Kellner-Béchereau EC.4

Avions Kellner-Béchereau · France · first flew 1937 · light aircraft

The Kellner-Béchereau EC.4 was a French training aircraft with side-by-side seating and a novel double wing patented by its designer, Louis Béchereau. It was a single-engined, mid-wing cantilever monoplane.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Mid-mounted, straight
E — Engines	1 × piston, nose-mounted
F — Fuselage	5.3 m fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

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Spot it by:

Mid-wing cantilever monoplane with a full-span lateral division of the wing into a fore and rear section, forming a double wing
Straight, thick, constant-chord wing of aspect ratio 9.45 with conspicuous V-shaped faired underwing hinges
Open cockpit seating two side by side at the wing trailing edge

A small trainer with a 60 hp Train T6 inverted in-line engine in the nose and a conventional undercarriage with cantilever main legs.

Specifications

The Kellner-Béchereau EC.4 has a length of 5.3 m (17 ft).
It has a wingspan of 8.8 m (29 ft).
Its maximum speed is 160 km/h (99 mph).
Typical crew: 2.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

In 1936-37 Béchereau's company built a short series of small monoplanes using his patent for a full-span division of the wing into two sections. The EC.4 and its all-metal sister, the ED.5, were designed to meet the French Air Ministry's requirement for a pre-military trainer for the Aviation Populaire clubs.

Variants

The EC.4 had an all-wood structure of spruce frames and plywood covering, while the ED.5 was all-metal.

Where you'll see it

In normal flight the two parts of the wing were close together, the rear sections acting as lifting surface and, differentially, as ailerons, and they could be lowered together as slotted flaps.

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