Fournier RF-8

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RF-8
Fournier RF-8 in the museum in Angres Marce
Type: Trainer aircraft
Design country:

FranceFrance France

Manufacturer:

Indraero SA

First flight:

19th January 1973

Number of pieces:

1

The Fournier RF-8 was an all-metal two-seat training aircraft designed by French designer René Fournier in 1973 and designed for the French Air Force.

history

After Rene Fournier proposed the Fournier RF-5 as a military trainer aircraft to the French army , they showed interest in a metal-based RF-5 variant. Fournier then converted the basic RF-5 layout into a metal construction called the Fournier RF-8 . Fournier envisaged the twin- igniter SL1700D engine that Limbach was developing . In October 1969, the French military approved the construction of a prototype at a suitable future series production company in France. René Fournier won the Indraero SA aviation company in Argenton-sur-Creuse for the construction of the prototype and a possible subsequent series production. Indraero then received the building contract for the RF-8 prototype and commissioned René Fournier to develop the aircraft.

The prototype construction at Indraero began in early 1970. When it became clear that the Limbach engine would not be approved, René Fournier in Nitray first designed his own engine based on a 1700 m³ VW engine bored to 1850 m³, the Fournier with a Equipped with dual ignition and manifold injection . In February 1972, Fournier handed the engine over to the state registration office in Saclay . During the extensive approval tests, the Fournier engine was destroyed by a mechanical failure in June 1972. As a result, a 115 hp Lycoming motor was used in the RF-8, but it was oversized, too heavy and complex for the RF-8 and thus no longer corresponded to the inexpensive RF-5 trainer variant proposed by Fournier.

The first flight of the RF-8, ( aircraft registration F-WSOY) with Bernard Chauvreau took place on January 19, 1973 at Indraero in Argenton-sur-Creuse . This was followed by extensive testing by the French military. The static load tests were carried out with a second airframe in 1974, in which the airframe failed in April 1975. Since there were no more funds available for the required conversion of the cell, Indraero canceled the approval process for the RF-8 in 1975. The French Air Force later decided to use the Socata TB 30 Epsilon as a training aircraft.

The RF-8 prototype was stored at Indraeo and handed over to the Aviation Museum in Angres Marce in January 2015, where the machine is part of the permanent exhibition. The RF-8 remained Rene Fournier's only metal airplane design.

construction

In its basic form, the Fournier RF-8 corresponded to the structure of the RF-5. The execution took place in all-metal construction . It had tandem seats and received an additional retractable nose landing gear in addition to the central wheel and support wheels under the wings and the tail wheel.

Technical specifications

Parameter Data
Crew / passengers 1/1
length 7.42 m
span 12.40 m
height 2.40 m
Wing area 13.20 m²
Empty mass 600 kg
Takeoff mass 870 kg
Cruising speed 250 km / h
Top speed 300 km / h
Service ceiling 7000 m
Range 800 km
Engines a Lycoming
115 PS boxer engine (approx. 80 kW)

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rene Fournier: Mon reve et mes combats , Edition Sier, Jan. 2005, ISBN 978-2-9519-4580-7
  2. ^ Paul Zöller: Fournier Airplanes , 2017, ISBN 978-3-7460-4864-2
  3. Jane's All the World Aircraft, 1973/74 edition