The Piel CP-30 Emeraude (French: ''émeraude'' = "emerald") is an aircraft designed in France in the mid-1950s and widely built both by factories and homebuilders.

Design and development

The Emeraude is a 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 ...

and side-by-side seating for two. The aircraft uses wood construction with a laminated box spar with an elliptical trailing edge. The prototype was designed and built by

Claude Piel Claude Piel (15 January 1921 – 19 August 1982) was a notable French aircraft designer. Biography Piel was born in Paris, the son of an aeronautical carpenter. One of the best known French designers of light aircraft, over the years, Piel d ...

, who then licensed manufacture of the aircraft to a number of firms, most significantly Coopavia. These early production machines were similar to the prototype, but were fitted with more powerful engines. The first major revision of the design was the Super Emeraude, designed by Piel while working at Scintex in the early 1960s. It featured a strengthened airframe and cleaned-up aerodynamics, allowing it to be certified for

aerobatics Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glide ...

. Much of Scintex's Super Emeraude production was contracted out to CAARP, where the design eventually served as the basis for the

CAP-10 The Mudry CAP 10 is a two-seat training aerobatic aircraft first built in 1970 and still in production in 2007. The plane was developed from the Piel Super Emeraude and was born as the CP100. The name changed to CAP 10, CAP for 'Constructions Aér ...

. Emeraudes were also produced in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

(by Fairtravel as the Linnet) and in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

by General Aircraft ("Genair") of Virginia Airport as the Aeriel 2 with imported engines, the first aircraft to be manufactured entirely in that country.Taylor 1961, p. 125. The Linnet was modified by the Garland Aircraft Company, formed by P.A.T Garland and D.E. Bianchi, to meet British airworthiness requirements. The first aircraft (''G-APNS'') was built at

White Waltham White Waltham is a village and civil parish, west of Maidenhead, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is crossed briefly by the M4 motorway, which along with the Great Western Main Line and all other roa ...

and first flown on 1 September 1958 by Squadron Leader

Neville Duke Neville Frederick Duke, (11 January 1922 – 7 April 2007) was a British test pilot and fighter ace of the Second World War. He was credited with the destruction of 27 enemy aircraft. After the war, Duke was acknowledged as one of the world's fo ...

. Two more aircraft were planned but only one more was built by Garland-Bianchi in 1962. Between 1963 and 1965 three more aircraft were built with 100-hp

Rolls-Royce Continental O-200 The Continental C90 and O-200 are a family of air-cooled, horizontally opposed, four-cylinder, direct-drive aircraft engines of 201 in³ (3.29 L) displacement, producing between 90 and 100 horsepower (67 and 75 kW).''Federal Aviation Admini ...

-A engines. The last two aircraft had one-piece sliding cockpit canopies.

Operational history

Reviewers Roy Beisswenger and Marino Boric described the design in a 2015 review as "It is not quick to build, as the timber construction is rather complicated because of the complex forms, but in aesthetic terms it is undoubtedly a success."Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015–16'', page 101. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015.

Variants

*CP-30 – prototype with

Continental A65 The Continental O-170 engine is the collective military designation for a family of small aircraft engines, known under the company designation of A50, A65, A75 and A80. The line was designed and built by Continental Motors commencing in the 194 ...

engine (one built) *CP-301 **CP-301A – initial production version with

Continental C90 The Continental C90 and O-200 are a family of air-cooled, horizontally opposed, four-cylinder, direct-drive aircraft engines of 201 in³ (3.29 L) displacement, producing between 90 and 100 horsepower (67 and 75 kW).''Federal Aviation Admini ...

engine (118 built) **CP-301B – version by

Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

with sliding canopy, spatted undercarriage and other refinements (23 built) **CP-301C – version by Scintex with bubble canopy and revised cowling, wings and tail (84 built) **CP-301S – Smaragd version by Binder Aviatik KG / Schempp Hirth Continental C-90 engine, sliding canopy, upper part of rear fuselage in fibreglass including a dorsal fin and other refinements (25 built) *CP-304 – homebuilt version with

Continental C85 The Continental O-190 (Company designations C75 and C85) is a series of engines made by Continental Motors beginning in the 1940s. Of flat-four configuration, the engines produced 75 hp (56 kW) or 85 hp (63 kW) respectively ...

engine *CP-305 homebuilt version with

Lycoming O-235 The Lycoming O-235 is a family of four-cylinder, air-cooled, horizontally opposed piston aircraft engines that produce , derived from the earlier O-233 engine.Textron Lycoming: ''Operator's Manual, Textron Lycoming Aircraft Engines, Series O-23 ...

engine *CP-308 *CP-315 – this version was powered by a 78-kW (105-hp) Potez piston engine; only one CP-315 was built by Scintex Aviation. *CP-320 – Emeraude fuselage with Super Emeraude wingsBayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011–12'', page 96. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X **CP-320A – CP-320 with swept fin *CP-321 – CP-320 with Potez engine *CP-323 – CP-320 with 140–160 hp O-320 Lycoming engine **CP-323A – CP-323 with bubble canopy *CP-324 – Emeraude Club with JPX 2100 engine *CP-328A *CP-1310 – Super Emeraude by Scintex with

Continental O-200 The Continental C90 and O-200 are a family of air-cooled, horizontally opposed, four-cylinder, direct-drive aircraft engines of 201 in³ (3.29 L) displacement, producing between 90 and 100 horsepower (67 and 75 kW).''Federal Aviation Admini ...

(23 built) *CP-1315 – Super Emeraude with

Potez 4E The Potez 4E is a French air-cooled flat-four piston engine of the 1960s. It was unveiled at the 1959 Paris Air Show, entered production in 1960 and is rated at 78 kW (105 hp). It remained in production until 1965 when Potez abandone ...

engine (17 built) *CP-1320 – Saphir the Super Emeraude with cabin and wings from Piel Diamant design *CP-1330 – Super Emeraude with Lycoming O-235 engine

British production

:Garland-Bianchi Linnet – design based on the Piel Emeraude with a 90 hp Continental C-90-14F engine, two built. :Fairtravel Linnet – further production powered by a 100 hp

Rolls-Royce Continental O-200-A The Continental C90 and O-200 are a family of air-cooled, horizontally opposed, four-cylinder, direct-drive aircraft engines of 201 in³ (3.29 L) displacement, producing between 90 and 100 horsepower (67 and 75 kW).''Federal Aviation Admin ...

engines, three built.

Specifications (Scintex C.P. 301 C1)

References

* * * * * A.J. Jackson, ''British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 2'', 1974, Putnam, London, , page 308 and 513

External links

Cockpit picture of a Piel-Emeraude CP305

French Piel website forum
{{Piel aircraft 1950s French sport aircraft Piel aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Low-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aerobatic aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1954