Engineering:Aero-Club des Cheminots Aerofer

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The Aero-Club des Cheminots Aerofer was a France light utility aircraft of the mid-1950s.

Aerofer
Aerofer edited-2.jpg
The sole Aerofer at Guyancourt airfield near Paris in June 1963
Role light utility aircraft
National origin France
Manufacturer Aero-Club des Cheminots
Designer Aero-Club des Cheminots
First flight 1954
Introduction 1954
Status no longer registered
Primary user aero club
Number built 1

Design and development

The Aerofer was designed and built by members of the Aero-Club des Cheminots as a co-operative project. It was a small single-seat low-winged aircraft. The Aerofer had a two-spar wooden wing with fabric covering. The fuselage was of wooden construction with a combination of fabric and plywood covering. The tailwheel undercarriage was fixed. The aircraft was powered by a 50 h.p. Walter Mikron four-cylinder air-cooled engine built by Aster.[1]

Operational history

The Aerofer was completed in 1954 and was operated until 1964 by the members of the Aero-Club des Cheminots, based at Guyancourt airfield (now closed) to the west of Paris.[2] Its extremely small dimensions meant that it was semi-aerobatic, despite the low-powered engine fitted. Only one example of the design was completed.[3]

By 1965 the aircraft, registered as F-PERS with a Certificat de Navigabilite Restreint d'Aeronef (CNRA)[4] was owned by the Aero-Club Etienne Boileau and based at Fontenay-Tresigny airfield.[5] It was no longer on the CNRA register by March 1983.[6]

Specifications

Data from Green

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Capacity: 1
  • Wingspan: 26 ft 0 in (7.92 m)
  • Gross weight: 1,112 lb (504 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Walter Mikron I 4-cyl. inverted air-cooled piston engine, 50 hp (37 kW)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 90 mph (140 km/h, 78 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 78 mph (126 km/h, 68 kn)

Notes

  1. Green, 1965, p.34
  2. Butler, 1964, p.115
  3. Green, 1965, p.34
  4. Burnett, 1983, p.111
  5. Green, 1965, p.34
  6. Burnett, 1983, p.112

References

  • Butler, P.H. (1964). French Civil Aircraft Register 1964. Merseyside Society of Aviation Enthusiasts. 
  • Burnett, I.P. (1983). Civil Aircraft Registers of France 1983. Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-104-5. 
  • Green, William (1965). The Aircraft of the World. Macdonald & Co (Publishers) Ltd.