Normand Dube Aerocruiser 450 Turbo Explained

The Normand Dube Aerocruiser 450 Turbo is a six-seat Canadian amateur-built aircraft, designed by Normand Dube and produced by Aviation Normand Dube of Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, Quebec. The aircraft is a development of the four-seat Norman Dube Aerocruiser Plus.^{[1] [2]}

Design and development

The Aerocruiser 450 Turbo features a strut-braced high-wing, a six-seat enclosed cabin accessed by doors, fixed conventional landing gear and a single engine in tractor configuration.^{[1] [2]}

The aircraft is made with a welded 4130 steel tubing fuselage and a riveted 2024 aluminum wing. Its 39.251NaN1 span wing has an area of 207square feet and mounts flaps. The engine used on the prototype is a 4500NaN0 turbocharged, geared and fuel-injected Lycoming TIGO-541 four-stroke powerplant.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Operational history

Reviewers Roy Beisswenger and Marino Boric described the design in a 2015 review as "a two-ton giant".^{[1] [2]}

By December 2018, one example, the prototype, had been registered with Transport Canada.^[4]

In December of 2014, the designer of the Aerocruiser 450 Turbo, Normand Dube, used his own aircraft to sabotage two of Hydro-Quebec's high-tension power lines, causing over 180,000 customers to lose electrical power. He was convicted for the attack in Quebec court in November 2018 and sentenced to seven years in prison for the attack. The aircraft used in the attack, the prototype Aerocruiser 450 Turbo, was seized as evidence.^{[5] [6] [7]}

Notes and References

1. Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12, page 94. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X
2. Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16, page 99. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015.
3. Web site: L'Aerocruiser Turbo 450 Quelques chiffres. 31 March 2017. Saint-Georges. Richard . aviationnormanddube.com.
4. Web site: Canadian Civil Aircraft Register. 14 December 2018. Transport Canada. 14 December 2018.
5. Web site: Terrorism By Homebuilt?. Russ. Niles. AVweb . 5 November 2018.
6. Web site: Pilot's attack on 'spinal column' of Hydro-Québec is unprecedented: lawyer. 5 November 2018. Cherry. Paul. Montreal Gazette. 4 November 2018.
7. Web site: Aircraft Designer Normand Dubé Imprisoned . 14 November 2018. Drinkwater. Steve . Canadian Owners and Pilots Association. 13 November 2018.