RSA Rally – 2022

Brian Hope heads to France for the premier French homebuilding fly-in…

The French Homebuilders Rally, organised by France’s equivalent to the LAA, the Reseau du Sport de l’Air, has long been one of my favourite events, so I was delighted to see its return in late July following cancellations in 2020 and 2021. The event is currently held at Brienne Le Chateau, a former military airfield about 90 miles south-east of Paris that dates back to 1913, but saw its last military activities in 1965 when it ceased operations as a NATO base.

Today it is home to a flying club, a parachute school and a number of private owners.

Us Brits have generally been quite supportive of RSA Rallies over the years, but we scarcely made double figures of G-reg aircraft this year – poor weather forecasts in parts of the UK on the Friday may well have put paid to a number of intending attendees.

As it was, there was a healthy number of arrivals on the Saturday, nothing like the 600-plus seen in the heydays of the event in the 1990s, but certainly plenty of interest. The French amateur aviation scene has always been rather quirky and inventive, its rules somewhat more encouraging for sport aircraft designers.

01 Béryl This absolutely stunning CP752B-AR Béryl was built by Alain Réaut and made its first flight last year. The design dates back to the CP70 of the 1960s, a tandem variant of Claude Piel’s Emeraude which was later developed into the aerobatic CP750 by replacing the wooden fuselage with a longer steel tube version and shortening the wingspan. Power is courtesy of a 200hp Lycoming.

02 Sidewinder The Smyth Sidewinder is a very rare bird in Europe. There used to be one in the UK which I last saw languishing in a hangar at Abbeville, but this example is almost certainly not that one. It appeared to be powered by a Jabiru, they were generally built Lycoming powered, and were a contemporary of the Thorp T18, although the fuselage was aluminium on steel tube, as opposed to an all alloy monocoque.

03 Dreamspitts Dreamspitts 001 is an almost completed variation of an American ultralight (possibly Ragwing Pitts) and should fly before year end. Power is via a 100hp Rotax 912.

04 Croses No RSA Rally would be complete without a Pou du Ciel, and there were a couple of Croses designs in attendance, this 80hp Jabiru CLP being one. Although the traditional ‘Fleas’ were two-axis, relying on the secondary effect of rudder to provide roll, the Croses has mini ailerons mounted inboard on the rear wing to provide a degree of roll input, which makes crosswind landings less of a challenge.

05 Vaxell engine This early prototype engine is from Vaxell, an aircraft engine spin-off of Polish company Swiatek, which has four decades of expertise in automotive engine tuning and camshaft design and manufacture. Its major aviation engines have been based on the Type 1 VW Beetle motors, fitted with multi-point fuel injection and dual electronic ignition, although they also produce a 35hp V-twin for ultralights.

Plans are to produce this lightweight, flat twin, reduction drive, fuel-injected and electronic-ignited unit in 35, 45 and 55hp versions.

If you’re looking for something a little different next season, why not nip across La Manche and see how it’s ordered in France, you won’t be disappointed!