Bassou FB.30

Flight, September 1936

A PUSHER COMES to TOWN

   QUITE a number of people in the London district must have been puzzled as to the identity of a small pusher monoplane which was buzzing happily about the sky towards the end of last week.
   Actually, it is a new French design, the Bassou F.B.30, which Col. Fitzmaurice has brought over. He flew it from Paris last week in a matter of three hours and at a cost of 10s., this modest sum being accounted for by the fact that the engine is a flat twin of 32 h.p. - the Mengin, a name which will be remembered in connection with the snappy little power unit which M. Mignet employs in his "interceptor" Pou-du-Ciel. The cruising speed is claimed to be of the order of 85 m.p.h.
   The Bassou, which has tandem seating and dual control, also has some extremely interesting features. The construction is of wood and fabric and box spars form the tail booms. Landing speed, it is said, is reduced to less than 20 m.p.h. by a system in which the ailerons are brought down in unison to act as flaps, lateral control still being obtainable. A three-wheeled undercarriage, with the single wheel projecting well in front, is an outstanding feature. It is hoped to develop a cabin model and also a 60 h.p. machine in the near future.
   Col. Fitzmaurice tells us that the French Air Ministry have ordered a large batch for the clubs and he has great expectations for its future if and when it is developed in this country, as is very probable. The licence is held by Makowski and Simon, aeronautical engineers, 56, Kingsway, London, W.C.2. The machine is being cared for by Rollasons'.

Two-up on 32 h.p.! The Bassou pusher monoplane which Col. Fitzmaurice has brought over from France, and which it is hoped will be built in this country. When the machine is on all three wheels of its three-point undercarriage the tail booms are well clear of the ground.

PRAYING MANTIS: A new angle on the unorthodox yet oddly attractive-looking Bassou pusher, which, as related in Flight of September 24, has been imported with a view to manufacture in this country. The engine is a 32 h.p. Mengin flat twin.