SIPA S.1000 Coccinelle

S.1000 Coccinelle
SIPA S.1000 Coccinelle No. 01, Chavenay airfield, Paris, 1967
Role	Personal and trainer aircraft
National origin	France
Manufacturer	SIPA
Designer	Yves Gardan
First flight	11 June 1955
Introduction	1955
Primary user	private owners
Produced	1955
Number built	3

The SIPA S.1000 Coccinelle was a French-built light civil utility aircraft of the 1950s.

Design

The Coccinelle was designed by Yves Gardan for SIPA as a very low cost all-metal trainer of very simple construction, intended for aero club use. It was a two-seat side-by-side low-winged aircraft with fixed-tricycle undercarriage and incorporated a number of standard automobile parts.^[1]

Production and service

Sipa Coccinelle No. 03 at San Justo airfield near Buenos Aires Argentina in April 1975

The prototype first flew on 11 June 1955. Series production by Société Industrielle pour l'Aéronautique (SIPA) was planned to commence in 1956, but only two further examples were completed with the last being exported to Argentina.^[2]

In 2001, the first and third aircraft remained airworthy in France and Argentina, respectively.^[3] By 2010 F-BHHL no longer appeared on the French civil register,^[4] but in March 2013 LV-GFG remained active in Argentina.^[5]

Specifications (S.1000 Coccinelle)

Data from Green^[6]

General characteristics

• Crew: one
• Capacity: one passenger
• Length: 17 ft 10 in (5.44 m)
• Wingspan: 25 ft 11 in (7.90 m)
• Height: 7 ft 2 in (2.19 m)
• Empty weight: 737 lb (334 kg)
• Max. takeoff weight: 1,254 lb (568 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Continental C90-8F four-cylinder air-cooled engine, 90 hp (67 kW)
• Propellers: 1 prop, 1 per engine

Performance

• Maximum speed: 124 mph (108 kt) 201 km/h
• Cruise speed: 112 mph (97 kt) 181 km/h
• Range: 375 miles at 107 mph (326 nm) 608 km
• Power/mass: 13.9 lb/hp (0.12 kW/kg)

References

Notes

1. Green, 1965, p. 65
2. Simpson, 2005, p. 281
3. Simpson, 2005, p. 281
4. Partington
5. Air Britain News, April 2013, cover
6. Green, 1965, p. 65

Bibliography

• Green, William (1965). The Aircraft of the World. Macdonald & Co. (Publisherts) Ltd.
• Partington, Dave (2010). European registers handbook 2010. Air Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 978-0-85130-425-0.
• Simpson, Rod (2005). The General Aviation Handbook. Midland Publishing. ISBN 1-85780-222-5.
• Air Britain News: cover. April 2013. ISSN 0950-7442. Missing or empty |title= (help)