This motorglider was a new derivative of the side-by-side two-seater AV-22 and flew for the first time on April 8, 1965. It was exhibited in August of that same year to the 18th national gathering of the amateur builders of Montluçon. This motorglider was a two-seater side-by-side that was equipped with a Rectimo 4 AR 1200 39 hp engine (Volkswagen aircraft conversion) mounted on the nose, driving a fixed-pitch fully feathering wooden propeller. The prototype originally had a single glider-style main landing gear and was later changed to a more classic main landing gear of two wheels with hoop-style fiberglass gear legs. The wing was copied directly from the AV-22, but the fuselage was an entirely new structure in order to accommodate the new two-man crew requirements and addition of the engine and a single fin and rudder.

First shown in model form at the 1964 Cannes air show, the AV 221 has a short fuselage, mid-set cantilever wooden wings with slight forward sweep and built in three sections, a large fin and rudder with no tailplane and in its original form – a non-retractable monowheel from a Piper Cub in a large under-fuselage fairing supplemented by outrigger wheels under the wings and a small steerable tailwheel.

The prototype had completed six crossings of the Alps by mid-June 1966.

Later, the AV-221 was re-engined with a Survol – De Coucy “Pygmée”, a 4-cycle engine of 40 Horsepower that had the advantage of being very light compared to the Volkswagen. This lighter weight caused a lengthening of the AV-221 fuselage and was newly designated as AV-221 B. But the AV-221 never flew with this engine.

Production AV221s would have been powered by the 61hp Rectimo 4 AR 1600 version of the Volkswagen engine or in AV 221B form – by the 40hp or 50hp Fauvel Pygmee four-stroke ‘flat four’ engine; both these version would have had the wing span increased by 3ft to 53ft 9.5 in, with Hoerner wing tips, and the AV221B was 16.5 in longer than the prototype at 17ft 1.5in.

The AV 221 prototype was later fitted with a conventional landing gear with twin main wheels to improve handling over rough ground; this new undercarriage consisted of cantilever selfsprung laminated glassfibre legs and Duruble wheels with hydraulic brakes and streamlined wheel fairings. This replaces the former fixed monowheel in its large fairing and the two outrigger wheels under the wings, but for amateur construction the monowheel landing gear is recommended as being lighter, cheaper and easier to install. With the new undercarriage a larger dorsal fin was fitted to compensate for the smaller side area of the spats compared to the monowheel fairing.

Another variable of the AV-221, was the result of a reconstruction project on the prototype by Serge Chaintri, of Liévin, after it had been damaged in an accident. It was equipped with a Volkswagen aircraft conversion of 1600 cc. which resulted in greatly improved performance under power over the original and is still flying in 1999. It is registered as F-CRON under the CNRP (French navigability certificate for amateur-built gliders and motorgliders).

The AV221 was followed a few years later by a lighter and simplified version designated AV 222.

Wing span: 15.48 m
Length: 5.22 m
Wing area: 21.75 sq.m
Airfoil: Fauvel F4 17%
Aspect ratio: 10.6
Empty weight: 325 kg
Max gross weight: 530 kg
Max. speed: 160 km/h
Best glide ratio: 23:1
Min. sink rate: 0.87 m/sec

This small one-seater airplane, comparable to the Jodel D-9 bébé or to the Druine Turbulent, was designed specifically for amateur builders. The prototype was constructed by Leonard D. Wolff (assisted by his friend Davidson) at Houston, Texas in the United States. The AV-60 made its first flight on July 14, 1963, piloted by Davidson, when it actually became airborne during a “planned high speed taxi run”. The plane was exhibited at the National Air Show in Texas on November 3, 1963, where it was a big success.
Christened as Leprechaun (the imp of Irish folklore), the AV-60 had been developed by Charles Fauvel in collaboration with G. Jacquemin, an aeronautical engineer working in Canada. The construction plans were produced in English. It is a low aspect ratio flying wing, with a nose-mounted Volkswagen engine (converted for aircraft use) of 1300 cc, weighing 48 kg and developing 40 Horsepower at 3500 RPM. A formed plexiglas bubble canopy covers the cockpit which is located over the low wing. The most remarkable characteristic is the absence of a long conventional fuselage structure with a laminated wood shell structure comprising the vertical stabilizer and the rudder attach beam being further braced by a triangular tubular beam from the wing itself. The prototype was equipped with a standard fixed tricycle landing gear, based on that of the TIPPSY Nipper.

Wing Span: 7 m
Length: 4 m
Empty Weight: 220 kg
Max Gross Weight: 350 kg
Maximum Speed: 157 km/h
Cruise speed: 128 km/h
Takeoff Distance: 180 m