Piel CP.500

CP.500
Role utility aircraft
National origin France
Designer Claude Piel
Status Abandoned project



The Piel CP.500 was a light aircraft of unusual configuration designed in France[1] in the 1970s with the intention of marketing it for homebuilding.[2][3] This did not transpire, however, and no prototype was actually built. It was a tandem wing design,[3][4] somewhat reminiscent of the Mignet Pou-du-Ciel but considerably larger.[2] Also, unlike the Pou-du-Ciel's unusual control system, the CP.500's pitch and roll control was to come from more conventional elevons mounted on the rear wing.[2] The rear wing was also to carry endplate-style fins and rudders.[2] Twin engines were to be mounted in push-pull fashion at the nose and tail ends of the fuselage, with the aircraft capable of single-engine operation in case of emergency.[2] Two seats were to be provided at the front of the fully enclosed cabin, with a bench seat for three passengers behind them, plus an optional seat for a sixth occupant behind this.[2] The undercarriage was to be of fixed, tricycle configuration.[2] Construction was originally planned to be of wood, with engine cowlings and wingtips of composite construction. However, as development progressed, Piel considered metal as the main construction material.[2]

Specifications (as designed)

Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1977–78, p.497

General characteristics

Performance


Notes

  1. ↑ Taylor 1989, p.726
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1977–78, p.497
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Roskam 1997, p.29
  4. ↑ Gunston 1993, p.238

References

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