Beyond its various forward-thinking qualities, the C1 was also to use a tricycle undercarriage in which all three units were wheeled. While these units remained fixed in flight, it arrived at a time when nearly all aircraft utilized a "tail-dragger" undercarriage arrangement.
Known structural dimensions included an overall length of 24.6 feet and a wingspan of 26.10 feet.
Power and Performance
Internally, the aircraft carried a single Hispano-Suiza 8Aa V-8 water-cooled piston engine and this was used to drive a two-bladed wooden propeller in the aforementioned "pusher" arrangement - that is the engine would serve to "push" the aircraft through the skies as opposed to "pull" it; as in aircraft mounting the engine and propeller unit at its usual place in the nose. Because of the C1's short time in the air, no official performance specs were ever recorded so any such numbers on this page are estimates on the part of the author.
Proposed Armament
The C1 was (rather optimistically) envisioned to fulfill the role of combat fighter so proposed armament was to center on a single 37mm Hotchkiss automatic cannon - giving it a powerful "bite" against contemporaries including enemy bomber aircraft. It is believed the desire to mount this powerful weapon is what prompted de Bruyere to adopt such an unorthodox design for this fighter proposal.
First - and Last - Flight
The first, and only, flight of the C1 occurred during April of 1917 as World War 1 continued to rage on. The flight was had at Etampes in France and, during this action, the aircraft reached an altitude of just twenty-five feet before entering an unexpected roll. The airframe ended up on its back on the ground though the pilot at the controls managed to survive without being crushed. This appears to be the last that was heard from the C1 design for it was not repaired, flown again, nor evolved at any future point during the war.
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