__NOTOC__ The CAB GY-20 Minicab is a two-seat light aircraft designed by Yves Gardan and built in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

by Construction Aeronautiques du Bearn (CAB)Jackson Vol II, 1988, p.377 in the years immediately following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. CAB was formed in 1948 by Yves Gardan, Max Lapoerte and M. Dubouts.

Design and development

The Minicab is a conventional, low-wing

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

with fixed

tailwheel undercarriage Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynami ...

, powered by a Continental A65 engine. Its design was a scaled-down version of the aircraft that Yves Gardan had designed for

SIPA Sipa (literally, "kick") is the Philippines' traditional native sport which predates the Spanish rule. The game is related to Sepak Takraw. Similar games include Footbag net, Footvolley, Bossaball and Jianzi. The game is both played by two t ...

, the

SIPA S.90 The SIPA S.90 was a French-built two-seat light touring and Trainer (aircraft), training aircraft of the 1940s and 1950s. Design The SIPA S.90 was designed by Yves Gardan for the Société Industrielle Pour l’Aéronautique (SIPA). The prototyp ...

. 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 A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). It confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production, is in compliance with applica ...

was obtained in mid-April 1949. 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 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 Wing Commander Roland Prosper "Bee" Beamont, (10 August 1920 – 19 November 2001) was a British fighter pilot for the Royal Air Force (RAF) and an experimental test pilot during and after the Second World War. He was the first British pilot to ...

who was a test pilot at BAC

Samlesbury Samlesbury () is a village and civil parish in South Ribble, Lancashire, England. Samlesbury Hall, a historic house, is in the village, as is Samlesbury Aerodrome and a large modern brewery owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev. The population at the ...

. 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

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * * * * *
AviaFrance CAB GY-20 Minicab

Canal Blog "Le Minicab"

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070928082211/http://www.musee-aviation-angers.com/avions.php?sid=44 Musée Régional de l'Air d'Angers-Marcé
The Rochester GYAT Flying Group
{{Gardan aircraft 1940s French civil utility aircraft Homebuilt aircraft

Minicab Taxicabs are regulated throughout the United Kingdom, but the regulation of taxicabs in London is especially rigorous with regard to mechanical integrity and driver knowledge. An official report observed that: "Little however is known about ...