Mudry CAP 10B (c/n 122, F-GOUM, formerly ´122´ of the French Air Force), flying display at Flugtage Fricktal-Schupfart 2018, Schupfart, July 2018.
In 1958, the French aviation enthusiast and professional pilot, Auguste Mudry, founded his aviation company named Cooperative des Ateliers Aéronautiques de la Région Parisienne – CAARP (Cooperative of Aeronautical Workshops of the Paris Region). Initially, the company focused on manufacturing Super Emeraude aircraft, designed by Claude Piel.
The Super Emeraude was an upgrade of Piel´s previous design, CP-301 Emeraude (English: emerald) two-seat utility aircraft. The new aeroplane was characterised by improved aerodynamics and featured a strengthened airframe, thereby allowing the Super Emeraude to perform basic aerobatics.
At the time he developed the Super Emeraude, Piel was working for Scintex Aviation S.A., the French aviation manufacturer active on the market between 1956 and 1964. Therefore, he made a deal with Auguste Mudry, to produce the aircraft by CAARP.
It is important to mention that Auguste Mudry, besides being the professional pilot and entrepreneur, was also passionate about gliding and aerobatics. He was one of the French post-war gliding pioneers and the first president of Fédération française de vol en planeur (the French Glider Flying Federation) he co-founded in the 1960s. In addition, one of his dreams was to create a professional French aerobatic aircraft, able to compete with then popular designs from the United States and the Eastern bloc, such as Pitts Special and Zlín Trenér.
Mudry noticed potential for further development, present in the Super Emeraude, and decided to create an aerobatic special based on its design. Together with Nenad Hrisafović, a Serbian engineer living in exile in France, and Robert Buisson, the CAARP test pilot, Mudry created his first prototype of the aerobatic aeroplane, designated CP100.
Sadly, the prototype was soon destroyed during one of the test flights. On 5th January 1967 the CP100 prototype, flew by French glider aerobatic champion and test pilot Jacques Gomy, and aerobatic champion Gérard Verette, crashed killing both aviators on the spot. As stated by investigation of the accident, the test pilots went beyond limits of the aircraft and crossed its structural strength.
Soon after, Mudry resumed his work on the aerobatic aeroplane. The new prototype, designated CAP 10 (CAP stands for Constructions Aéronautiques Parisiennes – Parisian Aeronautical Constructions), successfully performed its maiden flight in 1968. Two years later, serial production of the CAP 10B – as the serial version was designated – was launched. At the same time, Mudry changed name of his company to Avions Mudry et Compagnie (Aircraft Mudry and Co.).
The CAP 10 was a commercial success. Between 1970 and 2007, more than three hundred examples of the aeroplane were built. The aircraft was chosen by several European aerobatic pilots, was used in aeroclubs and for training of military pilots in Australia, France, Morocco, Mexico and South Korea.
In 1997, production of the CAP 10, and other aircraft designed by Mudry, was taken over by APEX Aviation. The company continued with manufacturing the aeroplane until 2008, when it was liquidated. Then, rights to build the CAP 10 were acquired by Robin Aircraft which offers modernised variant of the aircraft, designated CAP 10C NG, until today.
Interesting fact is that in 1991, one of the CAP 10 aircraft was used for illegal flight through Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It was, in fact, the third – and, so far, last – flight through the Arc, done by an unknown pilot, whose name remains a mystery until today (more information about this stunt, as well as other daring flights can be found in our article – Flying the impossible – an incredible story of daring flights).
In 2018, a pair of CAP 10B aircraft took part in the air show organised by Fricktal-Schupfart aeroclub in Switzerland to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The aircraft were flown by two well-known aerobatic pilots, the French champion Marianne Maire-Shaw and her American husband, Adam Shaw, flying together as Patrouille Captens (the Captens aerobatic team).
The Shaws adopted that name in 2006, in honour of Montaine Mallet and Danil Héligoin, two Mudry´s display pilots flying as the French Connection Airshow aerobatic team. They promoted the CAP 10 in the USA for twenty-five years. Regrettably, in 2000, their aircraft collided in mid-air and both aviators were killed on the spot.
