Piel Emeraude

Design and development

The Emeraude is a low-wing cantilever monoplane with fixed tailwheel undercarriage and side-by-side seating for two. The aircraft uses wood construction with a laminated box spar with an elliptical trailing edge. The prototype was designed and built by Claude Piel, who then licensed manufacture of the aircraft to a number of firms, most significantly Coopavia. These early production machines were similar to the prototype, but were fitted with more powerful engines.

The first major revision of the design was the Super Emeraude, designed by Piel while working at Scintex in the early 1960s. It featured a strengthened airframe and cleaned-up aerodynamics, allowing it to be certified for aerobatics. Much of Scintex's Super Emeraude production was contracted out to CAARP, where the design eventually served as the basis for the CAP-10.

Emeraudes were also produced in the United Kingdom (by Fairtravel as the Linnet) and in South Africa by General Aircraft ("Genair") of Virginia Airport as the Aeriel 2 with imported engines , the first aircraft to be manufactured entirely in that country. The Linnet was modified by the Garland Aircraft Company, formed by P.A.T Garland and D.E. Bianchi, to meet British airworthiness requirements. The first aircraft (G-APNS) was built at White Waltham and first flown on 1 September 1958 by Squadron Leader Neville Duke. Two more aircraft were planned but only one more was built by Garland-Bianchi in 1962. Between 1963 and 1965 three more aircraft were built with 100-hp Rolls Royce Continental O-200-A engines. The last two aircraft had one-piece sliding cockpit canopies.

Variants

CP-30 - prototype with Continental A65 engine (one built)

CP-301

CP-301A - initial production version with Continental C90 engine (118 built)

CP-301B - version by Rousseau with sliding canopy, spatted undercarriage and other refinements (23 built)

CP-301C - version by Scintex with bubble canopy and revised cowling, wings and tail (84 built)

CP-301S - Smaragd version by Binder Aviatik KG / Schempp Hirth Continental C-90 engine, sliding canopy, upper part of rear fuselage in fibreglass including a dorsal fin and other refinements (25 built)

CP-304 - homebuilt version with Continental C85 engine

CP-305

CP-308

CP-315 - this version was powered by a 78-kW (105-hp) Potez piston engine; only one CP-315 was built by Scintex Aviation.

CP-320 - Emeraude fuselage with Super Emeraude wings

CP-320A - CP-320 with swept fin

CP-321 - CP-320 with Potez engine

CP-323 - CP-320 with 140-160 hp O-320 Lycoming engine

CP-323A - CP-323 with bubble canopy

CP-324 - Emeraude Club with JPX 2100 engine

CP-328A

CP-1310 - Super Emeraude by Scintex with Continental O-200 (23 built)

CP-1315 - Super Emeraude with Potez 4E engine (17 built)

CP-1320 - Super Emeraude with cabin and wings from Piel Diamant design

CP-1330 - Super Emeraude with Lycoming O-235 engine

British production

Garland-Bianchi Linnet - design based on the Piel Emeraude with a 90 hp Continental C-90-14F engine, two built.Fairtravel Linnet - further production powered by a 100 hp Rolls Royce Continental O-200-A engines, three built.

Specifications (Scintex C.P. 301 C1)

Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1961–62

General characteristics

Crew: one pilot

Capacity: one passenger

Length: 6.12 m (20 ft 1 in)

Wingspan: 8.25 m (27 ft 1 in)

Height: 2.45 m (8 ft 0 ¹⁄₂ in)

Wing area: 11.0 m² (118 ft²)

Aspect ratio: 6.2:1

Empty weight: 395 kg (871 lb)

Gross weight: 650 kg (1,433 lb)

Powerplant: 1 × Continental C90-14F, 71 kW (95 hp) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 215 km/h (134 mph)

Cruising speed: 200 km/h (124 mph)

Range: 1,000 km (620 miles)

Service ceiling: 4,000 m (13,100 ft)

Rate of climb: 3 m/s (590 ft/min)