Fournier RF-47

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RF-47
f2
Type: Trainer aircraft
Design country:

FranceFrance France

Manufacturer:

Euravial SA

First flight:

April 9, 1993

Commissioning:

1999

Production time:

1998-1999

Number of pieces:

3 prototypes
+ 3 kits

The Fournier RF-47 was the design of a two-seat training aircraft that the French aeronautical designer René Fournier had developed for Arc Atlantique in Tours in the early 1990s. A few examples were built in series at the French Euravial SA at the end of the 1990s. The Fournier RF-47 was the last aircraft designed by René Fournier for the time being.

history

The development of the Fournier RF-47 went back to an initiative by Andre Daout , who at Tours Aviation wanted to put a trainer aircraft into series production for the French aviation association FNA in the early 1990s . René Fournier worked for Daout as a technical consultant. Since the rights to the Fournier RF-6B Club, which was actually intended for this purpose, lay with Slingsby Aviation in England, Fournier began developing a new aircraft based on the single-seat Fournier RF-4 . Since the trainer aircraft should be approved as a purely motorized aircraft, Fournier took over the engine characteristics from Fournier RF-7 . Since the design came about by combining the RF-4 and RF-7, Rene Fournier referred to it as the Fournier RF-47.

Production of the assemblies for the prototype began at Siravia in mid-1991 . Assembly of the prototype began in January 1992 at Tours Aviation in St. Symphonerien near Tours. The first flight of the RF-47, F-WNDF was conducted by Bernard Chauvreau on April 9, 1993. In order to eliminate the weight problems of the prototype, Fournier revised the construction of the wing spar, which was converted into a combination of wood and carbon fiber composite materials. The second prototype flew on March 30, 1995. On October 4, 1995, the French certification authority issued type certificate No. 187 for the RF-47.

construction

In the basic form of its design, the RF-47, designed in a combination of wood and composite materials, corresponded to a smaller RF-6B with rigid main and nose landing gear. When designing the RF-47, however, René Fournier did not rely on the RF-6, but again used the single-seat RF-4 as a starting point, the fuselage of which was widened to accommodate two seats, while the dimensions of the wing were largely based on the RF -4 was adopted, the basic shape of the tail unit corresponded to the tail unit of the RF-6B. Initially, the engine was a 98 hp Sauer engine, which was later replaced by the 87 hp Limbach L2400.

Marketing and further development

An overview of all built RF-47s can be found at

RF-47 kit production at Euravial SA

After the type certification of the RF-47, Andre Daout sought financial support to set up series production at Tours Aviation, which had already been renamed Arc Atlantique SARL in 1993 after Daout considered relocating operations to a structurally weak region. Since government funding was not available for the relocation of Arc Atlantique, Daout took part in a job creation scheme in the town of Epinal in the Vosges in 1998. In Euravial SA , which was founded specifically for the job creation measure , components were to be manufactured for Arc Atlantique RF-47, which Andre Daout then wanted to market as self-assembly kits. The plan was to produce 4 kits per month, with which up to 45 people were to be employed at Euravial.

At Euravial a test kit was created in 1998, which was then assembled and flew for the first time on March 22, 1999. Series production of the RF-47 kits began in Epinal in summer 1999. By September 1999 three kits had been completed. As the capacity of the job creation measure with only one kit per month remained well below the expected 45 employees, the government stopped funding the project at the end of September 1999. Euravial was disbanded in 1999 after completing four kits.

The three kit sets as well as the already assembled first series machines remained with Arc Atlantique. Two kit sets were later purchased from private individuals and assembled in-house. A total of six RF-47s were built between 1991 and 1999.

Technical specifications

Parameter Data
Crew / passengers 1/1
length 6.44 m
span 10.0 m
height 2.22 m
Wing area 10.93 m²
Empty mass 395 kg
Takeoff mass 620 kg
Cruising speed 180 km / h
Top speed 230 km / h
Service ceiling 5000 m
Range 1000 km
Engines 1 x 87 PS
Limbach L2400EBI

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Fournier_aircraft  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ René Fournier: Mon reve et mes combats , Edition Sier, Jan. 2005, ISBN 978-2-9519-4580-7
  2. ↑ Jane's All the World Aircraft, 1994/95 edition
  3. ^ Paul Zöller: Fournier Airplanes , 2017, ISBN 978-3-7460-4864-2