Farman F.70

Farman F.70
Role	Passenger/Mail transport
Manufacturer	Farman Aviation Works
First flight	1920
Primary user	Lignes Farman
Number built	20

The Farman F.70 was a 1920s French passenger and mail transport aircraft designed and built by the Farman Aviation Works. It was a smaller version of the company's popular F.60 Goliath. The F.70 was an unequal-span two-bay biplane with a wooden fuselage and was powered by a Renault 12Fe piston engine. The pilot was seated in an open cockpit behind the nose-mounted engine. Behind the open cockpit was a cabin for 6 passengers or freight.

The aircraft could be fitted with a Gnome-Rhône Jupiter 9Aa radial engine and was then designated the Farman F.73. An experimental three-seat bomber variant was built but did not go into production.

A few aircraft of this series entered service with French airlines in the 1920s. The main operator was Farman's own airline Lignes Farman who operated five aircraft between Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels. Lignes Aeriennes Latécoère used the aircraft to operate passenger and mail routes between Casablanca and Dakar and also from Algiers to Biskra. Other operators used the aircraft on French internal routes. The Polish operator Aero acquired five F.70s in 1925.

Variants

F.70

Main production variant powered by a 300hp (224kW) Renault 12Fe V-12 piston engine.

F.73

Variant re-engined with a 380hp (282kW) Gnome et Rhône 9Aa Jupiter radial piston engine.

Operators

Brazil

• Brazilian Air Force

France

• Lignes Farman operated five aircraft.
• Lignes Aeriennes Latécoère

Poland

• Aero bought five F.70s in 1925.

Venezuela

• Venezuelan Air Force

Specifications (F.70)

Data from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985), 1985, Orbis Publishing, Page 1739

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Capacity: 6
• Length: 10.10 m (33 ft 1½ in)
• Wingspan: 14.90 m (48 ft 10½ in)
• Height: 3.43 m (11 ft 3 in)
• Wing area: 53.50 m² (575.89 ft²)
• Empty weight: 1330 kg (2992 lb)
• Gross weight: 2050 kg (4519 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Renault 12Fe V-12 piston engine, 224 kW (300 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 175 km/h (109 mph)
• Range: 400 km (249 miles)
• Service ceiling: 4900 m (16075 ft)

References

• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985), 1985, Orbis Publishing, Page 1739