The SFCA Lignel 46 Coach was a French four seat touring aircraft built soon after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It was SFCA's last design, with two prototypes built, flown and raced but engine supply problems prevented production.

Design and development

The Lignel 46 was the last aircraft produced by

Société Française de Construction Aéronautique The ''Société Française de Construction Aéronautique'' (SFCA) was an aircraft manufacturing company based in Buc, France. History The ''Société Française de Construction Aéronautique'' was established on the 24 July 1934 by André Mail ...

(SFCA). It was a

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 ...

low 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 ...

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 ...

, seating four in two side-by-side rows under a multipart glazed

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

. The two main transparencies opened away from each other on vertical, forward hinges for cabin access. There was a Mathis G8R or Mathis G8 20 inverted

V-8 engine A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder (engine), cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V engine, V configuration. The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette_(manuf ...

, driving an automatic

variable pitch propeller In marine propulsion, a variable-pitch propeller is a type of propeller with blades that can be rotated around their long axis to change the blade pitch. Reversible propellers—those where the pitch can be set to negative values—can also ...

in the nose; behind the cabin the

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 ...

tapered linearly from the full cabin depth. The Lignel 46 was a wooden aircraft and its

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

fuselage was built using a composite shell composed of perforated

cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

sheets between inner and outer shaped

plywood Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...

layers, a method patented by Jean Broudeau and one that SFCA had explored before World War II. The wings of the Lignel 46 were broadly similar to those of the SFCA Lignel 20. The central and outer panels were distinguished by the lack of dihedral on the former; both had straight, unswept

leading edge The leading edge of an airfoil surface such as a wing is its foremost edge and is therefore the part which first meets the oncoming air.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 305. Aviation Supplies & Academics, ...

s but the

trailing edge The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge meets.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 521. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. ...

of the outer panels was curved, producing a roughly elliptical plan. Like the Lignel 20 the 46 had somewhat inset

aileron An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...

s and split flaps. The Lignel 46 also had unusual, very small fixed

leading edge slot A leading-edge slot is a fixed aerodynamic feature of the wing of some aircraft to reduce the stall speed and promote good low-speed handling qualities. A leading-edge slot is a spanwise gap in each wing, allowing air to flow from below the wing ...

s at the

wing tip A wing tip (or wingtip) is the part of the wing that is most distant from the fuselage of a fixed-wing aircraft. Because the wing tip shape influences the size and drag of the wingtip vortices, tip design has produced a diversity of sha ...

s. Apart from its variable incidence

tailplane A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplane ...

, mounted at mid-height on the fuselage, the

empennage The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third ed ...

was conventional, with a rounded

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 ...

and

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 ...

. It had a fixed, tailwheel

undercarriage Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include: *The landing gear of an aircraft. *The ch ...

with both landing legs and wheels in

aircraft fairing An aircraft fairing is a structure whose primary function is to produce a smooth outline and reduce drag.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, Third Edition'', page 206. Aviation Supplies & Academics Inc, Newcastle Washington, 1997. ...

s. The SFCA Lignel 46 first flew on 13 August 1947. Two were completed. One of them was on display at the 18th Paris Aeronautical Salon which opened on 29 May 1949, by which time it had done significant flying. Mathis went out of business in 1950 and SFCA decided not to re-engine the Type 46, though the two prototypes remained active until at least 1951.

Operational history

In its short operational life the Lignal 46 took part in several major competitions. Its best result by far was in 1948, when Jean Lignel took it to first place from a field of over fifty aircraft contesting the Italian Rally. In the summer of 1949 one flew in the Grand Prix de

Meaux Meaux () is a commune on the river Marne in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is east-northeast of the centre of Paris. Meaux is, with Provins, Torcy and Fontainebleau, ...

, though without distinction. The following year the second prototype ''F-BCFS'' participated in the South Coast race in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, flown by its designer, finishing well down the field despite recording a speed of . In 1951 Louis Clément flew the first prototype ''F-BCZJ'' in the same race, finishing in mid-field.

Specifications

References

{{SFCA aircraft 1940s French sport aircraft SFCA aircraft Low-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1947