The Starck AS-57 is a single engine low wing monoplane seating two in

side-by-side configuration Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...

. It was designed and built in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

just 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 ...

; only ten were produced, one of which was still active in 2012.

Design and development

Like the earlier Starck A.S. 70 Jac single seat light aircraft, the AS-57 was an all wooden machine. The two types were similar in layout, apart from the accommodation, though the AS-57 was larger all round. The wings were straight tapered in plan, with rounded tips. The earliest AS-57 had full span

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. ...

control surfaces which could be lowered as flaps and operated differentially at the same time as

ailerons 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 Flight dynamics, roll (or ...

, though one later specimen at least had ailerons outboard and separate flaps inboard.

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 are fitted. The

seating is enclosed under a

bubble canopy A bubble canopy is an aircraft canopy constructed without bracing, for the purpose of providing a wider unobstructed field of view to the pilot, often providing 360° all-round visibility. The designs of bubble canopies can drastically vary; so ...

which has transparent access panels. At the rear the canopy line drops to the upper

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 ...

to improve the pilot's view aft. The fuselage tapers back to the tail unit, where the

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 ...

is mounted just above the upper fuselage surface, braced from below with a pair of

strut A strut is a structural component commonly found in engineering, aeronautics, architecture and anatomy. Struts generally work by resisting longitudinal compression, but they may also serve in tension. Human anatomy Part of the functionality o ...

s and placed well forward of the straight

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, ...

of the

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 ...

. The fin has a curved top which merges into a full, rounded

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 ...

. The AS-57 has a fixed

conventional undercarriage 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 ...

; some have had

wheel fairings 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. ...

, others not. There is a small tailwheel. Various engines have been fitted; the one remaining active aircraft has a 78 kW (105 hp)

Walter Minor 4-III The Walter Minor is a family of four- and six-cylinder inverted inline air-cooled engines, developed under auspices of ing. Šimůnek and used on light aircraft. First produced in 1929, the Minor engines' family has an advanced design for the p ...

but another had a Regnier 67 kW (90 hp) 4E.0, both four cylinder, inverted, air-cooled inlines. The AS-57 flew for the first time on 4 April 1946.

Operational history

An AS-57 was on view at the 1949 Paris Salon. The general later verdict on the AS-57 was that its appearance was pleasing and its characteristics "honest", but its performance unexceptional. In 2010 only one AS-57, powered by a Walter Minor engine, remained on the French civil aircraft register. Another AS-57 is at the Musée Régional de l'Air at

Angers Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the prov ...

, viewable though not on public display.

Specifications (Walter Minor engine)

References

{{Starck aircraft 1940s French sport aircraft Low-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1946