A Caravelle for the Twenty-First Century...

Sentinel Chicken · 04-03-2003, 08:56 AM

With the post-war airlines of France dependent upon US aircraft, the French government was anxious to not only restore the country's aviation industry, but to also enter the race to build jet aircraft. While developments in the US market showed intentions to use jet aircraft for long-distance routes both over the Atlantic and on transcontinental trunk routes, European airlines planned for the introduction of jet aircraft on the shorter routes between major European centers. With the British working on the Vickers Viscount to complement the De Haviland Coment on European routes (the Viscount specifications stemming from the post-war Brabazon planning committee's recommendations for a short-haul turbine airliner to serve European routes), France decided in 1951 to place its bets on a pure jet for short-haul routes given that the manufacturers of the time lacked significant capital and resources to develop a long-haul aircraft to rival the Comet and the 707.

A year later design finalists were selected for the new jetliner and of the three entrants, in what was an unorthodox design of the time, a twin rear-engined design from Sud-Est (which would later merge with Sud-Ouest to form Sud-Aviation which in 1970 would form the nucleus of Aerospatiale) designated the SE-210 won the competition and would be christened the "Caravelle". The first prototype would fly in 1955 and set an aesthetic design standard that few aircraft today meet with graceful lines and distinctive triangular windows. Her rear twin-engined layout at the time was revolutionary as it made for a quiet cabin and a clean, efficient, and unobstructed wing. But her design was classicly French and certainly ranks as one of the most aesthetically pleasing commercial jetliners ever built.

A while back Herb (BoeingSST) had posted his what if renderings of the final versions of the Caravelle in the colors of Air California and that got me thinking about what a modernized version of the Caravelle might look like. I really couldn't get anything out of the original airframe that got me all jazzed up- but given that the Caravelles accommodated the same number of passengers as the larger regional jets of today, I figured why not create a regional jet that builds upon the Caravelle's graceful design ethic. What I came up with is what I call the "Caravelle 2000" which would be an all-new regional jet design that retains the spirit of the original Caravelle in its appearance and design.

Since Air France was the launch customer of the original Caravelle (Air France put their original Caravelles in service on the Paris-Istanbul route in May 1959), they'd of course be a launch customer for the Caravelle 2000. Here she is in the colors of Air France's regional partner, Brit Air. I would envision the Caravelle 2000 as an all-new RJ coming from a joint-venture between Aerospatiale (the Caravelle's original builder) and Dassault- since Dassault has had extensive experience with small jets in their Falcon business jet product line, it makes sense to me to have them onboard in the design of the Caravelle 2000.

I retained the distinctive triangular windows of the original Caravelle as well as a sleek nose that resembles the Comet nose used on the original Caravelle- cabin width would be something on par with the Canadair/Bombardier CRJ series. I kept the cruciform tail layout with a dorsal fin extension hearkening back to the extended dorsal spine on the original Caravelle.

Here she is in the colors of SAS' regional partner, Scandanavian Commuter. The world's first Caravelle service was flown by SAS in April 1959, so of course we'd have to have SAS flying the Caravelle 2000 as well. The wing layout would be the usual swept-back slender wings that we see these days on RJ-class aircraft- maybe supercritical or whatever would be most efficient for the flight profiles typical for RJs. Instead of a winglet or a raked wingtip (rakelet), I went with the canted winglets similar to what would have been offered on the Envoy 7, the business jet version of the aborted Fairchild Dornier 728JET. On the Envoy 7 they were referred to as "shark winglets".

To make the original Caravelle more appealing, Sud-Aviation rolled out the Caravelle III which would be the first major variant of the design. She featured uprated Avon engines which allowed increased performance and capacity. Alitalia would be the first to put the Caravelle III in service in 1960 and many of the original Caravelles would be retrofitted to the upgraded standard. So given that, here's the Caravelle 2000 in the colors of Alitalia Express. I've always found Alitalia's livery a simple yet classic look with respect to the tail design- let's hope Alitalia doesn't follow the current trend to blandness!

And finally, here's the Caravelle 2000 in the colors of Iberia's regional partner, Air Nostrum. Iberia was also one of the customers of the original Caravelle and their current colors are also a sharp look on this aircraft.

A note on the designation "2000-10". This was something Dassault did with their Mirage 2000 series fighters- the upgraded series of jets designated "2000-5". So for the Caravelle 2000, the -10 is the baseline series, with a -5 shortened version and a -15 version which is stretched. Maybe one of these days I'll draw the -5 and -15 versions of the Caravelle 2000.

Enjoy!

Sentinel Chicken · 04-03-2003, 08:58 AM

For the hell of it, here's the Caravelle 2000 in the livery of JAL Express using a variation of the JAL livery I had designed a while back.

I wanted the livery for JAL Express to look like the mainline livery I had designed, but just different enough to set apart the regional services from the mainline services. Think of it as a negative image with red flipped for white and vice versa but without too much red or it overpowers the clean look of the livery. Notice the use of the crane on the "X" in JEX whereas on the mainline, the crane sits in the "A" in JAL. The lower red border below the outstretched wings on the fuselage emphasizes the crane which is now in white, but it also acts as a sort of flowing cheatline as well to give some sleekness to the livery. The silver areas are stil there, and I carried it onto the tops of the engine nacelles so it wouldn't interrupt the smooth line of the crane's wing.

Enjoy!

VCEcollector · 04-03-2003, 09:20 AM

Doc, now that's the best new design I've seen in a while! It's got that flair that modern planes don't have anymore.
I think you should contact the French and see what they think about it

Do you think you could render it in the colours of Swiss, Finnair and Libyan Arab Airlines (one of my favorite schemes)? They had the Caravelle too...

On another note, I was wondering what you and all the other illustrious designers on DAC would have proposed for the new Northwest look? I know it would be tons better than the actual new livery (it's not too bad really but I'm not crazy about it).

Keep up the good work, it's fascinating...

Federico

p.s.

CaptB_DC-10 · 04-03-2003, 07:03 PM

I like the new Caravelle look, that would be interesting if they did 're-envent' the Caravelle! I dont know if anyone would widely use it, but it would be nice!

Steve · 04-04-2003, 09:46 AM

Excellent work, Doc! I'm a big fan of your revised JAL livery as well!

Steve

Father Manicotti · 04-04-2003, 02:45 PM

Holy Sh-t Doc,that darn thing looks like Race Bannon's jet!!

AirDar · 04-04-2003, 06:55 PM

I think that Race's had a bigger tail...

tech77jp · 04-05-2003, 03:59 AM

The SAS livery, in particular, makes the Caravelle 2000 look sleek and quick! I like it! In addition, your JEX livery is a huge improvement over the bland "Japawhite" (that's what I decided to call it, anyway) redesign.

MD11Freighter · 04-16-2003, 09:03 PM

BRING BACK THE CARAVELLE!!!

04-03-2003, 08:56 AM	#1
Sentinel Chicken Go-Getters Go Ozark Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: DFW/THE GREAT STATE OF TEXAS Posts: 4,167	A Caravelle for the Twenty-First Century... With the post-war airlines of France dependent upon US aircraft, the French government was anxious to not only restore the country's aviation industry, but to also enter the race to build jet aircraft. While developments in the US market showed intentions to use jet aircraft for long-distance routes both over the Atlantic and on transcontinental trunk routes, European airlines planned for the introduction of jet aircraft on the shorter routes between major European centers. With the British working on the Vickers Viscount to complement the De Haviland Coment on European routes (the Viscount specifications stemming from the post-war Brabazon planning committee's recommendations for a short-haul turbine airliner to serve European routes), France decided in 1951 to place its bets on a pure jet for short-haul routes given that the manufacturers of the time lacked significant capital and resources to develop a long-haul aircraft to rival the Comet and the 707. A year later design finalists were selected for the new jetliner and of the three entrants, in what was an unorthodox design of the time, a twin rear-engined design from Sud-Est (which would later merge with Sud-Ouest to form Sud-Aviation which in 1970 would form the nucleus of Aerospatiale) designated the SE-210 won the competition and would be christened the "Caravelle". The first prototype would fly in 1955 and set an aesthetic design standard that few aircraft today meet with graceful lines and distinctive triangular windows. Her rear twin-engined layout at the time was revolutionary as it made for a quiet cabin and a clean, efficient, and unobstructed wing. But her design was classicly French and certainly ranks as one of the most aesthetically pleasing commercial jetliners ever built. A while back Herb (BoeingSST) had posted his what if renderings of the final versions of the Caravelle in the colors of Air California and that got me thinking about what a modernized version of the Caravelle might look like. I really couldn't get anything out of the original airframe that got me all jazzed up- but given that the Caravelles accommodated the same number of passengers as the larger regional jets of today, I figured why not create a regional jet that builds upon the Caravelle's graceful design ethic. What I came up with is what I call the "Caravelle 2000" which would be an all-new regional jet design that retains the spirit of the original Caravelle in its appearance and design. Since Air France was the launch customer of the original Caravelle (Air France put their original Caravelles in service on the Paris-Istanbul route in May 1959), they'd of course be a launch customer for the Caravelle 2000. Here she is in the colors of Air France's regional partner, Brit Air. I would envision the Caravelle 2000 as an all-new RJ coming from a joint-venture between Aerospatiale (the Caravelle's original builder) and Dassault- since Dassault has had extensive experience with small jets in their Falcon business jet product line, it makes sense to me to have them onboard in the design of the Caravelle 2000. I retained the distinctive triangular windows of the original Caravelle as well as a sleek nose that resembles the Comet nose used on the original Caravelle- cabin width would be something on par with the Canadair/Bombardier CRJ series. I kept the cruciform tail layout with a dorsal fin extension hearkening back to the extended dorsal spine on the original Caravelle. Here she is in the colors of SAS' regional partner, Scandanavian Commuter. The world's first Caravelle service was flown by SAS in April 1959, so of course we'd have to have SAS flying the Caravelle 2000 as well. The wing layout would be the usual swept-back slender wings that we see these days on RJ-class aircraft- maybe supercritical or whatever would be most efficient for the flight profiles typical for RJs. Instead of a winglet or a raked wingtip (rakelet), I went with the canted winglets similar to what would have been offered on the Envoy 7, the business jet version of the aborted Fairchild Dornier 728JET. On the Envoy 7 they were referred to as "shark winglets". To make the original Caravelle more appealing, Sud-Aviation rolled out the Caravelle III which would be the first major variant of the design. She featured uprated Avon engines which allowed increased performance and capacity. Alitalia would be the first to put the Caravelle III in service in 1960 and many of the original Caravelles would be retrofitted to the upgraded standard. So given that, here's the Caravelle 2000 in the colors of Alitalia Express. I've always found Alitalia's livery a simple yet classic look with respect to the tail design- let's hope Alitalia doesn't follow the current trend to blandness! And finally, here's the Caravelle 2000 in the colors of Iberia's regional partner, Air Nostrum. Iberia was also one of the customers of the original Caravelle and their current colors are also a sharp look on this aircraft. A note on the designation "2000-10". This was something Dassault did with their Mirage 2000 series fighters- the upgraded series of jets designated "2000-5". So for the Caravelle 2000, the -10 is the baseline series, with a -5 shortened version and a -15 version which is stretched. Maybe one of these days I'll draw the -5 and -15 versions of the Caravelle 2000. Enjoy! __________________ *Piss on noise abatement!*

04-03-2003, 08:58 AM	#2
Sentinel Chicken Go-Getters Go Ozark Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: DFW/THE GREAT STATE OF TEXAS Posts: 4,167	For the hell of it, here's the Caravelle 2000 in the livery of JAL Express using a variation of the JAL livery I had designed a while back. I wanted the livery for JAL Express to look like the mainline livery I had designed, but just different enough to set apart the regional services from the mainline services. Think of it as a negative image with red flipped for white and vice versa but without too much red or it overpowers the clean look of the livery. Notice the use of the crane on the "X" in JEX whereas on the mainline, the crane sits in the "A" in JAL. The lower red border below the outstretched wings on the fuselage emphasizes the crane which is now in white, but it also acts as a sort of flowing cheatline as well to give some sleekness to the livery. The silver areas are stil there, and I carried it onto the tops of the engine nacelles so it wouldn't interrupt the smooth line of the crane's wing. Enjoy! __________________ *Piss on noise abatement!*

04-03-2003, 09:20 AM	#3
VCEcollector Senior Collector Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Trieste, Italy Age: 22 Posts: 221	Doc, now that's the best new design I've seen in a while! It's got that flair that modern planes don't have anymore. I think you should contact the French and see what they think about it Do you think you could render it in the colours of Swiss, Finnair and Libyan Arab Airlines (one of my favorite schemes)? They had the Caravelle too... On another note, I was wondering what you and all the other illustrious designers on DAC would have proposed for the new Northwest look? I know it would be tons better than the actual new livery (it's not too bad really but I'm not crazy about it). Keep up the good work, it's fascinating... Federico p.s. __________________ Federico

04-03-2003, 07:03 PM	#4
CaptB_DC-10 Collector Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: MN Posts: 90	I like the new Caravelle look, that would be interesting if they did 're-envent' the Caravelle! I dont know if anyone would widely use it, but it would be nice! __________________ Life is a big DC-10, its loud, fun and you get old!

04-04-2003, 09:46 AM	#5
Steve Master Collector Join Date: Nov 1999 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 827	Excellent work, Doc! I'm a big fan of your revised JAL livery as well! Steve __________________ Aerosite ...check it out!

04-04-2003, 02:45 PM	#6
Father Manicotti ArmageddonOuttaHere Join Date: May 2002 Location: Newark, NJ Age: 43 Posts: 310	Jonny Quest lives!!!! Holy Sh-t Doc,that darn thing looks like Race Bannon's jet!!

04-04-2003, 06:55 PM	#7
AirDar I'm watching you... Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Land of BBQ & thin chips Posts: 1,787	I think that Race's had a bigger tail... __________________ Dar~ Yours is not to question why, Yours is but to BUY or DIE!

04-05-2003, 03:59 AM	#8
tech77jp Senior Collector Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Osaka, Japan Posts: 435	The SAS livery, in particular, makes the Caravelle 2000 look sleek and quick! I like it! In addition, your JEX livery is a huge improvement over the bland "Japawhite" (that's what I decided to call it, anyway) redesign. __________________ "Everything good in life is either illegal, immoral, or fattening." - Murphy http://www.soaringcapture.tk/

04-16-2003, 09:03 PM	#9
MD11Freighter Mr. Saturday Night Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Lowell, Massachusetts(BOS)& (MHT) Age: 29 Posts: 404	BRING BACK THE CARAVELLE!!!

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread: