Nord 1101 'Noralpha' |
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 The
Noralpha began its lifa as a development of the german Messerschmitt
Me-108, a four seater tailwheel liaison and communication aircraft.
During World War II the French Nord
Aviation aircraft factory was commited to build the plane. Nord modified
the design to a tricycle gear version, the Me-208, and built two
prototypes. After the war the original Argus inverted V-8 was replaced
by a 6-cylinder inline Renault and was renamed Nord 1101 'Noralpha'.
The parts handbook lists one third German Messerchmitt part numbers, one
third French Nord while the remaining are French suppliers numbers. 
Without ignoring its ancestry it is perhaps justified to regard the
Noralpha as a separate aircraft type. Some two hundred Noralpha's were
built since 1946. Many served with the French Armee de l'air and the
Aero Navale as the "Ramier' until 1963. In a subsequent civil life
many were used as taxi- or sportsplane. The Nord 1100 was a fine and fast machine, pleasantly light on the controls which were well matched, efficient and accurate. It was a pilots airplane requiring permanent and precision flying. |
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| Specifications | |
| Production: 205 Enginer: Renault 6Q-10 van 240 pk Maximum speed: 285 km/uur. Range: 1000 km Weight: empty 945 kg, maximum 1580 kg Dimensions: span 11,48 m, length 8,53 m |
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| The Early Birds' Nord 1101 'Noralpha' | |
 This aircraft was
constructed in 1948 with serial number 5742 179. Its earliest history,
e.g. has it seen military service, is not known yet but is subject of
investigation. When it was aquired by the Early Birds Foundation it was
French-registered F-BLLO. Technically it was sound and complete but had
collected vast amounts of dirt and muck and would benefit very much from
a thorough going over. Therefore the plane was transported to a workshop
in Nijverdal (NL) where a complete restoration of fuselage and wings was
started. in 1992 all parts had been removed and the fuselage was to be
cleaned and stripped of its paint. Subsequently all systems were checked
and refitted. In December 2004 the fuselage was transported
to the Aviodrome in Lelystad. As the Early Birds hangar does not offer
the required space for assembly and the Nord being a very interesting
project to display, Aviodrome kindly came to help. Recently the engine,
the wings and undercarriage have been attached. Besides these big lumps
numerous small bits and pieces will rejoin the fuselage, eventually
to form a complete aircraft. No first flight date has been set but that
information will be on this page as soon as the decision has been taken. |
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| More pictures (click to see larger pictures | |
