Fauvel AV-36

Fauvel AV-36

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08/15/2008. This glider was built to the plans of the French designer Charles Fauvel. Construction took place at the German company Flugzeugbau
R. Maalberg at Lauterbach, to the order of the Swiss gentlemen H.Suter of Zurich, and R. Sägesser of Herzogenbuchsee.

Registered HB-568 the first flight took place on June 2, 1957 with Suter at the controls. Unfortunately the aircraft was damaged upon landing when Suter ran into a ditch. The Swiss Office Fédéral de l'Air (Federal Aviation Office) came to the conclusion that a lack of experience of the test pilot contributed to the accident.

In 1958 it was sold to Samuel Chuard of Saint-Légier and it had flown 95 hr 12 min and made 219 landings by 1968, when Chuard decided to transform it into motorized hang-glider and cut the main spar in the middle to have folding wings. As obviously this was destructing the aircraft and making the wings useless he eventually decided to scrap it.

However, in February 1989 the remains were sold to the present owner,
Pierre-Alain Ruffieux of Denens, who took it 12 years to have the glider restored to original and airworthy condition. Most of the work was done by l'Yves, an experienced restorer at Paray-le-Monial, Bourgogne, France, where also the second maiden flight took place on March 20, 2001.


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08/15/2008. This glider was built to the plans of the French designer Charles Fauvel. Construction took place at the German company Flugzeugbau R. Maalberg at Lauterbach, to the order of the Swiss gentlemen H.Suter of Zurich, and R. Sägesser of Herzogenbuchsee. Registered HB-568 the first flight took place on June 2, 1957 with Suter at the controls. Unfortunately the aircraft was damaged upon landing when Suter ran into a ditch. The Swiss Office Fédéral de l'Air (Federal Aviation Office) came to the conclusion that a lack of experience of the test pilot contributed to the accident. In 1958 it was sold to Samuel Chuard of Saint-Légier and it had flown 95 hr 12 min and made 219 landings by 1968, when Chuard decided to transform it into motorized hang-glider and cut the main spar in the middle to have folding wings. As obviously this was destructing the aircraft and making the wings useless he eventually decided to scrap it. However, in February 1989 the remains were sold to the present owner, Pierre-Alain Ruffieux of Denens, who took it 12 years to have the glider restored to original and airworthy condition. Most of the work was done by l'Yves, an experienced restorer at Paray-le-Monial, Bourgogne, France, where also the second maiden flight took place on March 20, 2001.