__NOTOC__ The CAB GY-20 Minicab is a two-seat light aircraft designed by Yves Gardan and built in France by Construction Aeronautiques du Bearn (CAB)Jackson Vol II, 1988, p.377 in the years immediately following World War II. CAB was formed in 1948 by Yves Gardan, Max Lapoerte and M. Dubouts.

Design and development

The Minicab is a conventional, low-wing cantilever monoplane with fixed tailwheel undercarriage, powered by a Continental A65 engine. Its design was a scaled-down version of the aircraft that Yves Gardan had designed for SIPA, the SIPA S.90. The pilot and passenger sit side by side and access to the

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...

is via a one-piece perspex canopy that hinges forwards. Gardan's intention was to produce a low-cost, easy-to-fly, easy-to-maintain aircraft with the possibility of homebuilding.Ord-Hume, 2013, pp.204-205

Production

The prototype Minicab first flew at Pau-Idron on 1 February 1949 with Max Fischl at the controls. CAB manufactured a total of about 65 Minicabs when production ended in 1955.Oldtimer-Homepage der Segel- und Motorfluggruppe Veterano, Birrfeld
/ref> The rights for the plans were then acquired by Arthur Ord-Hume in the United Kingdom who anglicised the drawings and made various minor improvements for home-builders. A large number were completed by amateur builders in the United Kingdom, France and other countries around the world. There is about 20 Minicabs currently active in the United Kingdom, many of which were built (or rebuilt) to the JB.01 standard, developed by M. Jean Barritault, usually with a Continental C90 engine. Falconar sold plans for a tricycle gear homebuilt model named the Minihawk. Another development is the K&S or Squarecraft Cavalier which is a redesigned Minicab in several versions with plans translated from French to English and modified by Stan Mcleod. The plans were marketed by K&S Aircraft of Calgary, Alberta and later MacFam.Jackson Vol III, 1988, p.442

Operational history

Type certification was obtained in mid-April 1949. By the end of 1950, a Minicab had won the ''

Coupe de Vitesse de Deauville A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...

'' (Deauville Cup for speed), and the ''

Grand Prix Aérien de Vichy Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commu ...

'' (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 it attained the world airspeed record for its class over a 2,000 km circuit, with an average speed of (183 km/h, 114 mph). One Minicab, ''G-AWEP'', was flown by the ex-RAF fighter pilot Roland Beamont who was a test pilot at BAC Samlesbury. He made its first flight in 1969 and wrote that "the Minicab felt light and very responsive... landing required the delicate touch of a Spitfire pilot. In fact the overall control harmony is not dissimilar to that classic aeroplane".Beamont, 1980, p.153

Variants

;GY-20 Minicab:CAB first production model. ;GY-201 Minicab:refined version with increased fuel capacity, reduced wingspan, strengthened

undercarriage Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include: *The landing gear of an aircraft. *The ch ...

, split flaps, and castoring tailwheel. CAB final production model and also principal homebuilt version. ;Barritault JB.01 Minicab:built to the modified design of Jean Barritault. ;Falconar Hawk:Minicabs built to plans supplied by Falconar ;Falconar MiniHawk:plans-built design from Falconar with tricycle undercarriage. ;MacFam Cavalier (K&S or Squarecraft Cavalier):Redesigned in several versions principally with tricycle and swept tail surfaces, and strengthened for a more powerful engine.

Specifications (GY-20)

References