The Fouga CM.8 or Castel-Mauboussin CM.8 was a French sailplane of the 1950s, most notable in retrospect due to its place in the development of the
Fouga CM.170 Magister
The Fouga CM.170 Magister is a 1950s French two-seat jet trainer aircraft that was developed and manufactured by French aircraft manufacturer ''Établissements Fouga & Cie''. Easily recognizable by its V-tail, almost 1,000 have been built in Fr ...
jet trainer.
Design and development
The CM.8 was a single-seat aircraft of conventional sailplane design and designed for aerobatics. Two prototypes were built: the CM.8/13, with a 13-metre wingspan and a conventional empennage, and the CM.8/15 with a 15-metre wingspan and a
V-tail
The V-tail or ''Vee-tail'' (sometimes called a butterfly tail or Rudlicki's V-tailGudmundsson S. (2013). "General Aviation Aircraft Design: Applied Methods and Procedures" (Reprint). Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 489. , 9780123973290) of an aircraft ...
.
The pleasing performance of these aircraft led to experiments with mounting a small turbojet on the dorsal fuselage, exhausting between the tail fins. The first of these flew on 14 July 1949, powered by a
Turbomeca Piméné
The Turbomeca Piméné was a small French turbojet engine produced by Turbomeca in the early 1950s.Gunston 1989, p. 170.
First shown at the 1949 Paris Air Show this engine passed official type tests in 1950. . Designated the CM.8R this combined the 13-metre wing of the CM.8/13 with the tail of the CM.8/15. Two examples were built, and as experiments progressed in the 1950s, they were fitted with increasingly powerful engines, and increasingly shorter wingspans. A twin-fuselage example was also built as the
CM.88 as an engine testbed.
Variants
;Fouga CM.8
;Fouga CM.8 Acro
;Fouga CM.8/13
;Fouga CM.8/15
;Fouga CM.8/13 Sylphe démotorisé
;Fouga CM.8 R13 Cyclone
;Fouga CM.8 R13 Sylphe II
;Fouga CM.8 R13 Sylphe III
;Fouga CM.8 R9.8 Cyclope I
;Fouga CM.8 R9.8 Cyclope II
;Fouga CM.8 R8.3 Midget: Version intended for
air racing
Air racing is a type of motorsport that involves airplanes or other types of aircraft that compete over a fixed course, with the winner either returning the shortest time, the one to complete it with the most points, or to come closest to a prev ...
, powered by
Turbomeca Palas
The Turbomeca Palas is a diminutive centrifugal flow turbojet engine used to power light aircraft. An enlargement of the Turbomeca Piméné, the Palas was designed in 1950 by the French manufacturer Société Turbomeca,Gunston 1989, p. 169. a ...
engine, with fuselage of Cyclope, and wings of reduced span () and area . Small production series (eight – twelve) built.
Specifications (CM.8/13)
See also
References
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Planeurs et Avions
{{Fouga aircraft
1940s French sailplanes
CM.8
Glider aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1949
V-tail aircraft