I am starting a new project in early 2020 and will build a Fauvel AV-36 Motor Glider
The Fauvel AV-36 was a single-seat tailless glider designed in France in the 1950s by Charles Fauvel.
An Air Force officer, record-breaking pilot, and test pilot, Charles Fauvel (1904-1979) was one of the founding fathers of French sail plane flying.
However, in spite of his intense activity as a pilot, inventor and engineer, he is better known for his accomplishments with flying wing gliders.
Charles Fauvel decided that it was possible to make a simpler and structurally less demanding aircraft by using a straight wing with an “Autostable” aerofoil , in other words, a reflexed wing section .
A comment by Jack Lambie: The obvious comparison to the Fauvel is the Schweizer 1-26. Each has a 40-foot span and is designed to fill the same performance range. The Fauvel could easily beat the 1-26 at any speed over 55 mph and it was so stable and easy to fly in the air that it made a 1-26 feel like flying a unicycle. At slow speed the 1-26 is better because the tail easily holds the wing into a high-lift position, whereas the flying wing elevator is along the center section of the trailing edge of the wing, thus greatly reducing the lift. At slow speed, pulling back the stick actually pushed the plane down.
- The “AV” in AV-36 stands for Aile Volante (Flying Wing)
The aircraft was designed to be quickly disassembled for road transport, with the nose detaching, and the fins able to fold back against the trailing edge of the wing.
C. Fauvel introduced a refined version with a slightly longer wingspan 12.78 m (41 ft 11 in) in 1960, the AV-361, and this is the version I will build.
The Av-361 has an extended wing span of 12.78 m (41 ft 11 in) and uses a Wortmann Airfoil 159
instead of the original Fauvel F2 17% Airfoil, which results in a higher L/D ratio and better flight characteristics in general.
The AV-361 lent itself to easy motorization, I will install an engine at the rear of the cockpit pod to drive a pusher propeller turning between the tail fin, similar to the aircraft in the picture below
The original Av-36 was designed entirely for wood construction.
I will build my AV-361 entirely in Carbon Composites
Mainly to bring her weight down to about 90 kg, which will allow me to add an engine and still be in the limits of the RAU 103 (Uruguay) FAR 103 (USA) regulations for Ultralight Aircraft’s, which allows a maximum empty weight of 115 kg. (254 lbs), and not having any problems with rot, mold and the humidity problems of the wood.
Building under the RAU 103 (Uruguay) FAR 103 (USA) regulations saves me from troubles and huge expenses…
- I will NOT need a Pilot License,
- of course I will go trough extensive flight training
- Will NOT be tight down to a hangar and to an airport
- Can start and land from any place suitable
- Can maintain the aircraft myself
- NO licensed and expensive aeronautical mechanics needed for maintenance
- NO periodic check up´s from authorities during the build of my aircraft and later on …
- I myself will be responsible for the airworthiness of my aircraft
I will be FREE as a bird,
and that is the whole purpose of flying,
at least as I see it 😉
Flying is affordable to the average earthling when building under the RAU 103 (Uruguay) FAR 103 (USA) regulations…
I bought a copy of the original plans from a museum in France, as plans for the AV-36 have not been available in France since Fauvel’s death in 1979.
Leon McAtee bought the rights for the AV-36 from Falconar Avia Inc. which closed the doors on June 30, 2019.
Leon McAtee reworks the old plans to a modern digital format and simpler modern building techniques, his plans will be available soon.
I will add Leon´s contact details here as soon his plans are available…
General characteristics for the AV-361:
| Crew | 1 |
| Wingspan | 12.78 m (41 ft 11 in) |
| Length | 3.2 m (10 ft 6 in) nose to rudder tips |
| Height | 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) at cockpit |
| Wing Area | 14.6 m2 (157 sq ft) |
| Aspect Ratio | 11.4 |
| Airfoil | Wortmann FX-66 H 159 (original F2 17%) |
| Empty Weight | 125 kg (276 lb) will be reduced to 115 kg (254 lbs) |
| Gross Weight | 215 kg (474 lb) |
| Max Takeoff Weight | 258 kg (569 lb) |
Performance
| Stall Speed | 58 km/h (36 mph; 31 kn) |
| Never Exceed Speed | 220 km/h (137 mph; 119 kn) |
| Rough Air Speed | 158 km/h (98.2 mph; 85.3 kn) |
| Aerotow Speed | 128 km/h (79.5 mph; 69.1 kn) |
| Winch Launch Speed | 119 km/h (73.9 mph; 64.3 kn) |
| Terminal Velocity | with full air-brakes 165 km/h (103 mph; 89 kn) |
| g Limits | +12 -6 at 254 km/h (157.8 mph; 137.1 kn) |
| Maximum Glide Ratio | 26 at 84 km/h (52.2 mph; 45.4 kn) |
| Rate of Sink | 0.75 m/s (148 ft/min) at 65 km/h (40.4 mph; 35.1 kn) |
| Wing Loading | 14.7 kg/m2 (3.0 lb/sq ft) normal 17.7 kg/m² (3.625 lb/sqft) maximum |
| Powerplant | ~ 35 HP (26 KW) |
At this moment of writing, I just started building my workshop for my new project, setting up the needed tooling and work spaces, cracking my head to transform the wood construction to Carbon Composite construction and researching the optimal power plant for my aircraft …
I will continually write here about my progress with building my aircraft, therefore it would be wise to check my website regularly if this project interests you 😉
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Creating a 3D Model of my Fauvel AV-361 aircraft …
I am working at the moment on a 3D model for my Fauvel AV-361 aircraft…
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Comments 15
excelente apuesta a construir su propia aeronave y poder volarlo.
Felicitaciones y buen comienzo.
Author
Muchas gracias 😉
This is almost exact a/c I have been looking for w/electric motor and in composite. I wish you all the best in your build.
Author
Yeah, I searched for a long time too, there are not many proven concepts out there about “Flying Wings”.
Electric motor would be great, but the batteries are not ready, too many failures and the lifespan is very low, they never reach the specs given by the producers 😉
Too many cars, boats and aircraft have gone up in flames without any reason ;-(
I life since 30 years off-grid and have gone trough many failures in electronic parts and batteries.
Have built many model aircraft´s and boats, ALL of them had problems with batteries and the electronic´s on a regular basis !!!
Hi . Go check out the Pipistral website. They have developed 60hp and 80hp electric motor kits. Very reasonably priced compared to rotax 912 engines.
Hello
I will follow your construction.
Congratulation !
Bruno (FRANCE)
Thanks for your interest 😉
Felicitaciones por el proyecto!! Muy interesante. Soy de Argentina. Andaba interesado en construir un ala voladora en madera. Hasta ahora estoy entre este modelo y el Mitchell wing U2. Por lo que leí , el Fauvel tiene mejor estabilidad. Lamentablemente las alas no se pliegan por lo que veo. Hay algún sitio donde se puedan comprar los planos (todo madera, como el original) ? . Saludos y suerte con el proyecto!
Author
Hola Roman,
Gracias por su interés en mi proyecto 😉
Compré los planos en un museo de Francia, pero debo decir que estos planos son muy difíciles de seguir.
“Hot Wings” ha comprado los derechos de los planos y los ha redibujado a un formato moderno y fácil de usar.
Todavía está trabajando en los planos, pero deberían estar listos muy pronto.
Aquí hay dos enlaces al foro:
El proyecto
https://www.homebuiltairplanes.com/forums/threads/fauvel-av-36-and-361-plans-project.31890/#post-489311
El hilo del comentario:
https://www.homebuiltairplanes.com/forums/threads/fauvel-av-36-and-361-project-comment-page.31891/page-2
También diseñó una versión de ala plegable…
Espero que eso ayude 😉
Saludos cordiales y que tengan un gran día
Peter
Hola Peter, me resulta fascinante el proyecto. Sería posible intercambiar ideas personalmente? Vivo en Solymar. Saludos! Jeronimo
Peter: This is an exciting project and I am looking forward to following your progress! Do you have a copy of the plans for the AV-36 or do you know where I might obtain a copy of the plans? I have attempted to contact Leon McAtee through email with no success – he owns the “rights” to the AV-36 and I assume has the latest version of the plans, which were previously held by Falconar Avia in Edmonton, Alberta.
Please let me know if you have any leads on plans and thank you again for sharing this exciting project!
Brad, where are you located? I am in So Calif. thought about contacting Leon. Got lucky and found there is a museum in France with plans on a dvd. Very reasonably priced. Here is there website. https://www.musee-aviation-angers.fr/documentation
Check ’em out. Fred
Hi, I just discovered your project.
Congratulations! I love this Glider for years, I am a glider pilot looking for a similar plane to rebuild or build from scratch, with the blue prints from Falconar (just discovered by reading you that falconar has stopped activity. too bad)
I am French and i’m an enthusiast of charles Fauvel work. And specifically about the AV 36.
if you like a UL Motorised work based on Fauvel you can alos look at this one:
http://www.nurflugel.com/Nurflugel/Fauvel/pelican.htm (sold as a Kit in the 80’s, but no news as of today)
There is an enthusiast club Flying Fauvel in eastern part of France, check this: ACAM54 In Pont-Saint-vincent (their internet site seems not to work but you can get the Phone number from google)
And you can get original doc/archives here in Angers (Western France): https://www.musee-aviation-angers.fr/documentation (But maybe this is where you already got your own doc?)
Anyway, congratulations again, I will follow your progress, looking forward to see you and your Fauvel flying! and all the best to you and your great project.
Author
Thanks for your comment 😉
Sadly I had to stop my project, importing all the needed materials to Uruguay (cannot find anything here) would cost me a fortune and endless hassles.
Yes, I got my plans from the Museum…
Have a great day.
Best wishes for your project.