The Indraéro Aéro 20 is a small, two-seat, single engined monoplane

Monoplane

A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with one main set of wing surfaces, in contrast to a biplane or triplane. Since the late 1930s it has been the most common form for a fixed wing aircraft.-Types of monoplane:...

, built in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 in the mid 1960s, for general and sports flying. Only one was built, but this remains active.

Design and development

Design work on the Aéro 20 began in June 1965 and construction started in that September. It first flew on 11 June 1966 and received its amateur category SGAC certification in August 1968.

It is a conventional single engine low-wing monoplane, seating two in tandem. The wings are wooden structures with fabric covering

Aircraft fabric covering

Aircraft fabric covering is a term used for both the material used and the process of covering aircraft open structures. It is also used for reinforcing closed plywood structures, the de Havilland Mosquito being an example of this technique....

. They carry 5° of dihedral and are braced with strut

Strut

A strut is a structural component designed to resist longitudinal compression. Struts provide outwards-facing support in their lengthwise direction, which can be used to keep two other components separate, performing the opposite function of a tie...

s running from the upper fuselage

Fuselage

The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, 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...

 longerons to the upper wing surface. There are no flaps

Flap (aircraft)

Flaps are normally hinged surfaces mounted on the trailing edges of the wings of a fixed-wing aircraft to reduce the speed an aircraft can be safely flown at and to increase the angle of descent for landing without increasing air speed. They shorten takeoff and landing distances as well as...

. The tail surfaces are also built of wood, with fabric covering. The fin and rudder are tall, tapered and straight edged. The elevators carry trim tabs

Trim tabs

Trim tabs are small surfaces connected to the trailing edge of a larger control surface on a boat or aircraft, used to control the trim of the controls, i.e. to counteract hydro- or aero-dynamic forces and stabilise the boat or aircraft in a particular desired attitude without the need for the...

.

The fuselage of the Aéro 20 is flat sided, with wooden longerons and frames, plywood covered and with a rounded decking. The two seats, with a small baggage space behind were originally enclosed under a continuous canopy. The aircraft is powered by a 90 hp (60 kW) Continental C90-8 flat 4 cylinder engine. The fixed, tailwheel undercarriage

Conventional landing gear

thumb|The [[Piper PA-18|Piper Super Cub]] is a popular taildragger aircraft.thumb|right|A [[Cessna 150]] converted to taildragger configuration by installation of an after-market modification kit....

 has spring steel shock absorber main legs with a track of 2.44m (8 ft); no brakes are fitted.

Operational history

Only one Aéro 20 was built, but it seems to have continued flying until at least 2006. By then the canopy had been discarded and replaced by a pair of small windscreens and the wheels enclosed in spats. F-PKXY remains on the French civil register in 2010.

Specifications