BREGUET 905

Ref : FSC 814

IN STOCK

History:

The Breguet Br 905 Fauvette is a single-seat standard class competition glider, designed and manufactured in France from the late 1950s onwards. Fifty were built, but most remain grounded following a structural accident in 1969. A few remain in flying condition.
Following the success of the Breguet 901 at the 1954 and 1956 World Gliding Championships, Jean Cayla designed the 905 for the 1958 championship. It is a Standard Class glider with a wingspan of 15 metres. Like its predecessor, the 905 is a cantilever mid-wing monoplane, but its structure contains fibreglass-reinforced plastic, more plastic foam and less and less fabric covering. It also has a butterfly tail. The wing, seen in plan, is trapezoidal, with square wing tips ending in small winglets.
The Type 905 Fauvette flew for the first time on 15 April 1958.
The 905 took part in the World Gliding Championships in Leźno, Poland, in 1958 as planned, but was unable to repeat Breguet's previous success, finishing 9th out of 24 in the Standard class. It was piloted by Camille Lebar. The Fauvette was appreciated by those who flew it, with its smooth controls, good roll rate and overall good performance.
Breguet scaled the production line to around fifty gliders. All were delivered to customers in several European countries and North America before the end of January 1961. The Fauvette was available ready to fly or in kit form. A few were delivered to private individuals in 1959. For example, on 12 June 1959, Tony Goodhart set a new British distance record of 617 km in his Fauvette. The fifth prototype also took part in the Italian National Championships.

In October 1962, following several incidents, Fauvettes were grounded until a safety directive was implemented requiring the rear spar to be reinforced with four stringers.

On 11 August 1969, a Fauvette lost its tail during towing, killing the pilot. Investigators found that the bond between the fuselage and the tail had failed, and this type of glider was permanently banned from flying on 19 September 1969. Despite a modification designed to strengthen the bond, most Fauvettes would never fly again. The reinforcement added 32 kg. Of the few modified examples, some remain registered. In 2010, five Fauvettes were registered in the European civil aircraft registers, and there were two in the United Kingdom in 2012.

In 2019, nine 905 S, two 905 SA and one 905 SLB were registered in the French civil aviation register.

THE MODEL

- 1/72 scale resin model

- Thermoformed plastic canopy

- Photo-etched parts sheet

- Screen-printed decals