The SIPA S.90 was a French-built two-seat light touring and

training aircraft 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 characteristi ...

of the 1940s and 1950s.

Design

The SIPA S.90 was designed by Yves Gardan for the

Société Industrielle Pour l’Aéronautique Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA. Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the sec ...

(SIPA). The prototype first flew on 15 May 1947, winning a French government competition for a new light two-seat aircraft for operation by the French aero clubs. The initial production S.90 was a low-wing aircraft with fixed tailwheel undercarriage and side-by-side seating for two. It was powered by a Mathis G4F engine. Four examples were built.

Production and service

100 aircraft were ordered by the French government, on behalf of the aeroclubs, and these were powered by the Minie 4DC engine as the SIPA S.901. The first made its initial flight on 25 June 1948. Deliveries were completed in the early 1950s. Various engines were later installed in the S.901, giving rise to new model numbers. In later years, the S.90 series readily found buyers in the secondhand market and examples have flown with private owners in Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Nine further aircraft were built later with plywood covering in lieu of fabric, receiving new designations. In 2001, 15 examples remained airworthy in France, Switzerland and the UK. Total production of all models was 113 aircraft.

Variants

The following variants were produced:Simpson, 2005, p. 280-281 ;S.90 :4 aircraft with Mathis G4F engine ;S.901 :100 aircraft with Minié 4.DC.32 engine. Most were re-engined as follows. ;S.902 :S.901 with Continental C85-12F engine ;S.903 :S.901 with

Continental C90-14F The Continental C90 and O-200 are a family of air-cooled, horizontally opposed, four-cylinder, direct-drive aircraft engines of 201 in³ (3.29 L) displacement, producing between 90 and 100 horsepower (67 and 75 kW).''Federal Aviation Admini ...

engine ;S.904 :S.901 with

Salmson 5AQ-01 Between 1920 and 1951 the Société des Moteurs Salmson in France developed and built a series of widely used air-cooled aircraft engines.Gunston 1986, p. 158. Design and development After their successful water-cooled radial engines, develope ...

engine ;S.91 :2 new aircraft as S.902 but with plywood-covered fuselage and wings ;S.92 :1 new aircraft as S.91 with Mathis 4GB-62 engine ;S.93 :1 new aircraft as S.91 with

engine ;S.94 :5 new aircraft as S.91 with

Continental C90-8F The Continental C90 and O-200 are a family of air-cooled, horizontally opposed, four-cylinder, direct-drive aircraft engines of 201 in³ (3.29 L) displacement, producing between 90 and 100 horsepower (67 and 75 kW).'' Federal Aviation Admin ...

engine

Specifications (SIPA S.902)

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * {{Gardan aircraft S0090 Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft 1940s French sport aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1947