Fouga CM.8
French Sailplane
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 CM.170 Magister jet trainer.
Design and development
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 Turbomeca 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.
Variants
Fouga CM.8
Fouga CM.8 Acro
Fouga CM.8/13
Fouga CM.8/15
Fouga CM.8/13 Sylphe démotorisé
Fouga CM.8 R13 Cyclone
Fouga CM.8 R13 Sylphe II
Fouga CM.8 R13 Sylphe III
Fouga CM.8 R9.8 Cyclope I
Fouga CM.8 R9.8 Cyclope II
Fouga CM.8 R8.3 Midget
Version intended for air racing, powered by 264 lbf (1.17 kN) Turbomeca Palas engine, with fuselage of Cyclope, and wings of reduced span (7.07 m (23 feet 2 inches)) and area 8.3 m2 (89 sq ft). Small production series (eight – twelve) built.
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