The SIPA S.300 was a French turbojet powered

basic trainer A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristic ...

, claimed to be the first of its kind anywhere. Only one was built, the prototype crashing after a year's development.

Design and development

The SIPA S.300 was claimed by its manufacturer to be the first jet aircraft designed from scratch as an ''ab initio'' trainer, though it had a possible alternative role as a liaison aircraft. It was an all-metal

low wing 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 config ...

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 ...

, with a wing sharing outer panels with the slightly earlier S.200 Minijet. The square tipped wing was straight edged, with slight sweep on the leading edge but none on the rear. Flaps stretched from the ailerons to the wing root on the trailing edge and there were

hydraulic Hydraulics () is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counterpart of pneumatics, which concer ...

ally driven air brakes of the circular plate type. Pupil and instructor sat in tandem under a fully glazed, continuous but multiframed

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 ...

, each with their own sideways opening access. The rear cockpit was placed between two small, overwing air intakes for the 1.57 kN (350 lbf)

Turbomeca Palas The Turbomeca Palas is a diminutive centrifugal force, centrifugal flow turbojet engine used to power light aircraft. An enlargement of the Turbomeca Piméné, the Palas was designed in 1950 by the French manufacturer Turbomeca, Société Turbo ...

turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...

, the exhaust from which exited

ventral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

ly well behind the trailing edge. Aft of the exhaust the underside of the fuselage tapered upwards to the tail. The tapered tailplane was placed on top of the fuselage and carried

horn balanced Horn may refer to: Common uses * Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide ** Horn antenna ** Horn loudspeaker ** Vehicle horn ** Train horn *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals * Horn (instrument), a family o ...

elevators An elevator (American English) or lift (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive tracti ...

; the

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. F ...

, with a

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage The fus ...

fillet Fillet may refer to: *Annulet (architecture), part of a column capital, also called a fillet *Fillet (aircraft), a fairing smoothing the airflow at a joint between two components *Fillet (clothing), a headband *Fillet (heraldry), diminutive of the ...

and balanced

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

were straight tapered, with the latter running down between the elevators to the keel.

Operational history

The S.300 made its first flight on 4 October 1954 piloted by Max Fischl. SIPA displayed ''F-WGVR'' at the Paris air show in June 1955, at which time it was undergoing official testing at the Centrre d'Essais en Vol. On 26 September 1955 it was destroyed following a spin; no more were built. The S.300 had been designed to allow the installation of more powerful Turbomeca engines such as the 2.14 kN (480 lbf) Super Palas, 3.53 kN (795 lbf) Aspin II or 3.92 kN (880 lbf) Marboré II but these plans were abandoned with the loss of the prototype.

Specifications

Notes

References

External links