The CAP Aviation CAP-23x family is a family of

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

designed for competition

aerobatics Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aeroplane" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and gl ...

. The CAP 230 airframe was a direct development of the CAP 21 competition single seater strengthened to cope with a 6-cylinder Lycoming AEIO-540 engine instead of the original 4-cylinder Lycoming AEIO-360.

Design and development

The CAP 230 was primarily developed in 1985 for the French Air Force. From the basic CAP 21 airframe, trailing edge apex triangular surfaces were added to the basic

trapezoidal wing In aeronautics, a trapezoidal wing is a straight-edged and tapered wing planform. It may have any aspect ratio and may or may not be swept.G. Dimitriadis; ''Aircraft Design'Lecture 2: Aerodynamics Université de Liège. (retrieved 30 November 2 ...

and a full wooden construction. It withstood +10/-10 G-forces, had a 270 degrees/second roll rate and a top speed of 400 km/h. Between 1986-1990 this was the mount of the

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...

aerobatics team (French: ''Equipe de Voltige de l'Armée de l'Air''). The CAP 231 was developed in 1990. The fuselage design remained unchanged and only leading edge triangular apex surfaces were added to reduce buffeting during high G pullups. The CAP 231 was world champion in 1990. Between 1990-1998 this was the mount of the

aerobatics team. To increase performance, in 1991, a

carbon-fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

wing taken from an EXTRA 260 (thus the -EX name) was adapted to a few CAP 231 airframes. The CAP 231EX evolved in 1994. While the fuselage construction retained wood, a

wing was specially designed for durability and light weight. The design has won the World Championships in 1998, 2000 and 2007, as well as a number of other national-level competitions. It has a roll rate of 420° per second and a climb rate of nearly 3,300 feet per minute. The CAP 232 just like the -230 and -231/-231EX were slightly modified to strengthen the fuselage structure after a fatal accident in 2005 which grounded them for a full year. Fuselage rib n°2 holding the landing gear and the wing spar has been reinforced externally and internally. The planes are now back to competition and came second (individual with a -231EX), sixth with a -232, and first team at the WAC 2007. In the years 1999-2005, examples were flown by the French Air Force aerobatics team.

Operators

Military

;: 8 aircraft, flown by the

Royal Moroccan Air Force The Royal Moroccan Air Force (; ; ) is the air force of the Moroccan Armed Forces. History The Moroccan air force was formed on 14 May 1956 as the Sherifian Royal Aviation (). Its modern installations and bases were inherited from France (Bass ...

air display team Marche Verte ;: The

aerobatic team owned CAP 230, 231 and 232

Civilian

Airclubs and privates own planes of all subtypes.

Specifications (CAP 231)

References

External links

{{Robin aircraft 1990s French sport aircraft Low-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft CAP 230 Aerobatic aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1997 Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear Single-engined piston aircraft