Photograph:
First Colomban MC-15J Cri Cri Jet completed in Australia, VH-ZSE (c/n SD-2) at Serpentine, WA (Isak Van Heerden)
Country of origin:
France
Description:
Twin-jet engine light sport monoplane
Power Plant:
Two 210 N thrust at 120,000 rpm PBS TJ-20A turbojets
Specifications:
- Wingspan 5.3 m (17 ft 4 in)
- Length 3.9 m (12 ft 10 in)
- Height 1.2 m (4 ft)
- Wing area 3.4 m² (36.59 sq ft)
- Never exceed speed 259 km/h (161 mph)
- Max speed 220 km/h (137 mph)
- Stalling speed full flap 83 km/h (52 mph)
- Rate of climb 360 m/min (1,180 ft/min)
- Landing run 950 m (3,117 ft)
- Fuel capacity 43 litres (9.45 Imp gals)
- Max endurance 61 minutes
- Empty weight 82.6 kg (182 lb)
- Loaded weight 205 kg (452 lb)
Take-off run 366 m (1,201 ft)
History:
The Colomban Cri Cri was a cantilever low-wing single-seat monoplane designed and produced in France which has been built by amateur builders around the world. It was usually been fitted with two JPX PUL 212 piston engines which provided 11 kw (15 hp), one fitted to each of the wings in tractor configuration. It was designed by aeronautical engineer Michel Colomban at the Societe Aerospatiale in the 1970s. It was capable of some aerobatics. Examples have been completed in Australia and New Zealand.
A small number have been fitted with two jet engines and one example of this model has been completed in Western Australia. This aircraft, VH-ZSE (c/n SD-2), was built by Isak Van Heerden of Leeming, WA and was first registered on 7 September 2011. It was initially fitted with JPX PUL 212 piston engines but in about 2015 it was fitted with two PBS VB TJ20A jet engines. These small engines were part of a series of engines produced in the Czech Republic by Ptrvni Brnenska Strojirna Velka BitesAS and produced 210 N or 47 lbst for up to a maximum five minutes. The engine consisted of a single-stage radial compressor, an annular combustion chamber and a single-stage axial turbine, and weighed 2.1 kg (4.63 lb).
Mr Van Heerden stated a booster with a break-in clutch enabled starting from the cockpit. Inducted air was compressed by the radial compressor wheel, passed through the radial and axial diffusers to the combustion chamber where it was blended with fuel vapour by the evaporating piping. Hot gases caused by the fuel burning in the combustion chamber expanded through the single-stage axial turbine and exhausted at high speed from the output nozzle to the atmosphere creating thrust. The engine was lubricated by the fuel. The engine idled at 20,000 rpm and at max power had an rpm of 120,000.
The aircraft was built of 2024-T3 aluminium with Divinycell foam used for the wing ribs. The fuselage was a simple rectangular box with a streamlined canopy. The wing skins were a single standard sheet of aluminium wrapped around the ribs and glued in place. The tail consisted of a horizontal flying stabilator on top of the vertical fin.
A variant of the Cri Cri has been built in France powered by four electric motors with four propellers and was developed jointly by EADS Innovation Works, Aero Composites Saintonge and the Green Cri Cri Association, the aircraft making its first flight at Le Bourget. The aircraft had lithium batteries and four brushless electric motors which were fitted with counter-rotating propellers.
Another electrically-powered Cri Cri using two Electravia motors set a world record of 261.24 km/h (162.33 mph).