Continue reading]]> After being caught in a sudden gust of wind during landing, the Morane-Saulnier MS.230 of the Cercle des Machines Volantes association collided with ground installations, damaging the wings, engine, fuselage and landing gear. Fortunately, its pilot Frédéric Collinot, president of the CMV, was unhurt. The aircraft has been dismantled and returned to the CMV’s hangar where it will be repaired.

The Cercle des Machines Volantes is hosting its annual airshow this weekend “Compiègne Aéro Classic”, which will display classic aircraft to the public, notable the Curtiss Hawk 75 of The Fighter Collection.

Continue reading]]> Le Cercle des Machines Volantes, based in the city of Compiègne, north of Paris, is planning to build a Latécoère 28, a legendary aircraft used by France’s Aéropostale airmail service in the 1930s.

Thanks to the support of the Latécoère foundation, the CMV has acquired and scanned the entire blueprints for the aircraft and is creating a 3D modelisation. Some parts have already been built, notably the instrument panel, equipped with original instruments. The aircraft is to be powered by a Hispano-Suiza V12 engine similar to the original type.

With a 63-feet wingspan, this aircraft was capable of carrying eight passagers over 600 miles at a speed of 140 mph. It will be built using the various skills available among the CMV’s ranks and with the help of many partners specialized in various fields, including the Compiègne Technological University, the Latécoère Foundation, and the Cachan IUT.

More information (in Frenc) from the Cercle des Machines Volantes’ website.