CAB Minicab
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| GY-20 Minicab | |
|---|---|
| Type | Utility aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Constructions Aéronautiques du Béarn |
| Designed by | Yves Gardan |
| Maiden flight | 1 February 1949 |
| Number built | 30 + ca. 130 homebuilt |
The CAB Minicab was a two-seat light aircraft built in France in the years following World War II. Its design was in essence a scaled-down version of a plane that Yves Gardan had designed for SIPA, the SIPA 90. It was a conventional, low-wing cantilever monoplane with fixed tailwheel undercarriage. The pilot and passenger sat side-by-side and accessed the cockpit via a one-piece perspex canopy that hinged forwards. Gardan's intention was to produce a low-cost, easy to fly, easy to maintain aircraft with the possibility of homebuilding; a "Simca of the air".
The Minicab's first flight took place on 1 February 1949 with Max Fischl at the controls. French type certification was obtained in mid-April and a period of intense promotional activity followed. By the end of 1950, a Minicab had won the coupe de vitesse de Deauville (Deauville Cup for speed), and the grand prix aérien de Vichy (Vichy Aerial Prize). The following year, a Minicab broke the world air distance record for its class (1,825 km, 1,138 miles) and in 1952 the world airspeed record for its class over a 2,000 km circuit, with an average speed of (183 km/h, 114 mph).
[edit] Variants
- GY-20 - original production model
- GY-201 - refined version with strengthened undercarriage, split flaps, and castering tailwheel
[edit] Specifications (GY-20)
General characteristics
- Crew: one pilot
- Capacity: 1 passenger
- Length: 5.45 m (17 ft 11 in)
- Wingspan: 7.60 m (24 ft 11 in)
- Height: 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
- Wing area: 10.0 m² (108 ft²)
- Empty weight: 265 kg (584 lb)
- Gross weight: 480 kg (1,058 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × Continental A65 horizontally-opposed four-cylinder air-cooled engine, 48 kW (65 hp)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 198 km/h (123 mph)
- Range: 500 km (310 miles)
- Service ceiling: 4,000 m (13,120 ft)
[edit] References
- Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions, 123.
- Simpson, R. W. (1995). Airlife's General Aviation. Shrewsbury: Airlife Publishing, 409.
- aviafrance.com
- Oldtimer-Homepage der Segel- und Motorfluggruppe Veterano, Birrfeld
- Musée Régional de l'Air d'Angers-Marcé
- The Rochester GYAT Flying Group]
[edit] See also
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