Breguet Br 904 Nymphale

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Br 904 Nymphale
Breguet-904-02.jpg
Role Two-seat sailplane
National origin France
Manufacturer Société des Ateliers d'Aviation Louis Breguet (Breguet Aviation)
Designer Georges Ricard, Raymond Jarlaud
First flight 26 May 1956
Produced 1956-9
Number built 18
Developed from Breguet Br 901 Mouette

The Breguet Br 104 Nymphale (English: Nymph ) is a two-seat training and competition sailplane, built in France in the 1950s. A direct development of the successful Breguet Br 901 Mouette, it competed at two World Gliding Championships but has mostly been used, in small numbers, by gliding clubs.

Nymph (biology) immature form of insects and some other invertebrates

In biology, a nymph is the immature form of some invertebrates, particularly insects, which undergoes gradual metamorphosis (hemimetabolism) before reaching its adult stage. Unlike a typical larva, a nymph's overall form already resembles that of the adult, except for a lack of wings. In addition, while a nymph moults it never enters a pupal stage. Instead, the final moult results in an adult insect. Nymphs undergo multiple stages of development called instars.

Trainer aircraft Aircraft designed for training of pilots and aircrew

A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristics and a simplified cockpit arrangement—allows pilots-in-training to safely advance their real-time piloting, navigation and warfighting skills without the danger of overextending their abilities alone in a fully featured aircraft.

France Republic with mainland in Europe and numerous oversea territories

France, officially the French Republic, is a country whose territory consists of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The metropolitan area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany to the northeast, Switzerland and Italy to the east, and Andorra and Spain to the south. The overseas territories include French Guiana in South America and several islands in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. The country's 18 integral regions span a combined area of 643,801 square kilometres (248,573 sq mi) and a total population of 67.3 million. France, a sovereign state, is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Other major urban areas include Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lille and Nice.

Contents

Design and development

The Nymphale is a two-seat development of the double World Gliding Championships (WGC) winning Br 901 Mouette. It is larger all round, with a 2.72 m (8 ft 11 in) increase in span and 1.43 m (4 ft 8 in) longer, but is built of wood and fabric like the single-seater. [1] Behind the wings the 904 and the 901 S1 - the two seater has the more angular fin and rudder of the later 801s - are very much alike in appearance, with a tapering fuselage and conventional empennage. The mid mounted wings, though straight-tapered like those of the 901, differ in having no sweep on the leading edge so that at mid-chord the wing is forward-swept. The cockpit, necessarily lengthened, has the same style of fuselage contour following canopy as the 901 but is divided into front and rear sections, the latter stretching back over the wing leading edge. [2]

Fin flight control surface

A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fins are also used to increase surface areas for heat transfer purposes, or simply as ornamentation.

Rudder device to steer a vehicle

A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other conveyance that moves through a fluid medium. On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane. A rudder operates by redirecting the fluid past the hull (watercraft) or fuselage, thus imparting a turning or yawing motion to the craft. In basic form, a rudder is a flat plane or sheet of material attached with hinges to the craft's stern, tail, or after end. Often rudders are shaped so as to minimize hydrodynamic or aerodynamic drag. On simple watercraft, a tiller—essentially, a stick or pole acting as a lever arm—may be attached to the top of the rudder to allow it to be turned by a helmsman. In larger vessels, cables, pushrods, or hydraulics may be used to link rudders to steering wheels. In typical aircraft, the rudder is operated by pedals via mechanical linkages or hydraulics.

Fuselage aircraft main body which is the primary carrier of crew, passengers, and payload

The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, and cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, as well, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage, which in turn is used as a floating hull. The fuselage also serves to position control and stabilization surfaces in specific relationships to lifting surfaces, which is required for aircraft stability and maneuverability.

The Nymphale made its first flight on 26 May 1956; [1] two more prototypes followed. [3]

Operational history

Fifteen production series 904S Nymphales were built [3] in the late 1950s and widely used by gliding clubs. [4] The Nymphale also competed: one placed 5th in the two-seater class of the 1956 WGC held at Saint-Yan in France. [5] Two years later it again competed in the WGC, held at Leźno in Poland, this time in the Open class with one seat empty. With this disadvantage it could gain only 17th place. [6]

Saint-Yan Commune in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France

Saint-Yan is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne in eastern France.

Leźno Village in Pomeranian, Poland

Leźno is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Żukowo, within Kartuzy County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately 5 kilometres (3 mi) east of Żukowo, 16 km (10 mi) east of Kartuzy, and 14 km (9 mi) west of the regional capital Gdańsk.

Poland republic in Central Europe

Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country located in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative subdivisions, covering an area of 312,696 square kilometres (120,733 sq mi), and has a largely temperate seasonal climate. With a population of approximately 38.5 million people, Poland is the sixth most populous member state of the European Union. Poland's capital and largest metropolis is Warsaw. Other major cities include Kraków, Łódź, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk, and Szczecin.

In 2010 six complete Nymphales were on the civil registers of European countries, all in France. [7]

Variants

904
Prototypes, three built. [3]
904S
Production series, 15 built. [3]

Specifications

Data from Die Berühmtesten Segelflugzeuge [1]

General characteristics

Airfoil

An airfoil or aerofoil is the cross-sectional shape of a wing, blade, or sail.

NACA airfoil

The NACA airfoils are airfoil shapes for aircraft wings developed by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). The shape of the NACA airfoils is described using a series of digits following the word "NACA". The parameters in the numerical code can be entered into equations to precisely generate the cross-section of the airfoil and calculate its properties.

Performance

  • Stall speed: 62 km/h (39 mph; 33 kn)
  • Never exceed speed: 220 km/h (137 mph; 119 kn)
  • Rough air speed max: 180 km/h (111.8 mph; 97.2 kn)
  • Aerotow speed: 150 km/h (93.2 mph; 81.0 kn)
  • Maximum glide ratio: 35:1
  • Rate of sink: 0.70 m/s (138 ft/min)
  • Lift-to-drag: at 70 km/h (43.5 mph; 37.8 kn)
  • Wing loading: 34.5 kg/m2 (7.1 lb/sq ft)

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Brütting, Georg (1973). Die berümtesten Segelflugzeuge. Stuttgart: Motorbuch Verlag. p. 142. ISBN   3 87943171 X.
  2. ↑ "Breguet 904" . Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Breguet 904 production list" . Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  4. ↑ Taylor, John W R (1960). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1960-61. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd. p. 122.
  5. ↑ "World Gliding". Flight . Vol. 70 no. 2478. 20 July 1956. p. 123.
  6. ↑ "World Gliding Championships". Flight . Vol. 74 no. 2580. 4 July 1958. p. 12.
  7. ↑ Partington, Dave (2010). European registers handbook 2010. Air Britain (Historians) Ltd. p. 247. ISBN   978-0-85130-425-0.
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