Fouga CM.8

CM.8

Role: High-performance sailplane
Manufacturer: Fouga
Designed by: Robert Castello
First flight: June 1949

The Fouga CM.8 or Castel-Mauboussin CM.8 was a French sailplane of the 1950s, most notable in retrospect due to its place in the development of the Fouga Magister jet trainer. The CM.8 was a single-seat aircraft of conventional sailplane design and designed for aerobatics. Two prototypes were built: the CM.8/13, with a 13-metre wingspan and a conventional empennage, and the CM.8/15 with a 15-metre wingspan and a V-tail.

The pleasing performance of these aircraft led to experiments with mounting a small turbojet on the dorsal fuselage, exhausting between the tail fins. The first of these flew on 14 July 1949, powered by a Turboméca Piméné. Designated the CM.8R this combined the 13-metre wing of the CM.8/13 with the tail of the CM.8/15. Two examples were built, and as experiments progressed in the 1950s, they were fitted with increasingly powerful engines, and increasingly shorter wingspans. A twin-fuselage example was also built as the CM.88 as an engine testbed

Specifications (CM.8/13)

General characteristics

Crew: One pilot
Length: 6.55 m (21 ft 6 in)
Wingspan: 13.00 m (42 ft 8 in)
Height: 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
Wing area: 13 m² (140 ft²)
Aspect ratio: 13
Empty weight: 247 kg (545 lb)
Gross weight: 330 kg (728 lb)

Performance

Rate of sink: 1.1 m/s (216 ft/min)

Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. pp. 239.
Planeurs et Avions

Fouga CM.8 Pictures

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Source: WikiPedia