The Jodel design can be traced back to the end of the second world war when the French government, recognising the value of light aviation, purchased considerable numbers of Tiger Moths and Miles Magisters at a very low cost. These were then passed on to flying clubs.
But these ex-wartime trainers were very fuel hungry and slow. This left a gap in the market for Edouard Joly, a private pilot who lived in the area of Beaune, and his son-in-law Jean Delemontez, to fill. The story goes that they fell upon some pre-war aircraft-quality plywood and an old 26 hp Poinsard engine and without formal training in aerodynamics decided to design their own single-seat light aeroplane. The wood was turned into a small, single-seat aircraft with cranked wings. It was so tiny, particularly compared to existing training aircraft, that they called it the D9 Bebe (Baby). The fact that Delemontez spent so much time working on the aircraft, rather than with his wife (Joly’s daughter), is also reported to have something to do with the naming.
In March 1946, the French Societe des Avions Jodel was formed, and built the D.9 Bebe light monoplane, which first flew on 21 January 1948. While the original single place D 9 was built for their personal use, word of the light, responsive handling created a major market demand for plans. As word spread of the amazing performance, the design became so well liked that five French manufacturers got involved in factory production of the series at various times.
The subsequent Model D.92 uses the modified VW engine for power, replacing the original 25-hp Poinsard engine. Many hundreds have been built in Great Britain, Canada, New Zealand, France, Germany and the U.S.A. The construction is simple and rugged, the materials being spruce and plywood with fabric covering. The one piece wing has a simple box spar, the outer panels being set at a large dihedral angle to give good stability. Another advantage of the polyhedral wing layout is that the loads at the spar splices are lighter than at the wing root, enabling very simple splices to be used. The fuselage is built up conventionally with four 5/8” square longerons and struts, the whole being covered with ply. The simple undercarriage comprises two legs attached to the spar, and uses rubber in compression for springing. The number of metal fittings has been kept to a minimum for ease of construction. The standard engine is the Volkswagen conversion of 30.7 h.p., but other engines of from 25 to 45 h.p. may be fitted The D9 is designed to a load factor of 9.0 at 600 lbs.
D.92 BEBE
Engine: VW, 40 h.p.
Span: 23’ 0”.
Length: 18’ 0”.
Wing Area: 97 sq.ft.
Empty Weight: 453 lb.
Loaded Weight: 705 lb.
Wing Loading: 7.2 lb./sq.ft.
Max. Speed: 100 mph.
Cruise Speed: 81 mph.
Stall Speed: 37 mph.
Initial Climb: 420 fpm.
Range: 280 miles
Seats: 1.
Range 217 nm.
