Gardan GY-80 Horizon
Designer Yves Gardan flew the GY-80 Horizon prototype in 1960 as a successor to his earlier wooden Minicab homebuilts, but switched to an aluminium-skinned steel-tube and monocoque structure for the production aircraft, sold from 1963 by Sud Aviation. The four-seat touring monoplane's clean lines and constant-chord wing made it popular for private touring and light aerobatics across Europe, Australia and New Zealand, with over 270 built before Socata took over the line and developed it into the ST-10 Diplomate. Surviving GY-80s remain a familiar sight at European vintage fly-ins today, decades after production ended.
Did you know?
A four-seat French touring monoplane with a clean constant-chord wing, sold by Sud Aviation in the 1960s before Socata developed it into the ST-10 Diplomate.
Specifications
| Length | 6.6 m (22 ft) |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 9.7 m (32 ft) |
| Height | 2.6 m (9 ft) |
| Persons on board | 4 |
| Maximum take-off weight | 1.1 t |
| Range | 480 NM (889 km) |
| Service ceiling | 14,500 ft (4,420 m) |
| Optimum ceiling | 12,000 ft (3,658 m) |
| Rate of climb | 690 ft/min (3.5 m/s) |
| Take-off distance | 580 m (1,903 ft) |
| Landing distance | 480 m (1,575 ft) |
| Fuel capacity | 160 l |
Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.
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