Piel Beryl

Piel CP.70 Beryl
The prototype CP.70 Beryl F-PMEQ at Beynes-Thiverval airfield near Beynes, Yvelines near Paris in August 1965
Role Sport aircraft
National origin France
Manufacturer Homebuilt
Designer Claude Piel
First flight ca. 1965
Status in current operation
Primary user private pilot owners



The Piel CP.70 Beryl was a twin-seat, single-engine sport aircraft first flown in France in the 1960s and marketed for homebuilding.[1]

Design and development

Designed by Claude Piel, the Beryl uses the same wing design as the Piel Emeraude but with a new fuselage, exchanging the Emeraude's side-by-side configuration seating for seating in tandem. As originally designed, the aircraft was to be fitted with fixed, tricycle undercarriage with a steerable nosewheel. Construction throughout was of doped fabric-covered wood.[2][3]

An aerobatic version, designated the CP.750 was also developed. This differed from the basic CP.70 in having a reduced wingspan, fixed tailwheel undercarriage, and a slightly longer fuselage. It retained the CP.70's wooden wings, but the fuselage was built of welded steel tube and still covered in fabric.[2]

Operational history

The Beryl has been home-built by amateur constructors and in 2009 there were still four examples active on the French civil aircraft register. The prototype F-PMEQ completed in 1965 with tricycle undercarriage, was still active in 2014 modified as a CP.703 with tail-wheel undercarriage. Examples of the design have also been completed in Brazil and the United States.

Variants

CP.70
Standard variant for homebuilding powered by a 65 hp (48 kW) Continental C65-8F or 118 hp (88 kW) Lycoming O-235 engine.[1][3]
Piel Beryl CP.750
CP.750
a CP-70 with 150 hp Lycoming O-320 engine with a reduced wingspan, fixed tailwheel undercarriage, and a slightly longer fuselage.[2]
CP.751
CP-750 with 200 hp Lycoming O-360-A2A engine.[4]


Specifications (CP.70)

Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1977–78, p.496

General characteristics

Performance


Notes

  1. 1 2 Taylor 1989, p.725
  2. 1 2 3 Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1977–78, p.496
  3. 1 2 Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12, page 96. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X
  4. ↑ "French homebuilts gather at RSA rally" 1981, p.545

References

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