Peyret-Lignel « Taupin » tandem wing: 1st production aircraft in North Africa

[Stargazer]

Jean Lignel, a French engineer who graduated from the famed Sup' Aéro (Ecole Supérieure d'Aéronautique) in 1931, founded the Société Française de construction aéronautique (SFCA) and strived to develop original aircraft configurations. He found out about the works of the late Louis Peyret, who had built in 1929 a tandem wing single-seater. This configuration made for a more stable attitude and good control characteristics at low speeds.

Lignel wished to produced the type overseas and contacted in 1936 the woodworks of Chollet, Nicole et Longobardi (CNL) at Hussein-Dey in Algeria, in order to commence the very first aircraft production line on African ground. The Peyret prototype, registered F-APAB and christened the Taupin, was sent to Algeria and embarked on a promotional tour with Jean Lignel, Jean Trélaun, Emile Duffrancq or Jacques Duchêne Marullaz at the controls.

The first Taupin built in Hussein-Dey (F-APAI) made its first flight on July 26, 1938, while the two-seat Taupin 5/2 flew on August 20.

About ten Taupin aircraft were built in Hussein-Dey — including two tandem-seaters — but the advent of the war put an end to it.


Translated/adapted from Pierre Jarrige's excellent work.

 

[Stargazer]

More Taupin pictures:

 

[Stargazer]

Beautiful photos of a surviving and airworthy Peyret Taupin, from En vol, aux commandes du Peyret Taupin by Jean-Pierre Lafille, in Aviasport n°305, October 1979 (PDF attached):

 

[kaiserbill]

Lignel wished to produced the type overseas and contacted in 1936 the woodworks of Chollet, Nicole et Longobardi (CNL) at Hussein-Dey in Algeria, in order to commence the very first aircraft production line on African ground.

It wasn't the first production aircraft in Africa, nor the first aircraft production line either.

By this time, South Africa had already built and were continueing production of the Westland Wapiti, Avro Tutor, and Hawker Hartbees at Roberts Heights (later renamed Voortrekkerhoogte) for the SAAF.

 

[Stargazer]

It wasn't the first production aircraft in Africa, nor the first aircraft production line either.

By this time, South Africa had already built and were continueing production of the Westland Wapiti, Avro Tutor, and Hawker Hartbees at Roberts Heights (later renamed Voortrekkerhoogte) for the SAAF.

Thanks for setting the record straight. I must admit I had my doubts when I did the translation but this is what was written in the original text. My two cents: the author meant Northern Africa.

 

[kaiserbill]

No problem at all.

The South African production line built those planes under licence, with the everything locally manufactured apart from the engine and instruments. I think around 160 of the 3 types were built.
The Westland Wapiti was the first one built, with construction of the first one on the production line starting in 1926. These were followed by manufacture of the Avro Tutor and Hawker Hartbees.

I have a very interesting book in front of me, that I'm reading again, called In Southern Skies by Jonathan William Illsley, that deals with aviation in Southern Africa between 1816 to 1940.

According to the book, and it seems supported by a brief perusal on the internet, the first powered plane designed, built, and flown in South Africa was in 1911, called the Raison Monoplane.

It was built by Alfred Raison, on the basis of an extremely general description sent in a letter of Bleriots monoplane.
Raison modified it by neccessity due to the sparse outline only given in the letter, giving it a tail skid and using conventional elevators instead of the moving tips of Bleriots plane.
Constructed of ash, with aluminium fittings, it took to the air at Rosebank, north of Johannesburg, on 30th April 1911.
There is a picture of it in the book, but as far as I can ascertain, there is no picture of it on the internet as of yet.

Another plane was also designed and flown in South Africa in the same year of 1911, by Adolph Brunett.

There are some other pioneers and their aircraft designs in the book, including 2 very probable glider pilots whos flights pre-empted the great Otto Lilienthal.