ACBA Midour

The ACBA Midour, Midour 2 and Midour 3 are a series of glider tugs manufactured by the Aéro Club du Bas Armagnac in France, and named after the Midou River.

Midour
ACBA-7 Midour
General information
Type	Glider tug
Manufacturer	Aéro Club du Bas Armagnac
Primary user	Aéro Club du Bas Armagnac
Number built	7
History
First flight	1993
Developed from	Robin DR400

Design and development

The Midour is a double-seat, low-wing monoplane of conventional configuration, fitted with a fixed, tricycle undercarriage. Developed in the workshop of the ACBA using the wings of a Robin DR400, the Midour first flew in 1993^[1] and four additional examples to the original design have been built, along with two modified versions.

Although the Midour is sometimes equipped with only a single seat, a passenger can be carried behind the pilot, to assist in the release of gliders being towed.

Variants

ACBA-8 Midour 2.

ACBA-7 Midour

Original version with 180 horsepower (130 kW) Lycoming O-360 engine; five built.

ACBA-8 Midour 2

Improved version with entirely new wing design. One built.

ACBA Midour 3

Optimised, quieted version of Midour 2 with new fuselage and canopy, designed to be especially quiet due to noise pollution concerns. One built.^[2]

Specifications (ACBA-7)

Data from ^[3]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Capacity: 1 passenger (optional)
• Length: 6.81 m (22 ft 4 in)
• Wingspan: 8.72 m (28 ft 7 in)
• Wing area: 14.2 m² (153 sq ft)
• Aspect ratio: 5.35
• Empty weight: 550 kg (1,213 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 790 kg (1,742 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming O-360 4-cyl. horizontally-opposed piston engine, 130 kW (180 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 300 km/h (190 mph, 160 kn)
• Cruise speed: 190 km/h (120 mph, 100 kn)
• Rate of climb: 3.72 m/s (732 ft/min)

See also

Related development

• Robin DR400

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• Aero L-60 Brigadýr
• PZL-104 Wilga