Jodel’s other half

In October 1957 Pierre Robin teamed up with Jean Délémontez, the “Del” of Jodel, to found Centre-Est Aéronautique at Darois, outside Dijon. Their first aircraft grew out of a shelved Jodel four-seater, the D10, and was sold as the Jodel Robin before becoming the DR100. The initials told the story: D for Délémontez, R for Robin. The DR100 evolved through the DR200 family, and in November 1970 the company took the name Avions Pierre Robin.

The cranked-wing DR400

The DR400 first flew in 1972 and is still being built more than half a century later. A wooden four-seater with a tricycle undercarriage and Jodel’s trademark cranked wing, it has passed 2,700 examples and made Robin the most common make in French flying clubs. Robin also ventured into metal with the designer Chris Heintz: the HR100 tourer, of which 178 were built, and the HR200 and R2000 trainers, whose type certificates were sold to Alpha Aviation of New Zealand in 2004.

Liquidations and a comeback

Ownership has been turbulent. Apex Aircraft bought the company in 1988 and went into liquidation in 2008 after its supplier of diesel engines, Thielert, collapsed. Production resumed as Robin Aircraft in 2011 and added the DR401 and the CAP 10C NG aerobatic aircraft. Then in December 2022 EASA grounded DR400s over wing-spar bonding. The directive was cancelled in June 2024, the spars found acceptable, but too late: Robin Aircraft was liquidated in November 2023. Its sister company CEAPR, owner of the type certificates and the name, rehired half the staff and carried on.

Fábricas

• Darois works · Dijon-Darois aerodrome, Côte-d’Or — Metalwork, carpentry, paint, assembly and electrics under one roof

Gente

• Pierre Robin · cofundador
• Jean Délémontez · co-founder and designer — Principal designer of Jodel aircraft
• Chris Heintz · designer — Metal HR series
• Daniel Triques · founder of Robin Aircraft, 2011