Dassault Hirondelle
The Dassault MD.320 Hirondelle was a 14 - seat multi-purpose transport aircraft of the French manufacturer Dassault Aviation.
History and construction
1967 examined the French Air Force to replace the used of their twin-engine Douglas DC -3 and Beechcraft 18, which were used for transport duties and for navigation training. Therefore, requests have been made to the French aviation industry, the new aircraft Turbomeca Astazou propeller turbines should be powered with 870 hp. Due to the request, Dassault designed and constructed a prototype. The design and construction could be completed quickly because they already built on the Dassault Falcon 20 aircraft based. The fuselage length and volume were identical to the Falcon 20, the wings and the tail were also taken from the Falcon 20 but adapted. The aircraft had a retractable tricycle landing gear, with the main landing gear was retracted into the engine nacelles. The Hirondelle had a circular fuselage cross-section, a pressurized cabin can accommodate two pilots and a maximum of twelve passengers.
The experience obtained in the Hirondelle program incorporated later into Dassault Falcon 10 - project, the prototype first flew in 1970. The Hirondelle was the last propeller-driven aircraft, which was developed by Dassault.