Georges Abrial
Abrial A-3 Oricou
The Abrial A‑3 Oricou was a single‑seat, high‑performance French sailplane designed and built in the early 1930s by the aeronautical pioneer Georges Abrial. Conceived as a response to the growing interest in competitive gliding, the Oricou first flew in 1932 from the Meaux‑St‑Maurice aerodrome. Its most striking feature was a thin, highly tapered wing with a pronounced dihedral and a cantilever structure that eliminated external bracing, an uncommon approach for the period. The fuselage, of wooden semi‑monocoque construction, was streamlined to reduce drag and incorporated a small, retractable skid instead of a conventional landing wheel. The aircraft’s control surfaces employed differential ailerons and a cambered all‑moving tailplane, giving pilots precise handling and a remarkable glide ratio of around 23:1. Although only a few examples were built, the A‑3 Oricou demonstrated the advantages of clean aerodynamic lines and advanced structural techniques, influencing later French glider designs such as the Caudron C.860 and the Wassmer WA‑30. Its legacy lies in proving that lightweight, low‑drag construction could achieve competitive performance, helping to shape the evolution of European sailplane engineering in the pre‑World War II era.