Robin DR500

The Robin DR500 Président is a wooden low wing monoplane, manufactured by Robin Aircraft and marketed as a top-of-the-range DR400. It has a tricycle undercarriage, 4+1 seating configuration, is powered by a more powerful 200CV fuel-injected Lycoming engine and is larger and better-equipped than the standard DR.400.

Development
The Robin DR500 concept first originated in the 1980s as the DR.400 NGL or Nouvelle Génération Large, but the idea was not resurrected until the late 1990s by the new owners of Robin Aircraft. It took its name from the HR.100/250TR Président of 1974. Known and marketed as the DR.500, it is actually an extension of the DR.400's type certificate, so is sometimes referenced in official documents as the DR400/500. It was intended to fill the niche between 180 hp fixed undercarriage and 250 hp retractable undercarriage aircraft, with 1500 km range at cruise speeds of 260 km/h (143kt). The maiden flight of prototype F-WZZY was on 29 May 1997 with Daniel Müller as test pilot. 18 were produced in 1999 and 9 in 2000.

Design
Compared to the original DR.400, the DR.500 has a larger engine cowling and a larger bubble-like canopy like that on the R3000 or X4, making the cabin 40 cm longer, 10 cm wider at the shoulders and providing 5 cm more headroom. Like the Jodel D140, it has five seatbelts. The DR.500 has a new instrument panel, finished in grey and beige, and leather seats as standard; electric trim and electrically-operated flaps are also standard. The wing is slightly thicker than that on the DR.400, and it benefits from new, more streamlined wheel fairings. The DR.500 is powered by a fuel-injected 200 hp Lycoming driving a two-blade Hartzell variable-pitch propeller. There is a gas strut to keep the externally-accessible luggage compartment door open. Total fuel capacity is 275 litres: two 40l wing tanks, 105l under the floor, and an optional 90l tank under the baggage compartment.

Variants

 * DR.500-200I Président
 * powered by a 200 CV Lycoming IO-360-A1B6 engine