Nord Norécrin

The Nord 1200 Norécrin is a French two or three-seat (later four-seat) cabin monoplane designed and built by Nord Aviation.

1200 Norécrin
Nord 1203 Norécrin
Role	Cabin monoplane
Manufacturer	Nord Aviation
First flight	15 December 1945
Number built	378

Development

The Norécrin was developed to meet a French ministry of transport sponsored design competition. The Norécrin is a low-wing cantilever monoplane with a retractable tricycle landing gear and the prototype (Nord 1200) was designed to receive a nose-mounted 75 kW (100 hp) Mathis G4-R piston engine but flew only with a 100 kW (140 hp) Renault 4Pei (first flight on 15 December 1945 with Georges Detre as test pilot). The production version had three-seats and was designated the Nord 1201 Norécrin I. A number of variants were produced with different engines fitted. Later variants had four-seats and the Nord 1203 Norécrin V was a two-seat military variant with machine-guns and rockets. It was a successful design and 378 aircraft were built.

Variants

1200 Norécrin

Prototype with a 100 kW (140 hp) Renault 4Pei engine.

1201 Norécrin I

Three-seat production variant with a 100 kW (140 hp) Renault 4P-01 engine (22 built)

1202 Norécrin

Prototype four-seat variant with a 120 kW (160 hp) Potez 4D-01 engine

Nord 1203 Norecrin II at Sherburn-in-Elmet airfield, Yorkshire, in July 1951

1203 Norécrin II

Production variant with 101 kW (135 hp) Regnier 4L-00 engine.

1203 Norécrin III

Norécrin II with modified landing gear.

1203 Norécrin IV

Powered by a 130 kW (170 hp) Regnier 4L-02 engine.

1203 Norécrin V

Armed military variant.

1203 Norécrin VI

1955 production variant with a 120 kW (160 hp) Regnier 4L-14 engine.

1203 Norécrin M1

1955 prototype with a 130 kW (180 hp) Lycoming O-360 engine, derated to 120 kW (160 hp) .

1204 Norécrin

Powered by a 93 kW (125 hp) Continental C125 flat-four engine.

1204/II Norécrin

Powered by a 108 kW (145 hp) Continental C145-2 flat-four engine.

Operators

 Brazil

• OMTA - One aircraft only.

Military operators

 Argentina

• Argentine Coast Guard

 France

• French Air Force
• French Navy

 Israel

• Israeli Air Force - Two aircraft only operated 1948–1949.^[1]

  Switzerland

• Swiss Air Force

Specifications (1203 Norécrin II)

Nord 1200 2-view drawing from L'Aerophile March 1946

Data from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing. p. 2616.

General characteristics

• Crew: one
• Capacity: three passengers
• Length: 7.21 m (23 ft 8 in)
• Wingspan: 10.22 m (33 ft 6.25 in)
• Height: 2.90 m (9 ft 6 in)
• Wing area: 13 m² (139.93 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 652 kg (1,437 lb)
• Gross weight: 1,050 kg (2,315 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Regnier 4L-00 air-cooled inverted inline piston-engine , 101 kW (135 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 280 km/h (174 mph, 151 kn)
• Range: 900 km (559 mi, 486 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 5,000 m (16,405 ft)