The Aiglon (Eaglet) was a private venture design by CARMAM’s technical directors Robert Jacquet and Jean Pettier, and is a restricted Standard Class sailplane; design work began in September 1971, and the prototype made its first flight on 14 June 1974.
Series production began in 1976, the first production JP15-36A making its first flight on 16 October that year; a version with a retractable monowheel and provision for up to 121 lb of water ballast is designated JP 15-36AR.
The single-seater Aiglon is intended for intensive club use and so special attention has been paid to good flying qualities and safe landing characteristics for not-so-experienced pilots. Construction is of glassfibre, the cantilever mid wing having a single glassfibre spar and a glassfibre/Rohacell/epoxy sandwich skin and steel-tipped wing tip ‘salmon’ fairings. The ailerons are of plastic and can be operated either differentially or in unison, and there are Schempp-Hirth airbrakes on the upper and lower surfaces; for ease of wing rigging the aileron and air brake controls are designed to connect automatically. The semimonocoque glassfibre fuselage is moulded in two halves and joined at the centreline, a single bulkhead forming the cockpit backrest and a shock-absorbing structure for the monowheel. A large one-piece canopy gives excellent visibility, while both seat and rudder pedals are adjustable in flight: on the JP 15-36A the monowheel s fixed and has a cable brake, and there is also a tail bumper. The swept back fin is integral with the fuselage, and the wooden rudder is fabric-covered, the all-moving tailplane is of plastics construction.
The Pettier PA 15-34 Kit-Club homebuilt version is essentially the same as the JP 15-36A but with some structural simplification and redesign to make it more suitable for amateur builders; the glassfibre wings are factory-made. Plywood-covered spruce construction of the fuselage and tail unit replaces the Aiglon’s more sophisticated glassfibre structure, although the Kit-Club’s nose-cone is of glassfibre. The tail boom, rudder and rear part of the tailplane are fabric-covered, and there is a fixed unsprung monowheel, with a cable-operated drum brake on production aircraft. The change to wood construction results in only a slight weight penalty, the maximum weight going up to 926lb, and performance is very similar to the JP15-36A’s. The prototype Kit-Club made its first flight on 6 November 1976, and 12 had been built by December 1979. The Kit-Club is also available in factory-built form from CARMAM.
By January 1980 a total of 39 JP 15-36Aand JP 15-36AR Aiglons had been sold
The CARMAN JP 15-38 Standard Class single seater utilises the same wings as the JP 15-36A Aiglon with provision for 220lb of water ballast; these are married to a new fuselage of similar construction to the JP 15-36A, which has a mechanically retractable unsprung monowheel. Instead of the Aiglon’s low-set tailplane the 15-38 has a T-tail, with elevator and spring trim.
Construction of the 15-38 began in February 1977 and the prototype made its first flight on 17 June 1979.
JP. 15-36 Aiglon
Wing span: 15.0 m / 49 ft 2.5 in
Length: 6.4 m / 21 ft 0 in
Height: 1.4 m / 4 ft 7 in
Wing area: 11.0 sq.m / 118.4 sq.ft
Wing section: Wortmann FX-67-K-170/67-126
Aspect ratio: 20.4
Empty weight: 200 kg / 441 lb
Max weight: 390 kg / 860 lb
Water ballast: None
Max wing loading: 35.5 kg/sq.m / 7.27 lb/sq ft
Max speed: 130 kt / 240 km/h
Stalling speed: 33.5 kt / 62 km/h
Min sink: 0.6 m/sec / 2 ft/sec at 40.5 kt / 75 km/h
Max rough air speed: 108 kt / 200 km/h
Best glide ratio: 36 at 49.5 kt / 92 km/h
CARMAM JP15-36A
Span: 49ft 2.5 in
Length: 20ft 3 in
Height: 4ft 7 in
Wing area: 114.7 sqft
Aspect ratio: 20.4
Empty weight: 505 lb
Max weight: 860 lb
Max speed: 136mph (in smooth air)
Max aero-tow speed: 103 mph
Min sinking speed: 2.03ft/sec at 45 mph
Best glide ratio: 36.9:1 at 50 mph
CARMAM 15-38
Span: 49ft 2.5 in
Length: 21 ft 11.75 in
Height: 4ft 8 in
Wing area: 118.4 sqft
Aspect ratio: 20.6
Empty weight: 507 1b
Max weight: 970 lb
Max speed: 136 mph (in smooth air)
Max area-tow speed: 136 mph
Min sinking speed: 1.97ft/sec at 46.5 mph
Best glide ratio: 38:1 at 62 mph
