The General Aircraft GAL.33 Cagnet was a

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light

trainer aircraft A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristi ...

General Aircraft Ltd General Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer from its formation in 1931 to amalgamation with Blackburn Aircraft in 1949 to become Blackburn and General. Its main products were military gliders and light transport aircraft. His ...

which flew from 1939 to 1941. Only one example was constructed.

Design

The Cagnet was a two-seat

pusher propeller In an aircraft with a pusher configuration (as opposed to a tractor configuration), the propeller(s) are mounted behind their respective engine(s). Since a pusher propeller is mounted behind the engine, the drive shaft is in compression in nor ...

aircraft. The side-by-side seating was in an open cockpit just ahead of the strut-mounted inline engine. The low

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 ...

wings featured a gull shape, with

twin boom A twin-boom aircraft is characterised by two longitudinal booms (extended nacelle-like bodies). The booms may contain ancillary items such as fuel tanks and/or provide a supporting structure for other items. Typically, twin tailbooms support ...

s mounted, one at each wing's bend point. A horizontal stabilizer and elevator ran between twin

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...

s with

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

s, one at the end of each boom. The fixed landing gear used a nosewheel. First flight was in 1939; the aircraft bore the

serial number A serial number is a unique identifier assigned incrementally or sequentially to an item, to ''uniquely'' identify it. Serial numbers need not be strictly numerical. They may contain letters and other typographical symbols, or may consist enti ...

''T46''. General Aircraft proposed the Cagnet as a basic trainer. It was tested as a Flying Observation post trainer by the Royal School of Army Co-operation from February through June 1940 (with military

''W7646''). After that testing, it underwent various other tests. Its final flight was in 1941. The engine was a Blackburn Cirrus Minor, which gave a cruising speed of 100 mph (160 km/h).

Specifications (Cagnet)

References

General Aircraft Cagnet
– British Aircraft of World War II {{GAL aircraft 1930s British military trainer aircraft

Cygnet A cygnet is a young swan. Cygnet may also refer to: Places *Cygnet Island, a small islet in south-eastern Australia *Cygnet, Ohio, a village in the United States *Cygnet River, South Australia, a locality on Kangaroo Island *Cygnet, Tasmania, a ...

Single-engined pusher aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1939