Potez SEA VII

The Potez SEA VII, otherwise known simply as the Potez VII, was an early airliner developed in France shortly after the First World War.[1] It was a civil version of the SEA IV military aircraft that Henry Potez had developed with Louis Coroller and Marcel Bloch as the Société d'Etudes Aéronautiques.[1][2] With the end of hostilities, the French military cancelled its orders for the SEA IV and the company dissolved. Potez, however, believed that the design had potential in peacetime and founded Aéroplanes Henry Potez in 1919 to refurbish war-surplus machines for civil use.[3] This soon led to a revision of the design as the SEA VII.[3] This differed from its predecessor in having an enclosed cabin for two passengers occupying the rear fuselage.[1][2] The wings were enlarged to reduce their loading and therefore to allow for slower, gentler landings than the military aircraft had been capable of making.[2]

SEA VII
Role Airliner
National origin France
Manufacturer Potez
First flight 1919
Primary user Cie Franco-Roumaine
Number built ca. 25
Developed from SEA IV

Cie Franco-Roumaine purchased twenty-five examples to use on services to Eastern European destinations during the 1920s.[1][3]


Operators
 Iran
  • Imperial Iranian Air Force

Specifications (variant)

Data from aviafrance.com

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1 pilot
  • Capacity: 2 passengers
  • Length: 8.50 m (27 ft 11 in)
  • Wingspan: 14.00 m (45 ft 11 in)
  • Height: 3.00 m (9 ft 10 in)
  • Wing area: 44.0 m2 (473 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 1,050 kg (2,310 lb)
  • Gross weight: 1,650 kg (3,630 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Lorraine-Dietrich 12Da , 280 kW (370 hp)

Performance

  • Cruise speed: 170 km/h (110 mph, 96 kn)

Notes
  1. Taylor 1989, p.750
  2. "The Paris Aero Show 1919", p.69
  3. Gunston 1993, p.243

References
  • Coroller, Jean-Louis (September 1998). "Les premièrs avions Henry Potez (première partie)" [The First Aircraft of Henry Potez]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (66): 8–14. ISSN 1243-8650.
  • Gunston, Bill (1993). World Encyclopedia of Aircraft Manufacturers. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press.
  • Parmentier, Bruno. "Potez VII". Aviafrance - Un siècle d'aviation française. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
  • Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions.
  • "The Paris Aero Show 1919". Flight: 63–70. 15 January 1920. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
  • Hirschauer, Louis; Dollfus, Charles, eds. (1921). L'Année Aéronautique: 1920-1921. Paris: Dunod. p. 47.
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