Avions Robin

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Avions Robin was a French manufacturer of light aeroplanes. It was previously known as Avions Pierre Robin and Centre Est Aeronautique. The company was bought by Apex Aircraft in 1988.

Avions Pierre Robin was formed by Pierre Robin and Jean Delemontez, the principal designer of Jodel aircraft, in October 1957 as Centre Est Aeronautique. It began manufacturing aircraft at Dijon-Darois.

The first aircraft was designed by Robin and Delemontez. It was based on the D10, a four seater designed by Joly and Delmontez at Jodel that was shelved when work on the Jodel D11 became more urgent. In collaboration with Robin it became the 'Jodel Robin'. It later became the DR100 model (Jodel's models all had D followed by a number). Robin and Delmontez continued to upgrade the design between 1957 and 1972.

The DR100 range was succeeded by the DR200 range.

The Robin DR400 first flew in 1972 and is still in production in 2006. It has a tricycle undercarriage, and can carry 4 people. The DR aircraft have the 'cranked wing' configuration, in which the dihedral angle of the outer wing is much greater than the inboard, a configuration which they share with Jodel aircraft. The best known today is the DR400, which is a wooden sport monoplane, conceived by Pierre Robin and Jean Delmontez.

The Robin HR200 had a different designer, Chris Heintz, and is fully metallic unlike the wooden DR series. It is a light aerobatic aircraft aimed at flight training. The Robin R2000 series was developed from the HR200 and is now (2006) produced by Alpha Aviation.

Avions Robin was acquired by Apex Aircraft of France in 1988. The range of Robin DR400 aircraft continues to be manufactured at Dijon-Darois. Since 2004 the Robin R2000 range of aircraft is manufactured in Hamilton, New Zealand by Alpha Aviation as the Alpha 2000.