@Silvaire, congrats to your friend. I learned to fly on the C65 engined version of that bird and have flown it quite a bit. It’s very nice to fly, great visibility (incl. excellent forward visibility, which is rare on a taildragger), and very economical. The club sold it for maybe 60€ wet per hour back then (don’t remember the exact number).
Dan wrote:
Cheap French hardware on all but the engine.
Range can be a problem on versions only fitted with a forward tank only.
Resale value is bad in Europe, most going for a song or less.
No flaps means that any obstacle or misjudged approach will require slipping action
“Cheap French hardware” does not mean “bad”. Delemontez targeted his line of aircraft in the late 40’s / early 50’s to the “popular aviation” i.e. the lower range of the price segment, including homebuilts. The wing got this particular shape because it was easy and cost efficient to build. It proved to be very good from an aerodynamic point of view too.
In essence, it targets the same segment as Taylorcrafts, Piper Cubs and the like; no one would dub those “Cheap US hardware”, although that’s exactly what they are :D (no negativity meant by any means, I like cheap hardware when the concept proves great like in Jodels, T-crafts and Pipers!)
Range can indeed be an issue on D11-series, as most have a 50-ish liter single tank only.
About resale value: resale value depends on the price one buys it. I am not aware of any price depreciation of Jodels on the used market. @Dan’s comment should read: Good deals can be made :) “Early” Jodels (i.e. not speaking Mousquetaires and Mascarets here) can indeed be found around €20-30k, sometimes even less. The simple construction and small engine make them economical, yet very fun, aircraft to buy, maintain and fly.
I’ve never found the lack of flaps or spoilers to be an issue. This is no different from your usual Piper J3. Besides, slipping is not a problem with Jodels. Some have been equipped with spoilers, glider-style (I have no experience with those.)
All in all, Jodels are fun to fly and economical to own. The D11 series was further developed into the larger, 180hp Jodel Mousquetaire (D140), and Mascaret (D150). A “fork” (to use a software term) was also done by Mr Robin with his DR100, then 200, 300 and 400-series. More than 4000 DR400 have been built, and it is still in production today. Some have north of 10,000 hours, which is not a problem with wood.
Thanks very much @Capitaine for the book reference, I’ve forwarded it. It’s always fun to educate yourself when you acquire something new, with intricate history.
The aeroclub here had a D112 back in 1994 which we used for training originally and then when we got the DR320 many pilots stuck with it..if I remember rightly it was somewhere less than £30 an hour dual and £20 solo or 200 to 300francs before the euro.
Nice machine but I have never enjoyed swinging a prop. Fortunately the D113 and the D120 had electric starters.
Looks nice. The Jodel types are a complicated matrix, but the factory built ones are listed (in French) in Avions Jodel by Xavier Massé. One consideration that might be relevant is that the common performance improvement is to remove weight, which is easiest done in the the after fuselage and tail, making the homebuilt ones more susceptible to a cheval de bois or ‘rocking horse’ (if you ever fell off one face-first it makes sense).
Silvaire wrote:
I’m not sure if it has an aerodynamic air brake, I don’t think so.
Some of them do I think.
Flight school I am associated with (they handle the instruction needs on my Mooney) operate a varying number of Jodels, DR1050. They are by far the cheapest school to do the PPL with and what people who fly them tell me is that they are excellent as trainers.
That all sounds pretty good given the modest power output of a little Continental. I think 100 kts and 1000 fpm climb will be fine, it’s slower than another friends Culver Cadet that has an O-200 and retractable gear, but better overall than a Luscombe or Taylorcraft. I’m sure he’ll have fun with it and that it will someday leave him in a little better condition that it was received 
Thanks for the details.
Most US builders in the 50s-70s built everything themselves except the propeller, wheels and brakes and sometimes the tailwheel. Engines were often assembled out of overhauled parts.
I misunderstood the question about air brakes, thinking that some might have air actuated wheel brakes like a Yak! I’m not sure if it has an aerodynamic air brake, I don’t think so.
A lot of older designs have light rudder and elevator, but heavy ailerons. My Luscombe was the same, and I dreamed of putting spades on it like somebody has already done on this Jodel. Another example is the Citabria, they handle like a truck to me but are much improved with factory spades.
When building a Jodel usually uses what is available. I doubt the US builder has much access to a couple of 2CV door handles.
So most just nip down the local hardware store or motor factors to get what they need.
My Jodel 120 was based on the D112 plans but was factory built by Wassmer.
It had air brakes like a glider, and we had Beringer brakes fitted on the wheels, but need to be careful with them as they could be a bit too aggressive if pulled on hard.
I had no problem with controls being stiff in roll or in pitch but that might be because I came to Jodels, originally a D112 and then the D113 and before that various wooden Robin’s.
I didn’t find cross wind landings on grass or tarmac a huge problem and on occasion did land with.crosswinds of over 20kts. You have to practice crosswind landing techniques round this part of France as you often need to land in them.🙂
I dug out my old crib sheet.
It was a C90 engine putting out 96CV
Useful load was just shy of 300kg
Cruise was 190km/h = just over 102kt
I used to climb at around 1000fpm but the book figure was 10.5m/s which I have just calculated to be around 2000fpm. I must have got my maths wrong somewhere🙂
Anyway I usually climbed at an angle where I could see over the top.
Ceiling was 14,000ft
Stall 87km/h = 47kts
T/O distance was 220m
LD 200m
Range 1000 km 540NM.
I used to use Avgas but was told that mogas would not have been a problem.
I had a Scimitar prop fitted which gave a bit better performance and felt better in terms of stability, vibration and noise. I had to switch back to the normal prop for 3 year visits to RSA or OSAC. A lot of Jodel owners do the same.
As someone said they don’t fetch a lot of money for the fun they provide but then neither do they cost a lot to run.
I sold mine a few years ago for €13000. The mode S transponder and 8.33 radio were worth nearly 50% of that.
Selling it was something I think I will always regret.😪😪
Probably very exotic looks for American eyes
More cute than exotic but none the less an interesting plane in that there were many more obvious choices in the late ‘70s, the original builder spent so much time building it, and then he spent a lot flying it too. Today it’s usually one or the other but the old school EAA guys were determined types. The builder was a cabinet maker by trade, or so we read, and that’s probably why he choose an all wood design.
This is just for fun, no overnight flights are anticipated so the performance will be just fine. Aileron forces should be a little lower with the spades now installed, time will tell. The pilot has lots of experience slipping flapless aircraft and there’s no French hardware on this one. The price was less than some pay for a motorcycle, low resale price was what the buyer was seeking, and the engine has value.
It’ll be operated off a runway on the top of a hill, but it’s pretty long (2900 ft or 880 m) so that’s less of a consideration for any plane than the sides of the hill being entirely covered by pine trees. Hopefully the little C85 won’t quit
@Maoraigh, thanks for the Jodel Group link, I believe he may have already found that one but will forward it regardless!
The Jodel Group on Groups.io is an active English language source of Jodel information.
[email protected]
The so designated Jodel D-11 have come in many versions thru the years.
I have a few hours on type, all licence Swiss built variants (Uetz)… weighing some 30kg more than their French built and designed counterparts, and powered by venerable C-90s.
As with most Jodels, performance once regarded as good is modest to say the least, and the flight controls are all but in harmony. One look at the hinges and one will understand the need for strong forearms and patience for any roll action, whilst the pitch and yaw controls are ok.
Cheap French hardware on all but the engine.
Range can be a problem on versions only fitted with a forward tank only.
Resale value is bad in Europe, most going for a song or less.
No flaps means that any obstacle or misjudged approach will require slipping action on any European sized runway, less so on American’s highways.
Crosswind limits are on the low side but ok, less so if operating from a grass fiel as was intended.
On the plus side pretty cheap to operate (if the covering’s good) with good allround vis. Probably very exotic looks for American eyes
