ACBA Midour
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2010) |
| Midour | |
|---|---|
 ACBA-7 Midour | |
| General information | |
| Type | Glider tug |
| Manufacturer | Aéro Club du Bas Armagnac |
| Primary user | Aéro Club du Bas Armagnac |
| Number built | 7 |
| History | |
| First flight | 1993 |
| Developed from | Robin DR400 |
The ACBA Midour, Midour 2 and Midour 3 are a series of glider tugs manufactured by the Aéro Club du Bas Armagnac in France, and named after the Midou River.
Design and development
[edit]The Midour is a double-seat, low-wing monoplane of conventional configuration, fitted with a fixed, tricycle undercarriage. Developed in the workshop of the ACBA using the wings of a Robin DR400, the Midour first flew in 1993[1] and four additional examples to the original design have been built, along with two modified versions.
Although the Midour is sometimes equipped with only a single seat, a passenger can be carried behind the pilot, to assist in the release of gliders being towed.
Variants
[edit]
- ACBA-7 Midour
- Original version with 180 horsepower (130 kW) Lycoming O-360 engine; five built.
- ACBA-8 Midour 2
- Improved version with entirely new wing design. One built.
- ACBA Midour 3
- Optimised, quieted version of Midour 2 with new fuselage and canopy, designed to be especially quiet due to noise pollution concerns. One built.[2]
Specifications (ACBA-7)
[edit]Data from [3]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Capacity: 1 passenger (optional)
- Length: 6.81 m (22 ft 4 in)
- Wingspan: 8.72 m (28 ft 7 in)
- Wing area: 14.2 m2 (153 sq ft)
- Aspect ratio: 5.35
- Empty weight: 550 kg (1,213 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 790 kg (1,742 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming O-360 4-cyl. horizontally-opposed piston engine, 130 kW (180 hp)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 300 km/h (190 mph, 160 kn)
- Cruise speed: 190 km/h (120 mph, 100 kn)
- Rate of climb: 3.72 m/s (732 ft/min)
See also
[edit]Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
References
[edit]- ^ Lert, Frédéric (May–June 2021). "L'ami Midour - Un stackhanoviste de l'aérien". Aviasport (in French). No. 774. pp. 26–31.
- ^ - Aéro Club du Bas Armagnac - Construction amateur Archived March 23, 2011, at the Wayback Machine (French). Accessed 2010-10-29.
- ^ The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985), 1985, Orbis Publishing, Page 2799 (DR400 wing data)
External links
[edit]