| GY-20 Minicab | |
|---|---|
 | |
| GY-201 Amateur-built in the UK | |
| Role | light aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Constructions Aéronautiques du Béarn |
| Designer | Yves Gardan |
| First flight | 1 February 1949 |
| Number built | 65 [1] + ca. 130 homebuilt |
| Variants | GY-30 Supercab |
The CAB GY-20 Minicab is a two-seat light aircraft designed by Yves Gardan and built in France by Construction Aeronautiques du Bearn (CAB) [2] in the years immediately following World War II. CAB was formed in 1948 by Yves Gardan, Max Lapoerte and M. Dubouts. [3]
The Minicab is a conventional, low-wing cantilever monoplane with fixed tailwheel undercarriage, powered by a Continental A65 engine. Its design was a scaled-down version of the aircraft that Yves Gardan had designed for SIPA, the SIPA S.90. The pilot and passenger sit side by side and access to the cockpit is via a one-piece perspex canopy that hinges forwards. Gardan's intention was to produce a low-cost, easy-to-fly, easy-to-maintain aircraft with the possibility of homebuilding. [4]
The prototype Minicab first flew at Pau-Idron on 1 February 1949 with Max Fischl at the controls. CAB manufactured a total of about 65 Minicabs when production ended in 1955. [1] [5] The rights for the plans were then acquired by Arthur Ord-Hume in the United Kingdom who anglicised the drawings and made various minor improvements for home-builders. [2] A large number were completed by amateur builders in the United Kingdom, France and other countries around the world. [4] There is about 20 Minicabs currently active in the United Kingdom, many of which were built (or rebuilt) to the JB.01 standard, developed by M. Jean Barritault, usually with a Continental C90 engine.
Falconar sold plans for a tricycle gear homebuilt model named the Minihawk. [6] Another development is the K&S or Squarecraft Cavalier which is a redesigned Minicab in several versions with plans translated from French to English and modified by Stan Mcleod. The plans were marketed by K&S Aircraft of Calgary, Alberta and later MacFam. [7]
Type certification was obtained in mid-April 1949. By the end of 1950, a Minicab had won the Coupe de Vitesse de Deauville (Deauville Cup for speed), and the Grand Prix Aérien de Vichy (Vichy Aerial Prize). [1] The following year, a Minicab broke the world air distance record for its class (1,825 km, 1,138 miles) and in 1952 it attained the world airspeed record for its class over a 2,000 km circuit, with an average speed of (183 km/h, 114 mph).
One Minicab, G-AWEP, was flown by the ex-RAF fighter pilot Roland Beamont who was a test pilot at BAC Samlesbury. He made its first flight in 1969 and wrote that "the Minicab felt light and very responsive... landing required the delicate touch of a Spitfire pilot. In fact the overall control harmony is not dissimilar to that classic aeroplane". [8]
Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1956–57 [9]
General characteristics
Performance
The Luton L.A.5 Major was a 1930s British two-seat high-wing cabin monoplane. Following World War II, plans were made available to suit construction as a homebuilt aircraft.
The CAB GY-30 Supercab was a two-seat light aircraft built in France in 1954, as a further development of the CAB Minicab. The design was performed by Yves Gardan, a onetime employee of French aeronautical company SIPA. Changes incorporated in the Supercab included a more powerful engine, greater wingspan, manually retractable undercarriage, and slotted flaps that replaced the split flaps of the Minicab.
Constructions Aéronautiques du Béarn (CAB) was a French aircraft manufacturer established by Max Laporte and Yves Gardan in Pau, Béarn in 1948. Its main product was the Minicab, a two-seat low-wing monoplane light aircraft of Gardan's design constructed in wood with a fabric covering, and equipped with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage, while the similar Supercab had a retractable undercarriage and detail refinements. The company ceased business in the mid-1950s.
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