Latécoère 500

The Latécoère 500 was a flying boat designed and produced by Latécoère in the early 1930s specifically for the transatlantic mail route to South America. Its hull shape drew on the Latécoère 340 and the Latécoère 380, and the result was a large parasol-wing monoplane with broad sponsons and a fully enclosed cabin, with three engines on the wing: two tractor engines on the leading edge and one pusher on the trailing edge. Flight testing showed poor flying qualities, so it was not accepted for service and was soon scrapped. A passenger variant, the Latécoère 501, actually flew first and was used for a time on Mediterranean passenger routes.