Robin Aircraft is a French manufacturer of

light aircraft A light aircraft is an aircraft that has a maximum gross takeoff weight of or less.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 308. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. Light aircraft are used as utility aircraft co ...

. It succeeds to ''Centre-Est Aéronautique'', ''Avions Pierre Robin'' and

Apex Aircraft Apex Aircraft was a French company devoted to light aeroplane manufacture. It markets three ranges of light aircraft which it brands Robin, Alpha and CAP. The "Robin" range is the former Avions Robin DR400 4-seater aircraft of wooden construction ...

(''Avions Robin'' and ''Robin Aviation'').

History

Centre-Est Aéronautique was formed by Pierre Robin and Jean Délémontez, the principal designer of Jodel aircraft, in October 1957. It began manufacturing aircraft at Darois, near

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlie ...

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 ...

. The first aircraft was designed by Robin and Délémontez. It was based on the D10, a four-seater designed by Édouard Joly and Délémontez at Jodel, that was shelved when work on the Jodel D11 became more urgent. In collaboration with Robin it became the 'Jodel Robin'. It later became the DR100 model (Jodel's models all had D followed by a number). Robin and Délémontez continued to upgrade the design between 1957 and 1972. The DR100 range was succeeded by the DR200 range. Production continued in November 1970 under the name Avions Pierre Robin.

The Robin DR400 first flew in 1972 and is still in production. It has a tricycle undercarriage and can carry 4 people. The DR aircraft have the 'cranked wing' configuration, in which the dihedral angle of the outer wing is much greater than the inboard, a configuration which they share with Jodel aircraft. The best known today is the popular DR400, which is a wooden sport monoplane, conceived by Pierre Robin and Jean Délémontez. The

Robin HR200 Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') **Bush-robin **Forest ro ...

had a different designer
Chris Heintz
and is fully metallic unlike the wooden DR series. It is a light aerobatic aircraft aimed at flight training. The Robin R2000 series was developed from the HR200 and is produced as the

Alpha 2000 The Alpha Aviation Alpha 2000 is a two-seat, all-metal training and general aviation aircraft, designed by Chris Heintz and built in Hamilton, New Zealand. It continues the successful French Apex Aircraft's Robin R2000 series acquired upon Apex ...

by Alpha Aviation in

Hamilton, New Zealand Hamilton ( mi, Kirikiriroa) is an inland city in the North Island of New Zealand. Located on the banks of the Waikato River, it is the seat and most populous city of the Waikato region. With a territorial population of , it is the country's ...

since 2004. Avions Pierre Robin was acquired by Apex Aircraft of France in 1988. Aircraft continued to be manufactured at Darois under the names ''Avions Robin'' and ''Robin Aviation''. By 2008 about half of the production were fitted with diesel engines supplied by Thielert. Thielert went into liquidation because of alleged fraud, cutting off the engine supply to Apex Aircraft. Thielert were taken over by a Receiver and the price of engines and parts was increased. This pushed the price of finished aircraft too high for the market to bear with the result that Apex Aircraft went into liquidation in 2008. CEAPR, based in the same premises at Darois and responsible for making the components for Apex Aircraft, continued to supply parts. Aircraft manufacturing resumed in 2012 under the name Robin Aircraft. (All

type certificate A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). It confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production, is in compliance with applic ...

s are held by CEAPR.) The company offers the DR401 aircraft, a DR400 upgraded with a

glass cockpit A glass cockpit is an aircraft cockpit that features electronic (digital) flight instrument displays, typically large LCD screens, rather than the traditional style of analog dials and gauges. While a traditional cockpit relies on numerous ...

, larger cockpit, electric trim and flaps and available with several engine options. The company also offers the aerobatic aircraft CAP 10C NG, an updated version of the

Mudry CAP 10 The Mudry CAP 10 is a two-seat training aerobatic aircraft first built in 1970 and still in production in 2007. The plane was developed from the Piel Super Emeraude and was born as the CP100. The name changed to CAP 10, CAP for 'Constructions Aér ...

.CAP 10 relaunched by CEAPR as 10C NG
/ref> The type certificate was transferred to CEAPR in 2015 and the first aircraft was delivered in 2021.

Aircraft

The new DR401, with a wider cabin and electric flaps and trim, was introduced at AERO Friedrichshafen on 9 April 2014. * Robin ATL * CAP 10C NG * Robin DR100 * Robin DR200 * Robin DR300 * Robin DR400 * Robin HR100 *

* Robin R1000 * Robin R2000 *

Robin R3000 The Robin R 3000 is a French single-engined light aircraft designed and built by Avions Robin, which entered production in the 1980s. Development and design In 1978, Avions Robin started design of a new range of all-metal single-engined light a ...

Robin X4 The Robin X4 was an Experimental aircraft, experimental France, French four-seat light aircraft designed and built by Avions Robin to test different wing configurations and construction materials. The X4 was a low-wing monoplane with a tricycle lan ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

*
Alpha Aviation

{{Authority control Aircraft manufacturers of France Companies based in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté