THETlNYTWlN CRICRI: FROMFRANCE The160-Pound CrickelMCl2Becomes AnAerobofic Airshow Stopper
WHEN TWO CRICRIaircraft landed after their first team flight at the 1981 Oshkosh show it was almost as though the Pied Piper had walked through the crowd. The tiny planes were completely surrounded by enthusiastic EAA members with a curiosity that was maintained throughout the entire show. CriCri is the French Cricket MC12, the world's smallest twin-engine airplane at 16 feet, 160 pounds. Powered with two 12-hp Swedish snowmobile Valmet engines, the tiny twin has a c r u i s eo f 1 2 7 m p h a n d a r e d l i n eo f 1 6 0 mph. The wing is under 13 feet long and has an area less than that of the horizontal tail of a Rally, just 34 sq.ft. Full-span "Junker-type" flap/ailerons are hinged below the trailing edge of 4
the wing and will producea rate of roll of 180 degrees per second. The Cricket is f ully aerobatic, s t r e s s e dt o * 9 a n d - 4 . 5 C ' s . T h e h u n dreds of thousands of people who attended this year's Oshkosh show saw team aerobatics with these tiny twins by two French test pilots who call themselves "Les'Porthos" after one of the Three Musketeers. Actually, "Les Porthos" are Claude Lelaie and Denis Legrand, civilian test pilots for the French Flight Test Center who perform i n s o m e 4 0 E u r o p e a na i r s h o w s a n n u a l ly with the CAP 20 and 21 aircraft. T h e C r i c k e t w a s d e s i g n e db y M i c h e l Colomban who accompanied the two m o d e l s o f t h e a i r c r a f t t o O s h k o s h .T h e prototype was first flown in 1973, and
during the intervening years the design was ref ined, and drawings and manuals were prepared. T h e t i n y t w i n w i l l b e a v a i l a b l et o U . S . homebuilders through the Canadian Zenair group very early in 1982. The p r i c e f o r t h e k i t w i t h a l l m a t e r i a l s ,a l l fittings complete, engines and props is estimated at about $6,000. Zenair President Chris Heintz worked with the C r i c k e t t e a m a t O s h k o s ha n d f i n a l i z e d plans for producingthe kit in Canadar O n l y e n g i n e s ,p r o p s , c a n o p y a n d l a n d ing gear will come from France. The Cricket is designed to be disassembled in three to five minutes. A i l e r o n / fl a p s a r e c o n n e c t e dw i t h a b a l l joint that precludes rerigging every time the wings come off. The "Junker-
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The Cricket's160-poundempty weightmakesit easyto move on the groundand the ground load and load into its trailer' The wings aredetachable' type" flaps increase wing area and r e d u c ew i n g l o a d i n g f r o m 1 1 . 2t o e i g h t pounds/sq.ft., producing a stall speed of only 42 mph. A c o m p a c t " h a n g a r - t r a i l e r "i s p a r t o f the Cricket package.Both display aircraft were shippedto Oshkoshaboard a F r e n c h7 4 7 , s a f e l ye n c a s e di n t h e i r 5 x 1 3 1 / z - f o o th a n g a r - t r a i l e r s T . he loaded t r a i l e r w e i g h s l e s st h a n 5 0 0 p o u n d s a n d is completely towable. The trailers were used each night at Oshkosh to secure the tiny aircraft. L e l a i e ' sa n d L e g r a n d ' sw o r k w i t h t h e French Flight Test Center includes s u p e r s o n i c t e s t i n g o f m a n y a i r c r a ft ,
n e g a t i v e ,b u t t h a t ' s t h e p o i n t a t w h i c h the airframewill break.No permanent deformation takes place below 6 C's, so we make every effort not to exceed 5 C's in our shows." Their airshow routine includes takeoff at65-70mphwith a climbof 80 mph. They do all flights with full fuel four to six gallons! Usually "Les Porthos" take off during a lull in the preceding act and climbs to altitude away from the airport. When it is their turn to come "on stage," they enter at 1300 feet, dive to 155 mph indicated
C u b a n e i g h t w i t h t h e s e c o n ds h i p f l y i n g inverted, a Cuban eight together with an inverted crossover,an inverted roll, slow roll in formation, f light toward the crowd with a crossover and a double roll bv both aircraft. Then the team does a right-side-up/invertedclose formation where the tiny wingtip of the second Cricket is from three to five feet from the T-tail of the lead aircraft. "We don't recommend this for beginners," explained Lelaie."Low-speed,inv e r t e d f l i g h t i s d i f f i c u l t b e c a u s eo f t h e limited power. We would like a little more forward stick to handle the vortex from the lead aircraft. Our teamwork differs from the 'French Connection' ;;, that flies almost canop canopy - we give ourserves a more room!" The CriCris wlll fly inverted definitely because of the two-c engines that combine fuel and through a membrane carburetor r a t i o o f 4 O : 1 ." Y o u c a n f l y a l o n l vertedjustas long as you want you get tired of it," explained Porthos." The two demonstration Cric were built in France by homebuil under approval of the French EAA Reseaudu Sport de L'Air (RSA). The first Cricket to be built in N
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expfained Legrand. "The aircraft are stressed for 9 C's positive and 4.5 C's
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cRlcRt America will come from the Zenair facility in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. John Pickard, Zenair production manager for kits, was at the airshow, closely inspecting the twins. When Pickard, 6-feet-four-inches tall and weighing 210 pounds, found that he was just a little too tall and too hefty to close the canopy, he commented, "You can bet that l'll build one for myself that's big enough!" At six-feettwo and 190 pounds - and relatively short-waisted I was able to shoehorn into the cockpit without a 'chute and get the canopy closed, so when o n e i s a v a i l a b l e ,I ' w a n t t o f l y i t ! The French designer and both airshow pilots report little or no adverse yaw when one engine is shut down. This phenomenon is caused by the close-in mounting of the enginesto the aircraft centerline and the propeller slipstreamas it is def lected by the large canopy. Colomban explains: "This automatically creates an incidence on the vertical tail that compensates for the asymetric thrust on one engine.
Single.enginerate of climb.is reported at 180 f pm. At the time of the Oshkosh demonstrations, the new homebuilts had notyet been stalled inverted. Pilots estimate an inverted stall speed with flaps retracted of about 65 mph. The French air show pilots reported that the CriCri is very.easy to f ly. "Any n o r m a l p i l o t c a n f l y i t e a s i l y .T h e r e a r e no bad habits," they explained. "Aero. batics should be eipproachedcautiously so as not to exceed the redline speed." D u r i n g t h e f i r s t f l i g h t so f t h e C r i c k e t in this country, there was some question of whether or not the FAA would require a multi-engine rating to fly this tiny homebuilt. The French pilots felt that this additional rating would probably not be necessary,but they were not sure. Zenair will have this minor piece of paper work resolved before the f irst kits are shipped. DesignerColomban, an ex-model airplane fan, designed the Cricket as a simple, easy-to-buildsingle-seaterthat w o u l d c a r r y 1 8 0 p o u n d so f p i l o t a n d 3 5
Power is provided by twin 12-hp Swedishsnowmobile Valmet engines,enablingthe Cricketto havea 127-mphcruise. lnside the Cricket cockpit, note the twin throttlesat /eft and the molded tuel tank under the pilot's legs.Thereis room for a single radio under the panel.
pounds of fuel with efficiency. His original prototype was designed for wood and fabric, but he soon. found that sheet metal was more satisfactory. When he was unable to find a suitable 24-hp engine, he settled for the two c h a i n s a wp o w e r p l a n t s . The fuselage is a simple "-square box" made from sheet metal and doublers. The cross-section is rect a n g u l a r w i t h f o u r s i n g l e - c u r v e dp a n e l s with rigid f oam stiffeners that are blind-riveted to four angle members. Loads from the wing, pilot, gear. and engines are carried through bent metal bulkheads. The rear section of the fuselage has two straight sides blindriveted to two sheets with bent edges. Original constructionwas with Abdol aluminumblind rivets. The T-tail has two hinged bearingsat t h e t i p o f t h e f i n s p a r . C o n s t r u c t i o ni s out of a singlepiece of aluminum and no trim tab. The T-tail was selected to a v o i d d a m a g e i n g r o u n d h a n d l i n g ,f o r ease in construction and to make the aircraft easier to fit into its hangartrailer. The wing has a newly developed airf oil with constant chord. There is d i h e d r a l o f 4 d e g r e e sa n d t w i s t o f 1 . 5
Thecricketdr"* a greatdeat"i ittAri"o.;rr,Ot'rr[uit;,.iA;##liiy since it alrnbit qu'alifies,.,,al an,u{ria proposedrules.
degrees.The spar construction is of aluminum sections riveted together. Thirty-two rigid foam ribs are bonded a t 6 - i n c h i n t e r v a l st o t h e s p a r .E a c h r i b i s r e p o r t e dt o b e s t r o n g e n o u g h t o s u p p o r t t h e a i r c r a f t ' sw e i g h t . T h e t h i n w i n g skins are metal bonded to the rear rib s k e l e t o n , w i t h t h e n e c e s s a r yp r e s s u r e s u p p l i e d b y e n c l o s i n gt h e w i n g i n a s e a l e dv i n y l b a g a n d h o o k i n g i t u p t o a h o u s e h o l dv a c u u m c l e a n e r . There is no internal svstem within t h e w i n g . T h e f o u r f l a p / a i l e r o ns u p p o r t arms are bolted to the trailing edge of the wing so that the hinges provide a l m o s t n o d i s t u r b a n c et o t h e a i r f l o w . T h e m a i n g e a r i s a s i n g l es p r i n ga t t a c h e d t o t h e f u s e l a g ew i t h f o u r r u b b e r d o n u t s . T h e n o s e g e a r i s s t e e r a b l ea n d c o n s t r u c t e dw i t h t w o t u b e s - o n e i n s t a l l e dw i t h i n t h e o t h e r - a n d r u b b e r b u n g e e sf o r s h o c k a b s o r b i n g .T u r n i n g r a d i u si s 1 4 f e e t . W h e e l s a r e 3 . 0 0x 3 . and there are brakes on the main wheels. Elevatorcontrol is with a push-pull rod and artificial feel from a rubber b u n g e ec o n n e c t e dt o t h e t r i m t a b . T h e designersays that this system avoids the "overloose" feeling so common among lightweight aircraft. Aileron/
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CRICKET MCI2 PIRFORMANCI S t a l l ,f l a p s d o w n : 4 2 m p h Takeoff roll: 480 ft at S.L. 600 ft at 3000 ft 850 ft at 6000 ft Rate of climb: 850 fprn at S.L. 700 fpm at 3000 ft 500 fpm at 6000 ft C e i l i n g :1 3 , 0 0 0f t M a x . l e v e l s p e e d :1 2 7 m p h C r u i s es p e e d :1 1 0 m p h R e d l i n e :1 6 0 m p h R a n g e( c r u i s e ) 4: h r s - 4 5 0 m i Rate of roll: 180 deg/sec SPECIFICATIONS Wingspan1 : 6 ft L e n g t h :1 2 f t 1 0 i n W i n g a r e a :3 4 s q . f t Aspect ratio:7.8 E m p t y w e i g h t :1 6 0 l b s C r o s sw e i g h t : 3 8 0 l b s W i n g l o a d i n g :- 1 1 . 2p s f Powerplant:2x24hp P r o p e l l e r sf:i x e d p i t c h F u e l :6 U S g a l s 3 5 l b s S t r e s sF: A R 2 3 ; + 9 C , - 4 . 5 C
flaps have short push-pull rods controlled through a mixer and a quickr e l e a s eb a l l j o i n t t o t h e i n b o a r d e n d s o f t h e c o n t r o l s u r f a c e s .R u d d e r sa r e c o n ventional with cables.The pedals ad-
DesignerMichel Colomban,g/asses, works on one of hisshipsas airshowpilot Denis Legrandlendsa hand. just to accommodate six-foot-threeinch pilots. The 12-hp Valmet enginesare two cycle, 'l50cc at 6500 rpm, each w e i g h i n g o n l y 1 6 p o u n d s .T h e V a l m e t has a history of over 1500 hours at l G h p c r u i s e .T h e e n g i n e sa r e m o u n t e d on a special patented welded steel i n t e r c o n n e c tt u b e t h a t t r a n s m i t sv i b r a tion from one engine to the other, effectively dampening the movement. T h e c o m p o s i t e p r o p e l l e r sa r e 2 7 i n c h e s in diameter. A four-to-six-gallon f i b e r g l a s sf u e l t a n k i s m o u n t e d i n t h e
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LEFT:Does anyonehavea shoehorn?The 6foot-2-inch author easesinto the cockpit. RICHT:Evenwith a 190-poundpilof, the canopy closeswith room to spare.
PRICES ANDoRDERtl{C l1{F0 The Cricket package will have 42 drawi n g s , m o s t o f t h e m f u l l - s i z e d .Z e n a i r w i l l s u p p l y d r a w i n g s a n d p a c k a g e so f p a r t s i n the following order: D r a w i n g s a n d M a n u a l s. . . . . . . . . . $ 1 5 0 Packages (Order in the following sequence) Tail (Horizontal and Vertical) .$378 Wings (The spar is completely builtandriveted) ...$987 FlapslAilerons $131 Fuselagestructure ....$773 Controlpackage .....$369 Canopypackage .....$317 Complete gear package,(springs, w h e e l s , a x l e s ,f a i r i n g s , brakes,etc.).. .....$694 Instrumentpackagefor twin $416 Or save by ordering the complete kit package $3857 Twin Powerplant Package C o m p l e t e w i t h e n g i n e s ,p r o p s , s p i n n e r s - e x h a u s t ,f u e l s y s t e m . . . .$1981 Pricesare in U.S. currency and FOB plant Local residentsadd the sa/es tax. Prices subject to change without notice. Ordering Procedure: Plans: Comp'lete the order sheet in the information manual and mail with your payment. Delivery will start Oct. 81 (add $2 for aiimail) P a c k a g e s :C e r t i f i e d c h e c k f r o m U . S . o r Canadian Bank: 5oo/o with order balance before shipping upon notice that the crate is ready to be shipped. Delivery starts Nov. 81 on a f irst-ordered,
first served basis at a scheduled rate of one kit per week. (Canopy, gear, instrument and powerplant packages are scheduledfor Dec. 81). Crating charges: $50 per package (990 for simultaneous shipping of two p a c k a g e s ,$ 1 2 0 f o r t h r e e p a c k a g e s o r a complete kit.) Or pick up yourself (by qppointment) and save the crating and s h i p p i n g c h a r g e s .A l l s h i p p i n g c h a r g e s are COD. Zenai'r Atlanta (S.E.- USA) Plant: 3349-8Thompson Bridge Rd. C a i n e s v i l l e ,C A Tel: (404) 536-8099 Mail: Route 12 Box 72O , C a i n e s v i l l e .C A 3 0 5 0 1 B i l l M i l l e r ( 4 0 4 )5 3 6 - 1 1 5 6 Zenair Seattle (West- USA) 606 S.W. 302nd Federal Way, WA 98003 Ron Eckhardt (206) 839-0848 Zenair [td. (Canada & Overseas) Plant: 25 King Road Nobleton, Ontario C e r r y B o u d r e a u ( 4 1 6 )8 5 9 - 4 5 5 6 Head Off ice: 236 Richmond Street R i c h m o n dH i l l , Ontario L4C 3YB Chris Heintz (416) 884-9044 O u r p l a n t s a r e o p e n t o v i s i t o r s1 0 : 0 0 a m to noon during the Saturday Zenair Workshops,or by appointment.
f u s e l a g eu n d e r t h e p i l o t ' s k n e e s . Zenair recommends purchase of their complete package to cut cons t r u c t i o nt i m e t o u n d e r 6 0 0 h o u r s ;u s i n g your own raw materials, Zenair estimates 1500 hours of construction t i m e . A l l s u r f a c e sa r e m a d e f r o m f l a t stock with simple curves - no complex cutouts or access doors. The 32 rigid foam wing ribsare identical. Each panel is only 81/z teet long ( i n c l u d i n g t h e s p a r c a r r y t h r o u g hs t r u c ture). Fuselagesections are 6 feet long. As plans and kits become available f o r t h e w o r l d ' s s m a l l e s tt w i n , i t w i l l b e interestingto see just how many homebuilders want to spend the time and m o n e y f o r a s o l o , o n l yt w i n . C o l o m b a n points out that the cost of raw materials is directly proportional to the aircraft's weight. The Cricket weighs 21/zto three times lessthan the average single-seaterof comparable performa n c e . S p e c i fi c a t i o n s c a l l f o r a r a n g e o f 4 5 0 m i l e s o n s i x g a l l o n so f f u e l ; i . e . , 7 5 mph. The tiny ship has full twin-engine reliability. Besides,it's different. lt's s m a fl e n o u g h t o b e c a l l e d " c u t e " ; . i t ' s clean, performs well and puts on one helluvan aerobatic show. The new Cricket may very well become a popular homebuilt project and airshow
stopper.
