The Sirocco was one of the earliest microlights to use composites (glass-fibre and epoxy) in its construction. It was first produced by the French company Aviasud » in 1983, and then in 1989 transferred to Aériane » in Belgium. This 1980s design used a stretched-fabric swept-back wing, with spoilers for roll control. The fuselage and tail were primarily composite.
In 2007, the design and tooling were acquired by Aero Consult Light Aircraft » in the Netherlands, which is re-launching the design as
the Sirocco NG. This has a fully-composite tailplane and a
new composite wing (with ailerons), and there is also a carbon-fibre-based
version expected to meet the 115 kg empty weight requirements of
the UK SSDR » and the USA FAR 103 » categories.
Chronology
Here are some of the more notable events in the history of the Sirocco.
| 1982 | Prototype by Aviasud (Le Puget-sur-Argens, Fréjus, France)
2 July: first flight |
| 1983 | January: commercially available
Advert » claims FAR 103 with JPX PUL425 26hp engine (empty weight 105kg), glide ratio 12:1. Oshkosh ’83, Ultralight, Outstanding Semi-Rigid Wing Award 1st place, French Grand Prix |
| 1984 | 1st place French Championships (Patrick Fourticq)
1st place French Grande Course (Francois Goethals) September 26: Patrice Franceschi starts round-the-world trip |
| 1985 | Typical specifications changed to Rotax 337 (35hp) or 447 (42hp) engine; empty weight 130 kg
Midlands Ultralights ships the 377GB (UK type-approved ») version of the Sirocco 110 completed by 1985 |
| 1987 | March 26: Patrice Franceschi completes round-the-world trip (36,000 km, 33 countries, 562 hours flying) |
| 1989 | Production taken over under licence by Aériane » (Belgium); at least three aircraft produced with wing struts rather than cables – see images (date unknown) |
| 2007 | 200+ have been built
April: Rights transferred to ACLA » ACLA redesigned tailplane to have no wooden parts; see here for details » |
| 2008 | New composite wing contructed, using carbon-based spar and Oratex » covering (instead of loose-fabric-covered over ribs with kingpost), and ailerons for control instead of spoilers; see here for details »
29–30 November: Prototype Sirocco NG exhibited at SPLASH (the Sport and Leisure Aircraft Show) at the NEC Birmingham » |
| 2009 | 3 May: First flight of Sirocco NG prototype with new wing and tailplane
28–29 November: G-ROCO, the new Sirocco NG, is displayed at The Flying Show (NEC); see images |
Sources
See web links on the Introduction page, and flight tests and other details on the Articles page. Please let me know of any other events that could be in this list!