The Castel C-24 was a training glider built in the late 1930s in France. It was a glider of high-wing monoplane configuration. In English, Castel C-24 translated to Castle C-24. It was produced by the manufacturer Castel. Another product was built by the same manufacturer, with a similar name, which was called the Castel C-24S. It was also built in the late 1930s.
History
The C-34 Condor, the engineer Robert Castello's previous glider, was destroyed in an accident during a sandow launch on 27 June 1934. Though the fuselage was far beyond destroyed, the wings still remained available. Inspired by Robert Kronfeld's engineering, Castello studied a two-seater tandem fuselage in 1935 and a central plane on which the wings of the C-34 were mounted. The C-24 was followed by the C-24 Casoar, a similar glider design, now with a two-piece wing and no central fuselage. A third model with a redesigned fuselage was built by the apprentices at Caudron Renault for the Billancourt Olympic Club. On 8 May 1938 Spire and Poirot improved the French men's tandem distance record with 91 km on the COB C-24. This record was improved on 23 April 1938 by Colin and Melleton on the same aircraft with 200 km.
Design
The rear seat, that of the instructor, is in the centre of gravity. It is accessed through a door under the left wing, where visibility and comfort are deplorable. The front seat is protected by a multi-panel canopy.