CANADAIR LTD. is setting up for more determined assaults by a Canadian company on the world's commercial airliner market.

        Latest development in the Montrea1 firm's program to establish itself as a solid contender for sales to turbopower conscious carriers hinges on the announcement from Ottawa that the Royal Canadian Air Force has placed an order for a new type, medium range, twin turboprop transport, the Canadair CL-66 Cosmopolitan. Coupled with the proposed long range CL-44C Canadair Liner, which developed out of the re-engineering of the Bristol Britannia into its unique Maritime Reconnaissance version, it gives Canadair a well rounded turboprop line with which to woo commercial operators.

        In production, the CL-66 will represent the combined design and engineering talents of Canadair, its General Dynamics Inc. United States sister organization Convair, and Great Britain's D. Napier and Son, Ltd., of the English Electric Aviation Group.

        Basically, the Cosmopolitan will be a Canadairized version of the well proven Convair 440 Liner airframe, powered by two Napier Eland propeller turbine engines.

        The concept is the outgrowth of a private venture undertaken by Napier about three years ago for conversion of the Convair Liner transport type to Eland power plants.

        A Napier-owned Convair 340, converted to Eland power in the summer of 1955, was evaluated by the RCAF at Ottawa last November before moving on to California where it is now undergoing its American certification tests. The decision to order 10 aircraft of this basic configuration for the RCAF's Transport Command was announced in mid-February by Hon. George R. Pearkes, VC, Minister of National Defense.

        Mr. Pearkes described the decision as "in keeping with the government's policy of maintaining an up-to-date defense force," and stressed that modern transports "are an essential part of such a force."

        The Minister also pointed out that the civil version of the Cosmopolitan "is expected to have a world-wide sales appeal . . . commencement of this project will allow the Canadian aircraft industry to make new bids in the world aircraft market."

Early Production

        Canadair officials followed the Ottawa statements with a brief outline of the Cosmopolitan program and some basic specifications on the aircraft.

        The CL-66 is scheduled to be in full production by the middle of 1959. Canadair will be starting its line of what will be in effect a modified version of the Convair 440 airframe at the same time as production of the Convair Liner type is phased out at the San Diego factory of the Convair Division of General Dynamics. The American company is making room for its "880" jet transport program.

Use of Convair tooling will speed setup of Canadair

        Canadair officials indicated that an arrangement is being made whereby the Montreal company will take over the appropriate Convair tooling in setting up its Cosmopolitan production line. The arrangement enables Canadair to get into Cosmopolitan production much more quickly than would be the case if full scale new tooling was necessary.

        The Canadair description on the CL-66 gives it a gross weight of 53,200 pounds, with a cruising speed of 326 miles an hour. Payloads, depending on seating arrangement and related factors, will be from 44 to 60 passengers, or from 10,000 to 15,000 pounds of cargo. Maximum range is specified as 1,700 miles.

        Airframe measurements on preliminary three-view drawings show a wing span of 105 feet, four inches; length 79 feet, two inches; wing root 13 feet six inches tapering to four feet six inches at wing tip; mean wing chord nine feet; aspect ratio about 11.6; wing dihedral 6 1/2 degrees; horizontal stabilizer span 39 feet 11 inches; horizontal stabilizer root nine feet 7 1/2 inches tapering to three feet three inches at tip; track of main gear 25 feet.

        The Napier Eland E.L. 6 turboprop engines which have been specified for the Cosmopolitan are to be manufactured at the British company's Liverpool, England, factories. They will be supplied as complete power plants at Canadair's Montreal plant.

        Napier development on the Eland has from the outset been aimed at the market for a short to medium range turboprop powered airliner.

        A single-shaft, single-spool gas turbine, the Eland has a 10-stage axial flow compressor and a three stage reaction turbine driving a constant speed propeller through a epicyclic reduction gear. The compressor delivers to six straight-flow interconnected tubular combustion chambers fitted with fixed-orfice, up-stream injection burners.

(To continue reading, click here.).