The Normand Dube Aerocruiser 450 Turbo is a six-seat Canadian

amateur-built aircraft Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...

, designed by Normand Dube and produced by Aviation Normand Dube of

Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, Quebec Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada, 40 km northwest of the city of Montreal in the Thérèse-De Blainville Regional County Municipality, in the region of Laurentides. Its population was 14,990 during the census ...

. The aircraft is a development of the four-seat Norman Dube Aerocruiser Plus.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 94. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485XTacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 99. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015.

Design and development

The Aerocruiser 450 Turbo features a

strut-braced In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of strut, which act in ...

high-wing 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 ...

, a six-seat enclosed cabin accessed by doors, fixed

conventional landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

and a single engine in

tractor configuration In aviation, the term tractor configuration refers to an aircraft constructed in the standard configuration with its engine mounted with the propeller in front of it so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. Oppositely, the pusher c ...

. The aircraft is made with a welded

4130 steel 41xx steel is a family of SAE steel grades, as specified by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Alloying elements include chromium and molybdenum, and as a result these materials are often informally referred to as chromoly steel (common ...

tubing

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

and a riveted 2024 aluminum wing. Its span wing has an area of and mounts flaps. The engine used on the prototype is a

turbocharged In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

, geared and

fuel-injected Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines. All compr ...

Lycoming TIGO-541

four-stroke A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directio ...

powerplant.

Operational history

Reviewers Roy Beisswenger and Marino Boric described the design in a 2015 review as "a two-ton giant". By December 2018, one example, the prototype, had been registered with

Transport Canada Transport Canada (french: Transports Canada) is the department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of road, rail, marine and air transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transportati ...

. In December of 2014, the designer of the Aerocruiser 450 Turbo, Normand Dube, used his own aircraft to sabotage two of Hydro-Quebec's high-tension power lines, causing over 180,000 customers to lose electrical power. He was convicted for the attack in Quebec court in November 2018 and sentenced to seven years in prison for the attack. The aircraft used in the attack, the prototype Aerocruiser 450 Turbo, was seized as evidence.

Specifications (Aerocruiser 450 Turbo)

References

External links

* {{Uncertified aircraft developed in Canada Aerocruiser 450 Turbo 1990s Canadian sport aircraft 1990s Canadian civil utility aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft Homebuilt aircraft