Robin ATL

The Robin ATL, short for Avion Très Léger or very light aircraft, is a French two-seat light aircraft designed by Avions Robin in the 1980s to give flying clubs an economical trainer. It is a single-engined low-wing monoplane with a fixed tricycle undercarriage, a conventional control stick and, unusually, a V-tail, with a large bubble canopy that gives excellent visibility. The fuselage is glass-reinforced plastic and the wing is wooden. Robin won a French competition for a mass-produced club trainer in 1983, and the prototype first flew on 17 June 1983. Its first engine proved prone to vibration, so a converted Volkswagen car engine was fitted instead. Deliveries began in April 1985 and French certification followed in January 1986. Engine problems hurt its export appeal, and a Limbach-powered version with dual ignition came too late. Production ended in 1991 after 132 aircraft, ten of them Limbach powered.