SFCA Lignel 46 Coach
Société Française de Construction Aéronautique · France · first flew 1947 · light aircraft
The SFCA Lignel 46 Coach was a French four-seat touring aircraft built soon after the Second World War. It was SFCA's last design.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Low-mounted, tapered |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Variable-incidence tailplane at mid-height on the fuselage with a rounded fin and rudder |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Cantilever low-wing monoplane with straight leading edges and curved outer trailing edges giving a roughly elliptical plan
- Four seats in two side-by-side rows under a multipart glazed canopy, with the two main transparencies hinged forward
- Variable-incidence tailplane at mid-height on the fuselage with a rounded fin and rudder
A low-wing tourer with a long glazed cabin, a nose-mounted inverted V-8 engine and a fuselage that tapers linearly behind the cabin.
Specifications
- The SFCA Lignel 46 Coach has a length of 8 m (26 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 10.3 m (34 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 270 km/h (168 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
It first flew on 13 August 1947 and was a wooden aircraft with a monocoque fuselage made from perforated cork sheets between plywood layers, a method patented by Jean Broudeau. It was powered by a 190 hp Mathis G8R or G8 20 inverted V-8 engine.
Variants
Two prototypes were completed. The wing was broadly similar to that of the SFCA Lignel 20, with inset ailerons, split flaps and very small fixed leading-edge slots at the wing tips.
Where you'll see it
The two prototypes were flown and raced, and Jean Lignel took one to first place in the 1948 Italian Rally. Engine supply problems prevented production, since Mathis went out of business in 1950, and the prototypes remained active until at least 1951.
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