There is a Wassmer 51a or sale on the RSA. Could make a cheap family plane, but useful load would have to be confirmed.
Orphaned CofA, Day VFR only (we looked into this one).
https://pa.rsafrance.com/#!annonces/7609/vends-wassmer-51a-de-1974-n-16
Thank you Juju, I didn’t know about the petites annonces of the RSA.
In the WA52 I had to have the seat all the way back and my headset was touching the roof. It’s a bit of a funny posture (low and reclined) and I’d sometimes get aching legs. I’m 1m88 and I think you’re even taller. I’ve had a car seat and baby carrier in the back but it was completely full. You could carry 4 but it’s a bit tight and there’s not much space for baggage.
The manual for the WA51A is here (download), pages 27-28 say 590kg empty and 1040kg maximum. With 70-75 litres in each wing it gives you approx 340kg for pilot, passengers and bags. This seems too good…
They are nice planes and fly well, but sourcing parts is challenging and would need a lot of owner input unless your mechanic is familiar with the type. It’s sensitive in pitch especially with a rear centre of gravity and low speed handling isn’t great so you’d probably want to keep it on tarmac and no less than 700m for landing.
On APM, my aeroclub wanted to buy one in 2008 to support a French manufacturer, but they never turned up when they were supposed to bring the demonstrator, then stopped returning phone calls.
Nice read, it looks like a diary from the Résistance 
Thanks for pointing out the cabin height issue. Definitely a no go for me then.
Always take the empty weight of the POH with a bucket of salt 
APM is just a bloody shame. Maybe they loose money on each aircraft but still …
There’s another WA51 for sale on Air Contact (pdf), plus a WA54 on planecheck (pdf) which is faster but still has the same size cabin
That R90 is one sexy aeroplane!
Another WA54 on planecheck (pdf)
Fun thing is, those planes seem to sell fast! That is really amazing for some “exotic” type like this.
They are not really considered exotic in France.
gallois wrote:
They are not really considered exotic in France.
I think they are great airplanes, simply rare. The rarer planes are, they sell much better in an environment where they are least rare and where there is a lot of shops which can deal with them. France should be the ideal place to fly French built rare planes.
For quite a time my airplane of desire was the Robin HR100 due to it’s enormeous range. French aviation have produced quite a few planes with real decent range, the said HR100, some Wassmers and obviously the TB20. Not to mention the TBM series.
And I think it is well known that my absolute favorite airplane of all time was and is the SE210 Caravelle. I spent very happy time on CN169 – HB-ICJ. And we all know very well that the Dassault Mercure looks remarkably like the A320…. which in turn inherits a lot from the Caravelle and Concorde. And not to speak of the very successful French biz jets. Mind I was once sorely tempted by a Morane Paris II (the very same airframe which is now again on Planecheck incidently). Sanity prevailed but what a lovely plane.
French aviation has built some of the best airplanes ever. It is regretful that many of those great designs never went to production levels which could survive the test of time.
