Fouga CM-170 manufactured by Aerospatiale-Potez

THE MAKING OF

The Aerospatiale‐Potez Fouga CM-170 Magister from which our Aircraft Skin Keychain comes from is a subsonic military jet aircraft that was designed in France in the early 1950s. The creators, Castello and Mauboussin, are the reason why the letters CM are included in its name. A thousand planes were manufactured, some of which continue to be in operation at the beginning of the 21st century.

The Fouga CM-170 is recognizable thanks to its rear V-tail, called "Butterfly". Enthusiasts always spot its delicate silhouette inspired by a glider (the Fouga CM. 8.13 "Sylphe", designed by the same engineers) and by the distinctive hiss of its engines heard during aerial events.

Easy to control, the Fouga Magister was adopted by the French patrol as an aerobatic airplane. Its acrobatic prowess could be observed for twenty-four years, from 1956 to 1980.

The first prototype took off on 23rd of July 1952, with Léon Bourrieau at the helm. Although it crashed, the Fouga CM-170 enjoyed great national success before starting its international career as early as 1954, when NATO used the aircraft for training flights. It was manufactured under license in Germany and was sold to the Belgium, Brazil, Finland, Israel and several other countries

The aircraft is remarkable for several reasons. First, its V-shaped tail served both as a rudder and as an elevator to allow hot air to flow without obstacles. The Fouga CM-170 also distinguishes itself by the absence of ejector seats, straight median wings with cans at their end, and an entirely metallic construction.

The Fouga CM-170 has experienced many military missions around the world. In 1960, Belgium, along with the katangaise army, which used it for support and attack missions during the Congo Crisis which preceded that country’s independence.

Israel used it during the Six-Day War in 1967 and Morocco committed its Fouga CM-170 against the Algerian army in 1963, during the Sand War.

The Fouga CM-170 will remain in aeronautical history as a reliable and economical aircraft that is pleasant to fly. It’s estimated that there are a hundred copies left in the United States, even though they are no longer active. Lebanon is considering putting three of their Fouga CM-170 in service, considering that they have experienced little flight time and are still in very good condition.

OUR FOUGA

Always on the lookout for available vintage aircrafts for sale, we didn't hesitate an instant when we heard about the opportunity to recover a Fouga CM-170 tail to create Aircraft Skin Keychains.

Our Aircraft Skin Keychains come from a Fouga tail that has an authenticity data plate bearing the No. 519 as well as the item No.17-3-698 dating from May 1964.

We will be able to manufacture a rare limited series of 199 Aircraft Skin Keychains with specific features. We wanted to preserve the distinctive reflective strips of the Fouga's butterfly tail. In fact, we offer you 2 different series :

The 2-sided series:

We cut out a section in the part without the painted visual stripe. Both sides of the keychains of this series are engraved. The front side is grey in color.

The one-sided series:

We cut out a section in the area with the painted stripe. We only engraved one side (the back) to leave the other side (the front) with the stripe which will patina over time. Because of this, we engraved the only side available, the reverse side (inner part) that is light green in color. This primer layer, which is not intended to be outdoors, will quickly fade away in favor of the natural color of aluminum. Our engraving will resist time, because it’s located on the aluminum side.