Caudron C.690

Crew: One pilot
Length: 7.82 m (25 ft 8 in)
Wingspan: 7.70 m (25 ft 3 in)
Height: 2.60 m (8 ft 6 in)
Wing area: 9.0 m 2 (97 ft 2 )
Empty weight: 672 kg (1,482 lb)
Gross weight: 1,050 kg (2,315 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Renault 6Q-05 , 164 kW (220 hp)

C.690
Role	Fighter trainer
Manufacturer	Caudron
Designer	Marcel Riffard
First flight	18 February 1936
Number built	19

The Caudron C.690 was single-seat training aircraft developed in France in the late 1930s to train fighter pilots to handle high-performance aircraft. It was a conventional low-wing cantilever monoplane that bore a strong resemblance to designer Marcel Riffard's racer designs of the same period. Caudron attempted to attract overseas sales for the aircraft, but this resulted in orders for only two machines - one from Japan, and the other from the USSR. In the meantime, the first of two prototypes was destroyed in a crash that killed René Paulhan, Caudron's chief test pilot.

Despite this, the Armée de l'Air eventually showed interest in the type, and ordered a batch of a slightly refined design. The first of these was not delivered until April 1939, and only 15 C.690Ms were supplied before the outbreak of war.

Variants

C.690: Single-seat fighter trainer aircraft. Four aircraft built.
C.690M: Slightly refined version for the Armee de l'Air. Only 15 aircraft were built.