PPRuNe Forums - Fouga Magister

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Beagle -

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Diables Rouge superb displays

indeed!:ok::D Did S&R standby at a Gaydon display day, way back when and the DR's display started with a nine ship of three threes in vic, the leader lifting and immediately rolling inverted to climb away - heart stopping stuff!!

The pre-development motorised glider that became the Magister, with 90kg of thrust. the V tail was added for this model to move the conventional fin from the jet efflux

http://aircraftwalkaround.hobbyvista...cyclone_24.jpg

and the 2 seat development!:

http://aircraftwalkaround.hobbyvista...cyclone_26.jpg

Many more remarkable photos here:

Fouga CM8 R13 - Sylphe III

Cornish Jack -

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indeed!http://static.pprune.org/images/smilies/thumbs.gif:D Did S&R standby at a Gaydon display day, way back when and the DR's display started with a nine ship of three threes in vic, the leader lifting and immediately rolling inverted to climb away - heart stopping stuff!!

Was that Sept '69 ? If so there was a JP aerobatic group there at the same time & they went up together

Does anyone out there have pics of them flying together ?

stevew62
Could well have been - will have to check the log book. Don't recall the mixed formation with the JPs, but certainly do recall the arrival of the Arrows - one of them went past our Whirlwind BELOW rotor height!! The only other formation of note was the Blue Angels with their 'clockwork mice' and some (by light blue standards) rather odd starting procedures:eek:
Just checked - Yes, September 20th, '69 B of B display.
No photos at all, I'm afraid.

My CFI (Phil Cox who I hope has not yet got a harp) told me it could enter an uncontrolerable spin and one way to help regain control was to blow the canopy!! Problem with the funny tail .

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The noisiest aircraft in NATO. Excruciating, piercing intake/compressor noise

Hahhh. I see your noisiest aircraft and raise you a T-37!! The Tweet rules as the big boy on the block wrt excruciating engine noise.:p

I saw a very flash looking one in Tampere a few years back and must agree it is the noisiest aircraft I have ever heard.

Fouga Magister research

Hi All,

I am in the early stages of researching the Fouga Magister for an article, hopefully to be published in a UK based aviation magazine.

I am hoping to get responses from Magister pilots about:

The flying characteristics of the Magister.
Was it an easy aircraft to fly?
What were the dangers of flying the type - could you get into trouble easily on the edge of its flight envelope?
Was the cockpit ergonomically easy to work in ?
How effective was it in the ground attack role?
How effective was it as a trainer?
What was its strongest virtue?
What was its greatest vice?

I would also appreciate stories of operations, exercises, close calls in training and/or poor weather. Also any photos, particularly air-to-air shots you may have. As well as anything liked or disliked about the Magister.

I look forward to your responses.

Tom

I can't say I have ever flown a Magister but I would have said its greatest flaw was not in having ejection seats:eek::eek:.
I think that with its straight wing it would have been a fairly honest aeroplane to pole around. It also had two engines, so it did have a better chance of getting you home than say a single engine Jet Provost, which is what I flew doing my basic training.
I don't know how the performance figures compare in terms of speed, ceiling, range etc. but I guess that the Magister is more comparable with the un-pressurised JP3 and 4 than the pressurised Mk.5.
I think that the Magister might have also suffered from compressabilty issues at say < 0.7M in a descent from high level. The JP5 limiting Mach No was 0.75M.

This may not help you very much but it might help you focus questions to others who have flown both types. I for one was glad to have flown the JP in preference to the Magister though to be fair to the latter it was probably a trainer with a lower operating cost and its lack of sophistication may have been a bonus to many of the customers who bought them.

MB

Did my initial training on the French air force in them in Cognac end of the 1960's, only a few dozen hours on them and very long time ago..
but to answer partially to your questions :

he flying characteristics of the Magister. very simple and nice to fly.
Was it an easy aircraft to fly? Yes relatively. coming from flying gliders ( most of us did in those days ) we knew how to use our feet and keep the ball in the middle.
What were the dangers of flying the type - could you get into trouble easily on the edge of its flight envelope? Not that I recall.
Was the cockpit ergonomically easy to work in ? the front was ok . Full of added bits and pieces over the years as most French cockpits were in those days , not so much place but OK, we did not know any better. In the back definitively not .
How effective was it in the ground attack role? You have to ask the Israelis , they are to my knowledge the only ones that used them in combat . not made for it. It was designed as a trainer .
How effective was it as a trainer? very . except perhaps endurance , 1,5 hour max in cruise ( slow) and 1 h in training with some aerobatic in it .
Always had to look at the gauges all the time when coming back ..
What was its strongest virtue? you could do basically anything with it and get away with it if you were high enough. (You could also smoke in it and get rid of the butt in flight :-) The only military jet you van do this I believe
What was its greatest vice? Underpowered . especially the ones equipped with Marbore I engines, The Marbore II were better but marginally . Ejecting was possible on paper . I do not know anyone that did it though,.But you could put it down in a field and get out of it , landing without gear was no issue ( happened a lot before the Bip-Bips were introduced. , they were repaired and flown back a week later.

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I see your noisiest aircraft and raise you a T-37!! The Tweet rules as the big boy on the block wrt excruciating engine noise

Both aircraft were fitted with the same engine. The T-37 had Continental J69 engines, which were licence built copies of the Turbomeca Marboré, as fitted to the Fouga Magister.

Hi Madbob,

Thanks very much. Useful pointers to follow up on.

Thanks ATC Watcher, I have followed up your initial response with some questions in a PM.

All those years ago, stevew62 asked if there were pics of the Magisters flying with JPs at the RAF Gaydon BoB display in 1969.

Here are a couple, via here (A Linton Gin/Blades history site with some great stories):

http://www.linton-gin.com/pics/GIN_LDR_loop1.jpg

http://www.linton-gin.com/pics/GIN_LDR_loop2.jpg