Amazon.com - F 220 Bibliography and reference material on Farman F 220 aircraft. Avions Farman also developed dual technology products, useful in the civilian market as well as with several military applications. And one of the best examples of this practice is their F.220 model, which was a civilian version of the heavy bomber designs that this particular aircraft manufacturer was working on in 1930. Only six F.220 were produced, and one was a direct conversion of a bomber; the rest were built from scratch as civilian aircraft following the prior military design. The only F.220 of true military origin was christened 'Le Centaure' (The Centaur) and was identified as F-ANLG; this particular aircraft made an epic flight from Dakar, in Senegal, to Natal, in Brazil, in just 13 hours and forty minutes, a time that was a true record at the time, in 1935. The F.220 was a model used exclusively in South Atlantic mail routes; the extended range of the aircraft was indeed essential for such missions, but also gave the manufacturer more expertise concerning long-range flights, knowledge that was indeed applied to further designs of long-range, heavy bombers for the French armed forces. This model in particular used four 600 hp engines, had a wingspan exceeding 36 metres and weighted about 16 tonnes; it flew at 216 km/h, with a ceiling of 6.000 metres and a range of 4.500 km. It was clearly a heavy, big and capable aircraft for its time, but what was more impressive is the fact that flights made with these machines were true adventures performed without any sort of sophisticated instruments, except for a directional antenna which was prone to interference. Info on other Farman models available here. Articles Related sites Related Web Pages Books Forum More Home Expand Português The Search Engine for Nature and Adventure Lovers, © Andinia.com LLC, all rights reserved.