Flight, December 1924

The Paris Aero Show 1924

SOCIETE INDUSTRIELLE D'AVIATION LATECOERE

   THERE are two Latecoere stands at the exhibition this year - one in the Grande Nef and a smaller one in the side building or annexe opposite to the main entrance. On the large main stand are shown two machines - the Lat. 15 and the Lat. 16 - while on the smaller stand is a Lat. 17. All are commercial machines, if by "commercial" one does not necessarily mean "economical" machines.
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   The Latecoere Lat. 16 is a cantilever monoplane, in which the inner ends of the two wing-halves are of great thickness. The machine is shown in the accompanying photographs and scale drawings, which should make the general arrangement clear. The nose, it will be seen, is extraordinarily deep, and the pilot, seated ahead of the wing, is placed above the engine, which is placed low. The machine is chiefly remarkable for its large cargo space, more than 3 metres cubes, and has a fairly good performance. Practice has shown, however, that it is not quite fast enough to ensure the France-Morocco trip (1,200 miles) being made in one day during the winter months, and the Lat. 17 was, therefore, produced to take its place as a mail carrier. The Lat. 16 has two small cabins, each seating two passengers. The cabins are not particularly comfortable, in appearance at any rate, and one would not relish the idea of spending a whole day in one of them. The particular machine exhibited at the Show had been flown up from Toulouse. With 400 h.p. Lorraine engine, the Lat. 16 has a top speed of 180 km./h. (112-5 m.p.h.). The weight empty is 1,670 kgs. (3,670 lbs.); crew, 80 kgs. (176 lbs.); fuel, 400 kgs. (880 lbs.); paying load, 350 kgs. (770 lbs.); total loaded weight, 2,500 kgs. (5,500 lbs.).