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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 1446.PDF
556 FLIGHT ENTHUSIASM AT PAU French Light Aircraft on Show at the R.S.A. Rally: Flying the C.P.30 Emeraude THE steady and spectacular progress of light aviation inFrance shows no sign of abating, and it was on a note ofconfidence engendered by its own success (and the new announcement of petrol prices being halved) that the Reseaude Sport de l'Air held its eighth rassemblemem at the aerodrome of Pau-Idron in the Basses Pyrenees on August 15th last. Certainly, to any keen follower of the light-aircraft movement,this occasion could give nothing other than satisfaction, in both the number and the variety of types arrayed against a picturesqueBearnais background. In spite of some very poor weather over a large part of France, over forty aircraft arrived to take partin a most successful meeting which was excellently organized by the Aero-Club de Bearn, the hosts of this year's assembly.Undeterred by the weather, a steady stream of aircraft arrived during the afternoon of Saturday, August 14th and by the earlyevening the aerodrome had a gala air with its lines of parked aircraft all sparkling and polished for the occasion. The mostprolific were the Jodel D.I 12 two-seaters, all very well turned out in a variety of lively paint-schemes. One aero-club fromCreil had sent three Jodels which had been built together by club members and all equally presented in an excellently polishedcream finish, their youthful and friendly occupants making a fine equipe indeed. Another Jodel was the property of an insurancebroker, Jean Duval, who with the assistance of his charming wife had built "The Flying Snail," which now gets about theDuval business at a faster pace than implied by its name. As befitted the home of the Minicab there were several examplesof this snappy little side-by-side two-seater on the aerodrome, and one of these, from the club at Le Havre, won the prize for thebest built two-seater (against some shattering competition in workmanship and detail finish).Other types present included numerous Bebe Jodels and a Turbulent, previously described in Flight but now sporting asliding canopy affording the absolute in single seater luxury. Older types included Piper Cubs, Boisavia Chablis, Pipistrelleand R.A. 14, while the present race of light two-seaters was well represented by the slick Supercab of Albert Rebillon, the Holle-ville Bambi, Brochet 81, and the undoubted" star of the show, the Piel CP-30 Emeraude; many had hoped to see the Druine Condorarrive, but unfortunately Roger Druine was on holiday. The CP-30 Emeraude. The opportunity to examine and flythe Emeraude was eagerly seized, particularly in view of the interest being shown in this type in the United Kingdom, wherethe design is being investigated by the Popular Flying Associa- tion for amateur construction. A strong point in favour of thistype is that it has completed and passed all the tests for a normal-category Certificate of Airworthiness in France. Addi-tionally, it was recently classified first in the competitions for French light aircraft sponsored by the Federation AeronautiqueNationale. This aircraft is the brain-child of Claude Piel, whose CP-20Pinnocchio, a model Spitfire, has already received wide acclaim and now earns honest bread and butter at the aero-club at Mitrynear Paris (where members fly it at 25s per hour); it has flown some four hundred hours on its little Volkswagen engine. TheEmeraude is a logical two-seater extrapolation of the Pinnocchio and is an all-wooden low-wing monoplane of pleasing lines,retaining without undue complication the classic "Spit" plan- form in its wing construction. The engine is the ever-popular Continental A-65 neatly cowled and blended into the squat-looking fuselage. Claude Piel has the intention of producing a touring and sport-ing aircraft of good lines and yet so designed that it may be reproduced by amateurs. Although the wing appears ellipticalthe centre four metres are of parallel chord with similar ribs, the remaining portion being so arranged to achieve the ellipticalshape. The wing datum line is at 25 per cent chord, which is also the spar location. Dihedral angle is nearly six degrees andthe aspect ratio is 5.9. The aerofoil section is the widely used NACA 23012 set at3 deg 40 min incidence at the root and washed-out to zero at the tip. The spar is a boxed structure on to which the ribs arethreaded and supported in their correct location by a false spar which provides the support for the aileron and flap hinges. Thereare some 24 ribs of which ten are made in the same jig, two special ribs being laid diagonally in typical sailplane style to transferdrag loads. Torsion is resisted by the ply leading edge, which is 2 mm thick at the root, reducing towards the tips to 1.6 mm.Attachment to the fuselage is simple, there being two main attach- ment bolts. The aircraft is completely fabric-covered. A simple Warren girder structure composed of two flanksboxed up to two main,fuselage-frames and a stern post forms the fuselage. The cabin interior is lined with ply, which stabilizesthe structure and at the same time gives an attractively smooth interior to the cabin. The top of the fuselage is a typical lightformer-and-stringer assembly. External stringers are applied to the main structure before the application of the fabric. Themain cabin top-hamper is formed by a sturdy welded-steel tubular frame—with a sensible handhold which will take theweight of a pilot without its falling off. The front screen is developed from the flat, while the rear structure of the cabin isattractively curved and fitted with two rear-vision panels also developed from flat pieces. Doors open forwards; they are weldedsteel frames, depending on the material characteristics for their stiffness and fitted with jettison release-pins. In the forward part of the cabin there is an 80-litre fuel tankinstalled between the fireproof bulkhead and the instrument panel. The gauge is the dependable and simple cork-and-wire type.The flying controls are completely conventional, with cable operation from slightly short control-columns and balanced-typerudder pedals basically similar to those of mest Austers. The whole aircraft has a most purposeful appearance andachieves a balance of line rarely seen in such small machines—the appearance invites one to leap in and fly. Entry is simple and thecabin is very roomy. The windscreen and cabin top look low but in fact seemed to cause no embarrassment to the Emeraude's six-foot designer. The instrument panel has an imposing appear- ance, being nicely rounded and smooth, and having a most com-plete set of instruments fitted. These include a directional gyro and also a rate-of-climb indicator, which is a popular instrumenton French light aircraft, whose pilots are so often soaring-con- scious. The engine controls were particularly pleasing, therebeing a sturdy yellow-handled throttle lever for the left-hand seat and a central push-pull knob to provide dual control, thuscatering for all conditions of hands and habit. Additionally, a companion lever to the left-hand throttle provides control for thecarburetter heat, a much more practical device than some of the silly little wires on so many other types. The CP-30 Emeraude flown by the author of these notes; and one of its welded-steel-tube, forward-opening cockpit doors.
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