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02/28/2008. SECAN (Société d'Etudes et de Construction Aéro-Navales) was a branch of the Société des Usines Chaussons (hence the SUC-abbreviation in the designation), a well-known French automobile industry company. Its first design was the Courlis small four-seat light cabin monoplane, registered as F-WBBF (c/n 01), the prototype flown for the first time on May 9, 1946. Production reached 144 airframes, of which 53 remained in France, and a considerable number went to South America. However, continuing problems with the 190 hp Mathis G8R eight-cylinder inverted Vee air-cooled engine, eventually led to the withdrawal of the type certificate of the engine in 1957, and not all 144 airframes flew. The pictured aircraft was originally registered as F-BEKH. Deteriorated while stored for many years it was apparently traded in 1978 for a case of Champaign to a group of enthusiasts who restored the aircraft in four years. It was finished in the markings of the first production aircraft, hence marked F-BBXY c/n 1. It was presented to the Museum on June 23, 1991.