Reims Aviation
Reims Aviation is a French , Reims- based aviation company that focuses on the construction of propeller-driven aircraft and the production of components for other international aircraft manufacturers. The company was split into two independent companies, Reims Aviation Industries (RAI) and Reims Aerospace , in 2003 .
history
The company's history begins with aircraft designer Max Holste , who developed his first aircraft in 1933 with the two-seater Reims SHB1 light aircraft. In 1946 he founded the company Max Holste SA , which settled in Reims. In the 1950s , Holste began developing small transport and passenger aircraft. In 1960 a contract was signed with the Cessna Aircraft Company , which initiated a 20-year collaboration for the manufacture of a large part of this propeller aircraft family for the European market.
Reims Aviation was founded in 1962. Three years later, the manufacturer delivered the 2000th aircraft, a Cessna 172 . In 1967 the company moved to the Reims-Prunay airfield, where the Reims- Cessna 337 made its maiden flight. In addition to the Reims-Cessna aircraft, Reims Aviation began manufacturing fuselage parts for the Dassault Falcon and Mirage III S of the then Avions Marcel Dassault company .
With the FR172 Rocket, Reims Aviation built a much more powerful version of the Cessna 172 independently of Cessna from 1967. It is equipped with a six-cylinder Continental IO-360H injection engine with 210 hp (157 kW) and has very good short-start performance. The prototype ( aircraft registration F-BOQN ) made its first flight in 1967. In the variants FR172E to FR172J, a total of 590 copies were built in France from 1967 to 1978.
The first flight of the twin-engine turboprop F406 Caravan II took place in 1983. The machine was partly developed from a combination of different components from the Cessna 404 Titan II , Cessna 425 and Cessna 441 . The first flight of the machine (registration number F-WLZT ) took place on September 22, 1983. It is designed for up to 12 passengers, but is also used as a cargo and surveillance aircraft.
In March 1989 the company CFCI (Compagnie Française Chaufour Investissement) bought all of Reims Aviation's shares from the Cessna Aircraft Company, making Reims Aviation 100% a French private company. At the same time, the production of single-engine aircraft was discontinued. At the beginning of the 90s the production rate of the F406 Caravan II was increased and further versions of the aircraft were developed. In addition, Reims Aviation increasingly produced components for Dassault, Airbus , and Embraer .
The first flight of the F406 SURPOLMAR took place in 2000. The aircraft was mainly developed for police maritime and coastal surveillance and represented a foray into a new market for the company. But there were hardly any buyers for the aircraft. In January 2003, the French company Green Recovery bought the company's F406 shares and founded Reims Aviation Industries . Production of the F406 resumed and two aircraft were able to be delivered before the middle of the year.
The subunternehmerischen activities of Reims Aviation find place separately from RAI and are in the company Reims Aerospace sas summarized. However, both companies continue to share the Reims-Prunay location.
In total, the company has manufactured and delivered around 7,000 aircraft.
Web links
- Historique de Reims Aviation depuis les avions Max Holste (French)
- Interview de Pierre Clostermann, président de Reims Aviation (French) Aviation Magazine, n ° 608 (1973) .