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Aviation History
1983
1983 - 0291.PDF
flown in several light aircraft—the UK's Bonner Chipmunk and America's Thunder-powered Rockwell Commander are fairly recent examples—but rarely advanced beyond successful flight trials, partly because of technical complexity, cooling weight and costs, and partly from a very conservative aviation world. Even in air-cooled terms, the VW is the only former car engine to have become popular in light aircraft, and that was largely because there was little else available in that power bracket. Its position is likely to be challenged by companies such as Weslake and Buchoux, with lighter and more efficient engines. Wood still popular These new developments apart, a lot of Pierre Robin's daily bread-and-butter work is making the wood-and-fabric aircraft for which he is renowned. Still world-beaters in several respects, the DR400 types are hand-built in the same workshop where the Robin enterprise r began by making the Jodel design more than 20 years ago. A team of craftsmen * with increasingly rare aviation skills work t with wood, glue, and fabric in an atmosphere that would make many a v homebuilder drool with admiration and envy. Thanks to modern glues and Dacron covering, the old perils of damp and rot have been almost banished. There are no life-limited components on the DR40G wooden airframe, and there are plenty of older Robin-built aircraft flying today after 25 years and thousands of hours. But wooden aircraft are expensive in man- hours; the R.3000 series can be built in 400hr less, says Robin. Yet the DR400s will continue for the forseeable future; most popular are the DR400/120 Dauphin 80 trainer and the DR400/180R Remorqueur glider tug, especially popular in Germany. The R.2160, Robin's aerobatic metal FLIGHT International, 12 February 1983 two-seater, is now manufactured solely by Pierre Robin's Canadian offshoot at Lachute, Quebec, although many components are built by the Dijon metalworkers. It can still be ordered in Europe, when the aircraft is shipped to Dijon for final assembly. On the day of our visit the first European-ordered aircraft so assembled was rolled-out for delivery to a Frankfurt flying school. A widespread dealer network has been established in North America, and the recent FAA Certification should boost the R.2160's prospects. Pierre Robin sees most of its market outside France, where it cannot expect to compete with the home-brewed competition-standard Cap 10. The metal-handling workforce is also presently contracted for 50,000hr of component work for Aerospatiale, namely parts for Transall wings, Alpha Jet cockpits, and some helicopter components. Robin presently accounts for some 25 per cent of the European market in its aircraft class, and claims to be Number One in France in terms of annual "real" sales to actual customers, rather than in aircraft going to manufacturer's dealers. With the promise of the stylish R.3000 series, economic potential for the ATL, and American recogntion for the R.2160, this market share looks set for a steady increase when the aircraft-buying skies brighten. Robin's range for 1983 consists of the DR400/120 Dauphin 80, DR400/160 Major, DR400/180 Regent, and DR400/180R Remorqueue. The Aiglon will probably continue this year in small quantities, to be replaced by the R.3140. The company is at BP87, 21121 Fontaine-les-Dijon Cedex, France; telephone (80) 31.61.01. This final assembly line-up shows two DR400 aircraft,with the metal aerobatic R.2160 in the foreground. This is now manufactured in Canada, and the aircraft shown is the first Canadian-built model for Europe
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