The CMC Leopard was a British light personal

business jet A business jet, private jet, or bizjet is a jet aircraft designed for transporting small groups of people, typically business executives and high-ranking coworker, associates. Business jets are generally designed for faster air travel and more ...

developed in the 1980s. Two

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...

s were built and flown, but the type was never put into production.

Design and development

The Leopard was a twin-jet, mid-wing

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

composite construction Composite construction is a generic term to describe any building construction involving multiple dissimilar materials. Composite construction is often used in building aircraft, watercraft, and building construction. There are several reasons to ...

with all-swept flying surfaces and

jet fighter Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the air ...

-like styling, apart from the podded engines, mounted on each side of the rear fuselage. The entire

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

hinged forward to allow access to the four reclining seats. A

mockup In manufacturing and design, a mockup, or mock-up, is a scale or full-size model of a design or device, used for teaching, demonstration, design evaluation, promotion, and other purposes. A mockup may be a ''prototype'' if it provides at lea ...

was completed in 1982, leading to a prototype ( registration ) built by the Designability company. The prototype first flew late in 1988. Development suffered a major setback when the engine manufacturer,

Noel Penny Turbines Noel Penny Turbines was a British company that produced small jet engines, most notably the Noel Penny NPT301. It was established in Coventry in 1972 by Noel Penny, a former designer and chief engineer from Rover Gas Turbines in Solihull. The co ...

, ceased business, leading to the grounding of the prototype. A second, refined prototype (registration ) was then constructed to use

Williams International Williams International is an American manufacturer of small gas turbine engines based in Pontiac, Michigan, United States. It produces jet engines for cruise missiles and small jet aircraft. History Dr. Sam B. Williams worked at Chrysler on ...

turbofan A turbofan or fanjet is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used in aircraft engine, aircraft propulsion. The word "turbofan" is a combination of references to the preceding generation engine technology of the turbojet and the add ...

s. This aircraft also incorporated a pressurised cabin, revised

undercarriage Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include: *The landing gear of an aircraft. *The ch ...

, and a generally strengthened airframe. This second prototype was unveiled at the 1996

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and first flew on 9 April 1997. The project never progressed beyond the two aircraft built, later redesignated Leopard Four to distinguish them from a six-seat variant proposed in 2001, the Leopard Six. The EJ22 engine could no longer be used due to exclusive deal between Williams and Eclipse, resulting in the Six being proposed to make use of the larger FJ33. Chief aircraft designer and CMC chairman Ian Chichester-Miles died in 2009, bringing the enterprise to an end.

Aircraft on display

Until 2007, both prototype Leopards, G-BKRL and G-BRNM, were on display at the

Bournemouth Aviation Museum The Bournemouth Aviation Museum is an aviation museum located next to Bournemouth International Airport, near the village of Hurn in Christchurch, England. It houses a number of aircraft, aero engines, cockpits, and a limited number of ground ...

. With the museum temporary closure and relocation in 2008, only the former was retained and moved to the new site, while G-BRNM was acquired by the

Midland Air Museum The Midland Air Museum (MAM) is situated just outside the village of Baginton in Warwickshire, England, and is adjacent to Coventry Airport. The museum includes the ''Sir Frank Whittle Jet Heritage Centre'' (named after the local aviation pi ...

at Coventry Airport.

Specifications (second prototype)

References

* * {{Portalbar, England, Transport Chichester-Miles aircraft 1980s British business aircraft Abandoned civil aircraft projects of the United Kingdom Twinjets Mid-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1988