Rebirth of the Caudron Rafale 460 at the Eiffel Wind Tunnel
1936 Los Angeles USA, the French pilot Michel Détroyat wins the Thomson Trophy race and is the first and only non American to win such an event with a less powerful but more agile and technically advanced plane. The winning aircraft was a Caudron Renault 460 Rafale. Its plans, design and manufacturing details did not survive WWII.
Based on empiric research of historic documents, a team of passionate experts started a project to rebuild and make the French Caudron Rafale 460 fly again. The team managed to recuperate the original toy-size model of the 2 seater version that was tested in the Eiffel wind tunnel in Paris in 1934. Close to 70 years later the same model is tested in the exact same wind tunnel to provide additional information for the development of the French replica of the Caudron Rafale 460. Did you know that the well-known French car producer Renault use to also produced plane engines ? Original racing engines have been recuperated and will be used on this replica airplane. With the wind tunnel results, the empiric research and the team expertise, the Rafale replicate will for sure be as identical to the original plane and will be a great value to the aeronautical heritage.
With its passion for aviation, LunaJets is proud to be associated with this project. “We are supporting this long-term development to perpetuate the passion our team has for aviation and commitment to excellence” says Laurent Détroyat, CCO, grandson of the 1936 winning pilot.
Watch the video of the wind Tunnel in Paris: