Fauvel AV.22

AV.22
Role Sailplane and motorglider
Manufacturer Homebuilt
Designer Charles Fauvel
First flight 5 April 1956
Number built 6 (AV.22), 1x (AV.221), several (AV.222) under construction


The Fauvel AV.22 was an unorthodox glider produced in France in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Originally intended to be produced in series, it was later marketed to homebuilders. Like other Charles Fauvel designs, it was a tailless aircraft, and this particular design featured wings with a slight forward sweep.

Design and development

The original AV.22 design was unpowered, but later versions were equipped with an engine mounted in the nose for self-launching. The AV.22 was entered in a 1959 competition to select a standard glider for the French aeroclubs, but lost to the Wassmer Bijave.

The first powered version was the AV.221, which flew on 8 April 1965. In addition to the powerplant, the fuselage was also redesigned to accommodate a passenger side-by-side with the pilot. A simplified version of this aircraft was marketed for homebuilding as the AV.222, with options including a choice of airfoils, and either one or two wheel undercarriage.

Variants

AV.22
Initial glider version;first flight 8 April 1956. Two prototypes and four production aircraft were built
AV.22S
Production version of the AV.22 glider.
AV.221
Two-seat motor glider, powered by a 28.7 kW (38.5 hp) Rectimo 4 AR 1200 engine.
AV.221B
A proposed variant powered by a 29.8 kW (40 hp) Survol - de Coucy "Pygmée" engine.[1]
AV.222
Simplified AV.221 for homebuilding;first flight May 1992.


Specifications (AV.22S / AV.222)

Data from The World's Sailplanes:Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt:Les Planeurs du Monde Volume II[2] Nurflugel AV.22[3] Nurflugel AV.221[1] Nurflugel AV.222[4] Jane's World Sailplanes and Motor Gliders[5]

General characteristics

5.22 m (17 ft 2 in) - (AV.221)
5.22 m (17 ft 2 in) - (AV.222)
15.48 m (50 ft 9 in) - (AV.221)
16.4 m (53 ft 10 in) - (AV.222)
21.75 m2 (234 sq ft) - (AV.221)
23.05 m2 (248 sq ft) - (AV.222)
11 - (AV.221)
11.67 - (AV.222)
325 kg (717 lb) - (AV.221)
350 kg (772 lb) - (AV.222)
550 kg (1,213 lb) - (AV.222)

Performance

210 km/h (130 mph; 113 kn) - (AV.222)
74 km/h (46 mph; 40 kn) - (AV.222)
23 - (AV.221)
27 - (AV.222)
0.87 m/s (171.3 ft/min) - (AV.221)
0.9 m/s (177.2 ft/min) - (AV.222)
23.91 kg/m² (4.89 lb/sq ft) - (AV.222)

See also

Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
Related lists

List of gliders

References

Notes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fauvel aircraft.
  1. 1.0 1.1 Bordeaux, Christophe. "AV-221" (in French and English). France: http://www.nurflugel.com/Nurflugel/Fauvel/e_AV221.htm. Archived from the original on 17 September 2002. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  2. Shenstone, B.S.; K.G. Wilkinson (1963). The World's Sailplanes:Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt:Les Planeurs du Monde Volume II (in Primarily English with French and German) (1st ed.). Zurich: Organisation Scientifique et Technique Internationale du Vol a Voile (OSTIV) and Schweizer Aero-Revue. pp. 34–36.
  3. Bordeaux, Christophe. "AV-22" (in French and English). France: http://www.nurflugel.com/Nurflugel/Fauvel/e_AV22.htm. Archived from the original on 17 September 2002. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  4. Bordeaux, Christophe. "AV-22" (in French and English). France: http://www.nurflugel.com/Nurflugel/Fauvel/e_AV222.htm. Archived from the original on 17 September 2002. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  5. Coates, Andrew (1978). Jane's World Sailplanes and Motor Gliders. London: MacDonald and Jane's. p. 31.
  6. Manual: Rectimo 4 AR 1200 Engine (PDF). Flugplatz Dahlemer Binz, GERMANY: SPORTAVIA - Pützer Gmbh & Co KG. Oct 1967.

Bibliography