The APEV Pouchel Light () is a French amateur-built aircraft, designed by Daniel Dalby and produced by APEV of Peynier. The aircraft is supplied as plans or as a kit for amateur construction.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 93. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485XTacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 97. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015.

Design and development

The Pouchel Light replaced the Pouchel II in production, which in turn replaced the original APEV Pouchel. The original Pouchel was constructed using three commercially available

aluminium Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

ladders, hence APEV is the Association pour la Promotion des Echelles Volantes, or in English, Association for the Promotion of Flying Ladders. Later models were forced to move to rectangular aluminium tubing when the ladder manufacturer grew concerned about liability. The Pouchel Light is a re-designed, lighter version of the Pouchel II that it replaces in production, with an empty weight of . The Pouchel series are all derivatives of the classic 1930s

Henri Mignet Henri Mignet (19 October 1893 – 31 August 1965) was a French radio engineer who became well known as an aircraft designer and builder.Ellis & Jones (1990)Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', page 142. Werner & Werner Corp, Santa Mon ...

-designed Mignet Pou-du-Ciel (Flying Flea). The Pouchel Light features a cantilever rear wing with a strut-braced parasol front wing, a single-seat open cockpit without a windshield, fixed

conventional landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft Landing gear, undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the Center of gravity of an aircraft, center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail ...

and a single engine in tractor configuration. The aircraft is made from bolted-together

tubing. The wings are the same as those used on the Scoutchel and are built around a single aluminium spar, with

ribs The rib cage or thoracic cage is an endoskeletal enclosure in the thorax of most vertebrates that comprises the ribs, vertebral column and sternum, which protect the vital organs of the thoracic cavity, such as the heart, lungs and great vessels ...

made from extruded

polystyrene Polystyrene (PS) is a synthetic polymer made from monomers of the aromatic hydrocarbon styrene. Polystyrene can be solid or foamed. General-purpose polystyrene is clear, hard, and brittle. It is an inexpensive resin per unit weight. It i ...

with

plywood Plywood is a composite material manufactured from thin layers, or "plies", of wood veneer that have been stacked and glued together. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured boards, which include plywood, medium-density fibreboa ...

bracing, all bonded to

fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass c ...

leading In typography, leading ( ) is the space between adjacent lines of type; the exact definition varies. In hand typesetting, leading is the thin strips of lead (or aluminium) that were inserted between lines of type in the composing stick to incre ...

and

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. ...

s, covered in Dacron sailcloth. Its span front wing and span rear have a combined area of and both employ NACA 23112

airfoil An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is a streamlined body that is capable of generating significantly more Lift (force), lift than Drag (physics), drag. Wings, sails and propeller blades are examples of airfoils. Foil (fl ...

s. Recommended engines are the Rotax 377 or the Rotax 447

two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes of the piston, one up and one down, in one revolution of the crankshaft in contrast to a four-stroke engine which re ...

powerplants.

Specifications (Pouchel Light)

References

External links

Official website
{{APEV aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Pouchel Light Tandem-wing aircraft