The Robin R 3000 is a French single-engined light aircraft designed and built by

Avions Robin Robin Aircraft is a French manufacturer of light aircraft. It succeeds to ''Centre-Est Aéronautique'', ''Avions Pierre Robin'' and Apex Aircraft (''Avions Robin'' and ''Robin Aviation''). History Centre-Est Aéronautique was formed by Pierre ...

, which entered production in the 1980s.

Development and design

In 1978, Avions Robin started design of a new range of all-metal single-engined light aircraft, with a wide range of variants planned with between two and four seats, various engines and a choice of fixed or retractable undercarriage.Donald 1997, p.777.R3140 heralds new Robin series
. ''

Flight International ''Flight International'' is a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", it is the world's oldes ...

'', 10 January 1981, p.50. The first prototype, a R.3140, a four-seater powered by a

Lycoming O-320 The Lycoming O-320 is a large family of naturally aspirated, air-cooled, four-cylinder, direct-drive engines produced by Lycoming Engines. They are commonly used on light aircraft such as the Cessna 172 and Piper Cherokee. Different variants ...

flew on 8 December 1980, with the second prototype flying on 2 June 1981.Taylor 1988, p.82. The R.3140 is a single-engined, low-wing

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 a fixed nosewheel undercarriage. Its wings have a similar

planform In technical drawing and computer graphics, a multiview projection is a technique of illustration by which a standardized series of orthographic two-dimensional pictures are constructed to represent the form of a three-dimensional object. Up to ...

to the earlier wooden Robins such as the DR400, with tapered outer wing sections. But unlike the cranked wings of these earlier aircraft, the wings of the R.3140 have constant dihedral. A forward sliding canopy covers a four-seat cockpit, while the aircraft is fitted with a distinctive

T-tail A T-tail is an empennage configuration in which the tailplane is mounted to the top of the fin. The arrangement looks like the capital letter T, hence the name. The T-tail differs from the standard configuration in which the tailplane is ...

.Barnett ''Flight International'' 12 March 1983, pp. 659–660.

Operational history

In 1983, a marketing agreement was reached between Avions Robin and

SOCATA SOCATA (later EADS Socata and DAHER-SOCATA) was a French producer of general aviation aircraft propelled by piston engines and turboprops, including business planes, small personal or training aircraft, as well as the production of aircraft stru ...

, the light aircraft subsidiary of

Aérospatiale Aérospatiale (), sometimes styled Aerospatiale, was a French state-owned aerospace manufacturer that built both civilian and military aircraft, rockets and satellites. It was originally known as Société nationale industrielle aérospatiale ( ...

to market the R 3000 series. This led to the planned higher power versions being abandoned, with engines limited to 119 kW (160 hp) or less to avoid competition with Socata's own TB series.Robin R3000/100 aircraft performance and specifications
Certified Aircraft Database. ''Pilotfriend''. Retrieved 28 November 2009.Blech and Lowe ''Flight International'' 4 May 1985, pp. 22–23. The R.3140 received its

type certificate 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 ...

on 13 October 1983.Lambert 1993, p.91. 32 had been built by the start of 1988, when the marketing agreement with SOCATA was stopped. Production continued after Robin was sold to Aéronautique Service (later to become

Apex Aircraft Apex Aircraft was a French company devoted to light aeroplane manufacture. It markets three ranges of light aircraft which it brands Robin, Alpha and CAP. The "Robin" range is the former Avions Robin DR400 4-seater aircraft of wooden construction, ...

) in mid-1988, with 76 delivered by 1998.Taylor 1999, p.421.

Variants

;R3000/100 :Two-seat version with 86 kW (115 hp)

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 ...

. ;R3000/120 :Three seat version powered by 86 kW (115 hp)

-L2A. Originally named R.3120. Production ended 1987. ;R3000/140 :Four seat version powered by 119 kW (160 hp)

-D2A engine. Originally named R.3140. ;R3000/160 :Four seater powered by 119 kW (160 hp)

Lycoming O-360 The Lycoming O-360 is a family of four-cylinder, direct-drive, horizontally opposed, air-cooled, piston aircraft engines. Engines in the O-360 series produce between 145 and 225 horsepower (109 to 168 kW), with the basic O-360 produc ...

-A3A engine.FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet NO. A66EU
1 Mar 2007

Specifications (R 3000/140)

Notes

References

*Barnett, Cliff.

. ''Flight International'', 12 March 1983. pp. 659–662. *Blech, Robin and Janice Lowe.

. ''Flight International'', 4 May 1985. pp. 20–24. *Donald, David (ed.).''The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft'' Leicester:Blitz, 1997. . *Taylor, John W. R.. ''Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1982-83''. Jane's Publishing Company. London. 1983. * Taylor, John W.R. ''Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1988-89''. Coulsdon, UK:Jane's Information Group, 1988. . * Lambert, Mark (ed.). ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1993-94''. Coulsdon, UK: Jane's Data Division, 1993. . * Taylor, Michael J.H. ''Brassey's World Aircraft & Systems Directory 1999/2000''. London:Brassey's, 1999. .

External links

Airliners.net
{{Robin aircraft 1980s French civil utility aircraft R 3000 T-tail aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1980