The TNCA Series C Microplano was a single-engine, single-seat fighter designed and built in Mexico during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Design

From 1915 the ''Talleres Nacionales de Construcciones Aeronáuticas'' - (National Aeronautical Construction Workshops), sometimes known as the Military Aviation Factory, produced several series of Mexican aircraft. Some of these were based on European designs but others were indigenous. Pressure for local designs and production was increased by the concentration of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an manufacturers on war production, in addition to the tensions between Mexico and the United States. In 1917 rights to build

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

Hispano-Suiza Hispano-Suiza () is a Spanish automotive company. It was founded in 1904 by Marc Birkigt and as an automobile manufacturer and eventually had several factories in Spain and France that produced luxury cars, aircraft engines, trucks and weapons. ...

engines was acquired and a factory established. The Series C Microplano was an unequal span single bay biplane, with wings without sweep or stagger connected by pairs of vertical, parallel

interplane strut In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of struts, which act in ...

s on each side, the forward ones a little closer to 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 ...

. Both wings had constant chord and squared tips. There was a triangular cut-out in the

trailing edge The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge meets.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 521. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. ...

of the upper wing to improve the pilot's view. The Microplano had a flat sided, rectangular section fuselage. The nose housed a 115 kW (157 hp)

water-cooled engine, driving a two bladed

propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

. Behind the underwing single seat open cockpit the fuselage narrowed strongly in both height and width. Both the near circular

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

and semi-circular

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 ...

were all-moving. There was a fixed

conventional undercarriage Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Ter ...

with mainwheels on V-form struts, assisted by a tailskid.

Specifications

References

{{TNCA aircraft 1910s Mexican military aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1918 Biplanes