M.Hardy. Gliders & Sailplanes of the world

Breguet 901

  The Breguet 901 high-performance single-seater was developed in 1953 from the Type 900, Breguet's first sailplane which, on its maiden flight on 13 May 1949, covered a distance of 292 miles at an average speed of 56mph which, ДальшеMore>>> had it been observed, would have set up a new French goal flight record. The Type 900 was of all-wood construction with fabric-covered wings of 46ft 11 in span with slotted ailerons, slotted flaps and metal dive brakes, and a plywood-covered fuselage. The Type 901, designed by J. Cayla, incorporated several advanced features for its time and took first place in the single-seater class at the 1954 World Gliding Championships at Camphill, going onto repeat this success at the 1956 World Championships in France, by which time a production batch of 60 had been put in hand. The 901 differed from the 900 chiefly in having a longer span (56ft 10in) wing of higher aspect ratio and a more streamlined fuselage, with the large blown Plexiglas cockpit canopy flush with the fuselage top line, a practice since adopted by many other sailplane designers. Another unusual feature was the carriage of 165lb of water ballast in the wings, which could be discharged through openings just beneath the wings in each side of the fuselage. Construction was very similar to the Type 900 with slotted ailerons and multi-hinged slotted Fowler flaps on the laminar-flow wing, and metal dive brakes on the upper and lower surfaces. The leading edge torsion box is a sandwich of plywood and Klegecel, an expanded plastic pre-formed under heat to the required shape, giving very strong and light structure. The single spar is of spruce and plywood and wing covering is of plywood and fabric. The tail unit is of very similar construction, and the tailplane and elevators can be folded horizontally for transport. The fuselage is a plywood-covered monocoque with a single retractable monowheel with hydraulic brake for landing; a landing can be made with the wheel retracted without serious damage to the structure. The pilot is provided with radio, blind-flying equipment and oxygen. The Type 901-S1, which first flew in 1956, differed from the 901 in having modified flaps, a slightly longer fuselage and larger tailplane. The Breguet 904 Nymphale is a two-seater version of the 901, the first of two prototypes making its maiden flight on 26 May 1956. This featured a laminar-flow wing of 20m (65ft 7in) span and end-plate fairings called 'salmons' on the wing tips; the second seat increased the length to 29ft 6in.


Data: Type 901-S1
Span: 56 ft 10 in
Length: 24 ft 10 in
Wing area: 161.5 sqft
Aspect ratio: 20
Empty weight: 584 lb
Max weight: 948 lb
Max speed: 136 mph
Min sinking speed: 2.0 ft/sec at 45 mph
Best glide ratio: 36:1 at 53 mph



Breguet 905 Fauvette

  One of the best of postwar French sailplane designs, the Breguet 905 Fauvette (or Warbler) is a Standard Class single-seater with a V-tail and made its first flight in 1958; like the Type 900 and 901 it was designed by J. Cayla. It was made available to customers either complete from the factory or in kit form for homebuilt assembly, and altogether 50 Fauvettes were built by Breguet. Construction makes extensive use of Klegecel, the expanded plastic giving a very strong and light structure which was used before in the Type 901. The fuselage is built in three main parts, consisting of the nose section of moulded plastic foam including the pilot's seat and flying controls; the centre fuselage, which is a steel tube framework covered with a moulded polystyrene skin and carries the wing, the cockpit attachment points and the towing hook; and the rear fuselage, which is of plywood/foam sandwich construction. This sandwich is composed of 6mm plywood and 8mm of Klegecel, and the same sandwich construction is also used for the fixed tail surfaces, which can be folded to the vertical position for loading on a trailer; the movable surfaces are fabric covered. The cantilever single-spar shoulder wing is of similar plywood and Klegecel construction and has an NACA 63-series laminar flow section; the single spar is of wood and the air brakes are made up of a metal and Klegecel sandwich. The Fauvette soon made its mark in contest flying, and among the records set up in it was the United Kingdom distance record broken by Rear Admiral H. C. N. Goodhart on 12 June 1959 with a flight of 388 miles.


Span: 49 ft 2 1/2 in
Length: 20 ft 4 3/4 in
Wing area: 121.1 sqft
Aspect ratio: 20.0
Empty weight: 342 lb
Max weight: 606 lb
Max speed: 124 mph
Min sinking speed: 2.13 ft/sec at 40 mph
Best glide ratio: 30:1 at 48 mph



Breguet 906 Choucas

  The Breguet 906 Choucas (Jackdaw) is a slightly larger two-seater trainer development of the Fauvette with a wing span of 18m (59ft 0in) instead of the latter's 15m, and the prototype flew for the first time on 26 October 1959. It was not until April 1964 that the French government announced that they had decided to put it into production with an initial order for three, and as Breguet had ceased making sailplanes in 1963 Choucas production was entrusted to CAARP - Cooperative des Ateliers Aeronautiques de la Region Parisienne - at Beynes aerodrome in the Seine-et-Oise department. CAARP replaced all the plastic parts with wooden components on the production aircraft, but the prototype was very similar in construction to the Fauvette, with the same three-section fuselage structure, the moulded plastic foam nose section housing the pilot's seat, the steel tube centre portion covered with polystyrene skin containing the rear seat with its transparent canopy, and the rear fuselage being of plywood/Klegecel sandwich construction. The tail surfaces were the same construction as the Fauvette's, and the cantilever shoulder wing had a single wooden spar with a plywood/Klegecel leading edge torsion box and a fabric-covered trailing edge. Slotted ailerons covered 45% of the span and the air brakes were metal and Klegecel sandwich like the Fauvette's. The non-retractable monowheel has a brake and there is a shock-absorbing tailskid. There is provision for a baggage compartment for the pilots, and other optional 'extras' include a turn-and-bank indicator, artificial horizon, VHF radio and oxygen systems.


Span: 59 ft 0 in
Length: 25 ft 11 in
Wing area: 183.5 sqft
Aspect ratio: 19.1
Empty weight: 640 lb
Max take-off weight: 1,146 lb
Max speed: 124 mph (in smooth air)
Min sinking speed: 2.13 ft/sec at 43.5 mph
Best glide ratio: 30:1 at 43.5mph