C.690
Role	Fighter trainer Type of aircraft
Manufacturer	Caudron
Designer	Marcel Riffard
First flight	18 February 1936
Number built	19

The Caudron C.690 was a single-seat training aircraft developed in France in the late 1930s to train fighter pilots to handle high-performance aircraft. It was a conventional low-wing cantilever monoplane that bore a strong resemblance to designer Marcel Riffard's racer designs of the same period. Caudron attempted to attract overseas sales for the aircraft, but this resulted in orders for only two machines - one from Japan, and the other from the USSR. In the meantime, the first of two prototypes was destroyed in a crash that killed René Paulhan, Caudron's chief test pilot.

Despite this, the Armée de l'Air eventually showed interest in the type, and ordered a batch of a slightly refined design. The first of these was not delivered until April 1939, and only 15 C.690Ms were supplied before the outbreak of war.

Variants

C.690

Single-seat fighter trainer aircraft. Four aircraft built.

C.690M

Slightly refined version for the Armee de l'Air. Only 15 aircraft were built.

Operators

 France

• Armee de l'Air

 Japan

• Imperial Japanese Air Force - One aircraft only (KXC1) .

 Soviet Union

• soviet Air Force - One aircraft only.

Specifications (C.690M)

Data from Les Caudron-Renault d'Entrainement^[1]

General characteristics

• Crew: One pilot
• Length: 7.96 m (26 ft 1 in)
• Wingspan: 7.70 m (25 ft 3 in)
• Wing area: 9.0 m² (97 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 747 kg (1,647 lb)
• Gross weight: 980 kg (2,161 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Renault 6Q-05 , 160 kW (220 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 370 km/h (230 mph, 200 kn)
• Stall speed: 85 km/h (53 mph, 46 kn)
• Range: 1,100 km (680 mi, 590 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 9,700 m (31,800 ft)
• Rate of climb: 10.5 m/s (2,070 ft/min)