Saturday, May 4, 2019

Latécoère L.A.T.8 1921, scratchbuild 1/72 - completed

This small early French airliner is now completed, it was one of the firsts to provide restroom facilities for its passengers.

The construction article is here
https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2019/05/latecoere-lat8-1921-scratchbuild-172.html 

It serviced a line that went from France to North Africa stopping on the way in Spain.
It shows that undeniable charm of these pioneers, a bit ungainly but well-proportioned, that make them so attractive. Typical of many designs of the time, the cockpit (and pilot) are located in the aft fuselage exposed to the elements, while passengers traveled in relative comfort in an enclosed and fairly well-appointed cabin. It provided service for a time, but did not reach the popularity or production of other later Latécoère designs that will make themselves and their pilots famous, most notably in South America. Nevertheless, and considering that this was 1921, it its no doubt among the harbingers of the typical small airliner designs that would follow.































6 comments:

  1. Very nicely done. If the pilot's position was any further back he'd be flying by remote control! He couldn't have seen much during landing. And that must also be the longest exhaust pipe ever. Both features just add to the subject's charm.

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  2. Sometimes with your choice of projects I live thru you. I’ve wanted one of these since forever. You have executed it perfectly. Thank you.

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    1. I am sure that if you ever do it in angelical flying form, it will be a thing of wonder, as all models you build.

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  3. Masterly done, congratulations!

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