-Rhône 7K with two extra cylinders.
Design and development
The Gnome-Rhône 7K itself was ...
engines.
[De Wulf 1978, p.148.]
The R.35 was completed early in 1938.
On 1 April 1938, it was planned to carry out high-speed taxiing trials at
Evere
Evere (; ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region (Belgium). , the municipality had a population of 43,608 inhabitants. The total area is , which gives a population density of . In common with all of Brussels' municipal ...
airfield in front of an audience of visiting dignitaries and journalists. After carrying out a single taxi-run, however, the R.35 took off during a second run, and while attempting a
circuit to return to the runway, the R.35 dived into the ground and was destroyed, killing the pilot Georges Van Damme. The cause of the crash was unknown.
[De Wulf 1978, p.147.][Hauet, André.]
Renard R.35 Un avion stratosphérique belge en 1938. (histoire)
. ''Aérostories''. (In French). Retrieved 26 August 2009.ASN Aircraft accident 01-APR-1938 Renard R.35 OO-ARM
. ''Aviation Safety Network''. 15 April 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2009. Following this crash, SABENA abandoned its interest in the R.35, and Renard abandoned development.
Variants
;R.35B
: Proposed bomber version, capable of carrying 2,800 kg (6,200 lb) of bombs. Unbuilt.
Specifications (performance estimated)
References
Notes
Bibliography
*De Wulf, Herman. "A Belgian Rare Avis". ''Air International
''AIR International'' is a British aviation magazine covering current defence aerospace and civil aviation topics. It has been in publication since 1971 and is currently published by Key Publishing Ltd.
History and profile
The magazine was fir ...
'', September 1978, Vol 15 No. 3. Bromley, UK: Fine Scroll. pp. 147–149.
*
External links
photo
{{Renard aircraft
R.35
1930s Belgian airliners
Trimotors
Low-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1938