The Starck AS-80 Holiday is a conventional two-seat, single-engine high-wing monoplane designed and built in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

around 1950. It was sold in kit form but only a few were completed.

Design and development

The Holiday is wood framed and fabric covered throughout. Its high wing, built around two

spars SPARS was the authorized nickname for the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Women's Reserve. The nickname was derived from the USCG's motto, "—"Always Ready" (''SPAR''). The Women's Reserve was established by law in November 1942 during Wor ...

, has constant chord and rounded tips. It is braced to the lower

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

longeron In engineering, a longeron or stringer is a load-bearing component of a framework. The term is commonly used in connection with aircraft fuselages and automobile chassis. Longerons are used in conjunction with stringers to form structural fram ...

s with two V-form pairs of

strut A strut is a structural component commonly found in engineering, aeronautics, architecture and anatomy. Struts generally work by resisting longitudinal compression, but they may also serve in tension. A stay is sometimes used as a synonym for ...

s, assisted by

jury struts In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of struts, which act in ...

. The tail unit is braced, with the

tailplane A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabilizer, is a small lift (force), lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters ...

set at mid-fuselage height. 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 ...

is straight edged, the

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 ...

generous, rounded and fitted with a

trim tab Trim tabs are small surfaces connected to the trailing edge of a larger Flight control surfaces, control surface on a boat or aircraft, used to control the trim of the controls, i.e. to counteract hydro- or aerodynamic forces and stabilise the ...

. The rectangular cross-section fuselage is deep behind the cabin, its upper surface at wing height. The cabin is under the wing with the windscreen at the

leading edge The leading edge is the part of the wing that first contacts the air;Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 305. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. alternatively it is the foremost edge of an airfoil sectio ...

and its glazing extending rearwards beyond the

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. ...

. Access is via

trapezoid In geometry, a trapezoid () in North American English, or trapezium () in British English, is a quadrilateral that has at least one pair of parallel sides. The parallel sides are called the ''bases'' of the trapezoid. The other two sides are ...

al side doors. The conventional fixed undercarriage has mainwheels with low pressure tyes on faired V-struts and half axles hinged on an underside cabane. The main unit is rubber sprung; the tail skid is spring steel. Some Holidays have had wheel fairings, others not. The prototype Holiday first flew powered by a 56 kW (75 hp)

Régnier 4D.2 Régnier or Regnier is a French given name, personal name and surname, and may refer to: Surname * Adolphe Regnier (1804-1884), French linguist * Anatol Regnier (* 1945), German classical guitarist and writer * Charles Regnier (1914–2001, father ...

four cylinder inverted inline air-cooled piston engine, but there was a wide range of suitable engines, both inline and

flat four A flat-four engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-four engine or boxer engine, is a four-cylinder piston engine with two banks of cylinders lying on opposite sides of a common crankshaft. The most common type of flat-four engine is the box ...

s, in the power range 44-63 kW (59-85 hp). The second prototype, for example, had a 48 kW (65 hp) Continental A 65 flat four. Though the inline Régnier engine was fully cowled, some of the flat fours have had exposed cylinder heads.

Operational history

At least seven Holidays have appeared on the French civil register. In 2010 four remained; one French-built Holiday is now (2012) on the UK register. Some of those currently registered may not be active. Several of the Holidays first flew around 1950 but at least one was not completed until 1998. In France, the type was usually referred to as the AS.80 Lavadoux.

Specifications (Régnier engine)

References

{{Starck aircraft 1940s French sport aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1947