Nord Aviation N 500 Cadet

The Nord Aviation N 500 Cadet was a single-seat research aircraft built by Nord Aviation in 1967 to explore vertical take-off and landing. A scale model presenting the concept was first shown at the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget in 1965. The aircraft was driven by two ducted fans, each with three blades, mounted on short wings that could pivot between providing vertical thrust and horizontal thrust. A single Allison T63 turboshaft engine of 236 kilowatts powered it, and the airframe was about 6.6 metres long with a wingspan of 6.1 metres and a maximum take-off mass of 1,250 kilograms. Two prototypes were built, and the first of them made a tethered flight in July 1968. Nord Aviation was one of the state-owned firms merged into Aérospatiale in 1970.