Wassmer Aviation
| Wassmer Aviation
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| legal form | |
| founding | 1905 |
| resolution | 1978 |
| Reason for dissolution | Takeover by competitors |
| Seat | Issoire |
| Branch | Aircraft construction |
Wassmer Aviation was a French carpenter's workshop founded by Bernard Wassmer in Issoire in 1905 . The company later transformed into an aircraft manufacturer with a focus on building gliders . In 1978 it was bought by Issoire Aviation .
Aircraft manufacturing
In 1955 the company started building aircraft. Initially, two-seater Jodel D 112 aircraft were built under license . The company also built the single-seat WA-20 and the two-seat WA-30 Bijave during this period . In 1959 the company began to build the WA-40 Super IV - a four-seater touring aircraft.
In 1972 Wassmer founded the Consortium Europeén de Réalization et de Ventes d'Avions (CERVA) together with SIREN SA in a joint venture to build a metal version of the WA4 / 21 , which in turn was a variant of the WA-40. The components of the Cerva CE.43 Guépard were manufactured by SIREN in Argenton-sur-Creuse . The final assembly, the interior work and the flight tests were carried out at Wassmer in Issoire. Another aircraft from this collaboration was the CE-75 glider .
With the development of the WA-50 series , the company moved away from its tradition of wood processing and turned to the processing of GRP . The WA-50 was the first aircraft in the world to be made entirely of GRP. The last model Wassmer developed was the WA-80 Piranha . It was a scaled-down, two-seat version of the WA-50.
Due to the simultaneous production of the WA-80 and various model variants of the WA-50 series, the company ran into financial difficulties. Finally, in 1977, the administration was handed over to an insolvency administrator and production stopped. On February 1, 1978, Issoire Aviation, founded by SIREN, took over the company and continued building gliders and providing customer service for Wassmer aircraft.
Wassmer airplane models
- Jodel D 112 and D 120 (license production)
- Wassmer WA-20 Javelot
- Wassmer WA-26 Squale
- Wassmer WA-28 Espadon
- Wassmer WA-30 Bijave
- Wassmer WA-40 Super IV / Baladou / Prestige
- Wassmer WA-50 Pacific / Europe / Atlantic
- Wassmer WA-80 Piranha
Cerva aircraft models
literature
- The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (1982–1985 editions) . Orbis Publishing, 1985 (English).
- RW Simpson: Airlife's General Aviation . Airlife Publishing, England 1991, ISBN 1-85310-194-X (English).
