Latécoère 26

Development

The Latécoère 26 was designed in the 1920s as a mail carrier, based on the earlier Latécoère 25 with a longer fuselage, and first flew in 1926. It had a parasol wing with a fixed tailskid landing gear. The main landing gear was both robust and wide-track, to enable the aircraft to land on unprepared the surfaces. It was powered by a single nose-mounted Renault 12Ja piston engine, and had room for only two passengers and an open cockpit for the pilot.

Operational history

Most of the aircraft were operated by Aéropostale on North and West African mail routes; two aircraft were sold in Argentina.

Variants

Laté 26

Initial production variant.

Laté 26-2-R

Introduced in 1927 it had a radio compartment.

Laté 26-3

Added fuel tank in wing centre-section.

Laté 26-3-R

With a balanced rudder.

Laté 26-6

Added a co-pilots cockpit in tandem behind the pilot, different landing gear and increased fuel capacity.

Laté 26-6/2

Re-engined with a 500hp (373kW) Renault engine and reduced wing area and tail surfaces.

Operators

 Argentina

 France

Aéropostale

Specifications (26-2-R)

Data from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing. p. 2293. 

General characteristics

Crew: 1

Capacity: 2 passengers and 5 m³ (176.57 ft³) of mail.

Length: 3.90 m (12 ft 9½ in)

Wingspan: 17.40 m (57 ft 1 in)

Height: 3.90 m (12 ft 1½ in)

Wing area: 48.60 m² (523.14 ft²)

Empty weight: 1590 kg (3505 lb)

Gross weight: 3364 kg (7,416 lb)

Powerplant: 1 × Renault 12Ja V-12 piston engine, 336 kW (450 hp)

Performance

Maximum speed: 188 km/h (117 mph)

Range: 680 km (423 miles)

Service ceiling: 4750 m (15,585 ft)