Farman F.60 to F.63 'Goliath'
The F.60 'Goliath' was the first French civilian transport aircraft. It was derived from the F.50 bomber of 1918. It was a biplane of wooden and fabrics construction that first flew in January 1919 and a total of about 60 aircraft were built. The aircraft flew all over Europe and was even operated in South America. The Goliath stayed in service for more then 10 years and became one of the most famous aircraft of its time.
The Goliath started regular service for the "Compagnie des Grands Express Aériens" (also known as the "Lignes Aériennes Farman") in March 1920 on the Paris to London route, flown by famous pilots like Bossoutrot. It was later used on the Paris to Brussels route (from July 1920), Paris to Amsterdam and Paris to Berlin the following years. The Goliath, that could carry 12 passengers and flown by two crew members was intensively used until 1933 (some aircraft reaching 3,000 flying hours).
Various versions included the F.60bis (with 300 hp Salmson 9Az engines), the F.61 (equipped with 300 hp Renault 12Fe engines), the F.62 and F.63 plus the F.63bis and F.63ter (with 380 hp Gnome & Rhône Jupiter 9A engines). Some aircraft were also powered by Lorraine-Dietrich or Maybach powerplants. A four engined version, the Farman F.140 "Super Goliath" was developed in 1923. This version beat some world records in 1925 but was never produced.
Before starting its commercial career and on Farman's initiative, the F.60 had already beaten some world records: an altitude of 6.300 m was reached in 1h 50 min in April 1919 (with four passengers onboard) and later that same year, on a flight between Paris and Casablanca, six passengers were flown on the 2.050 km route in 18h 30 min.
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