The aircraft was finally ready by 1973. Colomban dubbed his unique aircraft the Cri-Cri, French for "cricket", after the nickname of his daughter. With an empty weight of just 139 lb (63 kg), the remarkable plane carries a single pilot in a bubble canopy that gives excellent visibility. The tiny Cri-Cri has a wingspan of 16.1 ft (4.9 m) and is a mere 12.83 ft (3.9 m) in length. The prototype, known as the MC10, made its maiden flight on 19 July 1973 and appeared at the National Amateur Constructors Meeting soon thereafter.
While the Cri-Cri's small size and low cost made it attractive, it was the plane's exceptional aerobatic performance that quickly won praise from those who observed its demonstration flights during the 1970s. The diminutive Cri-Cri is capable of a maximum speed up to 125 mph (200 km/h) and a 360ฐ/second roll rate. The amateur homebuilt market rapidly bought up plans and manuals to build their own, but many were frustrated by manufacturing problems as well as difficulties locating and tuning the engines. It took another decade for these issues to be completely resolved, but Colomban eventually began issuing assembly instructions and operating manuals to his growing market.
ฝากข้อความหลังไมค์
Rss Feed
ผู้ติดตามบล็อก : 1 คน [