CASA C-207 Azor was a robust and well-designed aircraft, taking as reference the American Convair CV-440 Metropolitan model, which earned it the nickname “Spanish Metropolitan”.The Azor‘s maiden flight took place on September 28, 1955, and after demanding tests, received the Certificate of Airworthiness in November 1957, being available for both the civilian and military markets.C-207 Azor had an automatic pilot, but because it was not pressurized, it was not acquired by the main Spanish airline, Iberia. This caused the almost cancellation of the project, ultimately saved by the Spanish Air Force that acquired 10 aircrafts.The main missions for Azor T-7A were practically the same as those developed in the civilian field, because the aircraft was not specially designed for military purposes. The passengers transport and liaison missions between Spain and its territories in the Canary Islands, Sahara and Guinea was the constant in its service.This cockpit’s image shows the typical instrumentation of the 50s aircrafts, looking archaic and outdated for current standards. According to the crews that operated them, these aircrafts were reliable and with few maintenance problems, which allowed long periods of operation.Two powerful Bristol Hercules 730 engines with 2,040 hp each were installed, so the aircraft had good performance and above all, it made the manufacturer forget the previous problems in this matter and that caused the cancelation of two promising previous projects, the CASA C-201 Alcotán and CASA C-202 Halcón.The Azor T-7A could carry 36 passengers at 428 km/h to a maximum distance of almost 3,000 km, which may seem unimpressive, but it was a breakthrough in the logistic transport capabilities of the Spanish Air Force, allowing the withdrawal of models such as the less capable C-352.In 1974, two Azors arrived at the 403rd Squadron and were fitted with the Bendix towing targets device, so the AA artillery could carry out practices with real fire. These two aircrafts were designated TR-7 within the Air Force.This aircraft belongs to the Cuatro Vientos Aeronautic Museum’s collection, it arrived at the Museum in January 1985 and was the sixth in the series. It entered service in July 1964 at 351st Squadron belonging to the 35th Transport Wing based in Getafe, Madrid.After its service in the 35th Wing, until December 1977, it moved to 911th Squadron, where it stayed until July 1978. Its career continued with the 405th Squadron to finally be framed in the 352nd Squadron, where it was until the end of 1981, when it was removed from service after 17 years of activity.
