Piel CP-80

The Piel CP.80 Zephir and Piel CP.801 are racing aircraft developed in France in the 1970s and marketed for homebuilding.^[1] They are compact, single-seat, single-engine monoplanes with low, cantilever wings.^[2][3] The pilots sit in fully enclosed cockpits and the tailwheel undercarriages are fixed.^[2][3][4] Although designed to be built of wood,^[3] the first CP.80 to fly (registered F-PTXL and named Zef) was built from composite materials by Pierre Calvel and beat even the designer's own CP.80 into the air.^[2] Calvel's CP-80 was entered in the French Formula One air races in 1976, but failed to qualify.^[5]

Variants

Piel CP.80

Single seat racer, typically powered by a 100 hp (75 kW) Continental O-200 for Formula One Air Racing.^[4]

Piel CP.801

Specifications

Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1977–78, p.496

General characteristics

• Crew: One pilot
• Length: 5.30 m (17 ft 5 in)
• Wingspan: 6.0 m (19 ft 9 in)
• Height: 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
• Wing area: 6.2 m² (67 ft²)
• Empty weight: 260 kg (570 lb)
• Gross weight: 380 kg (840 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Continental C90-8F, 67 kW (90 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 310 km/h (190 mph)
• Range: 450 km (280 miles)
• Service ceiling: 6,000 m (19,700 ft)
• Rate of climb: 12.0 m/s (2,360 ft/min)

Notes

References

• "French Formula One". Flight International: 262–63. 31 July 1976. Retrieved 2009-01-06. 
• Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1977–78. London: Jane's Publishing. 
• Markowski, Mark (1979). The Encyclopedia of Homebuilt Aircraft. Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania: TAB Books. ISBN 0-8306-2256-X. 
• Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. ISBN 0-7106-0710-5.