Design and Development of the Ganagobie

In the 1950s two brothers, James and William Lobet, who were residents in the south of France, were interested in aircraft and designed and built a range of gliders to meet their needs.   The Lobert brothers flew gliders over Ganagobie, Provence - and were so taken with its beauty that they named their new airplane design after it - the Ganagobie 01. The first Ganagobie 01 (F-WECC) was built and first flew in 1953 with a 1930 12 kw (16 hp) Clerget engine by Brothers James and William Lobet in Lille, France.  

Evolution of the Ganagobie

The Ganagobie line of aircraft is built around a distinct diamond shape fuselage and they are all high-wing strut-braced machines. It was of all wood construction. At one stage in the late 1990s construction commenced of a small batch of Ganagobies at Camden, NSW but the aircraft were later moved to another site for completion. One machine known to be airworthy in recent years is ZK-JLO (c/n JL-0100)  - See below for more on the New Zealand based ZK-JLO!

The Ganagobie 02, 03, and 04

The Ganagobie design gained popularity and a small number of examples were built.   Mr George Jacquemin, a Canadian aerospace engineer with Lockheed in California,. Mr Jacquemin, an aerospace engineer with Lockheed in California, designed an modified Ganagobie to accommodate the large numbers of war surplus target drone engines available in the mid fifties. 

In 1955 an enlarged version was designed by Gorges Jacquemin, increasing the wing area from 70 to 90 sq ft (6.5 to 8.4 m2). Power was from a Poinsard engine. It was marketed as a plans-built homebuilt aircraft by Falconar Avia.[3]

The fuselage was given a boost in size to fit a larger framed pilot and a second prototype begun in Toronto, Canada, by an Experimental Aircraft Chapter - the Ganagobie 02. Completed by a Mr Pierre Descamps, the American Ganagobie 02 was engined by a 1934 French-built Poinsard 35hp flat four. A subsequent flight report by De Havilland Canada’s chief test pilot gave the design a boost and some ten Ganagobie 03 projects were begun, largely in the United States and Canada. 

Ganagobie 02:

The original Canadian built Ganagobie was later re-engined with a Volkswagen 1200cc engine.

The Ganagobie 05,  Mousebird - ZK-JLO

In 1995 James retired, left Australia and moved to New Zealand where he worked on and produced a further development of the Ganagobie known as the Mousebird.

The Lobet Ganagobie 05 begun in Australia in 1974 after James Lobet migrated there, was shipped to New Zealand in 1982. This aircraft was similar to the Ganagobie and was of all wood construction. No welding was required in the building of the aircraft. The Mousebird prototype was built at Waihi Beach, NZ in 1996 and was registered as ZK-JLO (c/n J.L.0100), being registered to James Lobert on 10 December 1999. It is believed only the single example has been completed.

Goodbye Diamond Rose: The Ganagobie 05 (Mousebird) is a significant redesign.  Rather than the iconic diamond shaped fuselage cross-section of pervious Ganagobies, the Mousebird replaces the bottom triangle half of the diamond  shape with a conventional box cross section.    This provides valuable space for pilot and gear.  

Coupe - not Fastback: Additionally, the Ganagobie Mousebird massively increases visibility with a wrap-around rear window.   Thus the Ganagobie Mousebird is more of a Coupe than a Fastback.

Presenting 

JLO:

No no no! Not that one, this one:

The New Zealand registered 

Ganagobie Mousebird:  ZK-JLO 

The Ganagobie Mousebird's 55hp engine is a VW conversion giving a cruise speed of 80 mph.  Length is 4.75 meters (15 feet 7 inches), wingspan is 7.24 meters (23 feet 9 inches) and the wing area is 90 square feet.  Empty weight is 470 pounds (213 Kg) and MAUW is 710 pounds (322 Kg).

General characteristics

• Crew: 1

• Length: 7.4 m (24 ft 3 in)

• Wingspan: 4.92 m (16 ft 2 in)

• Height: 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)

• Wing area: 8.36 m2 (90 sq ft)

• Aspect ratio: 6.25

• Airfoil: NACA 23012 -  (relevant to me - same as Bonanza, Osprey, and Cavalier!)

• Empty weight: 213 kg (470 lb)

• Gross weight: 322 kg (710 lb)

• Max takeoff weight: 362 kg (798 lb)

• Fuel capacity: 45.3 L (12.0 US gal; 10.0 imp gal)

• Powerplant: 1 × VW 1600 Four cylinder air-cooled horizontally opposed aircraft engine, 41 kW (55 hp)

• Propellers: 2-bladed, 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) diameter

Performance

• Maximum speed: 182 km/h (113 mph, 98 kn) at Max. TO weight

• Cruising speed: 129 km/h (80 mph)

• Stall speed: 78 km/h (48 mph, 42 kn)

• Service ceiling: 3,050 m (10,010 ft)

Last flight of The Ganagobie Mousebird

Sadly, James Lobet "Flew West" in 2020 in Tokoroa New Zealand.  James is survived by his brother William Lobet (Nimes, France), his beloved wife Helena, and step-children Paul, Mark, Phil and Anthony (Australia). 

James Lobet is also survived by his Ganagobie.  The ongoing adventures of the Ganagobie will be legacy and tribute to James.

A little more buried at 4:59  in this next video:

The Ganagobie Sandpiper

The Ganagobie Mousebird was purchased by Owen Hughes in 2023.  

Dr. Hughes will be updating and modifying the Ganagobie - playing to the strengths both of the airplane and its New Zealand home. 

The Ganagobie Sandpiper will incorporate modifications designed to improve "off airport" and beach based operations!   Off-airport operations are both remarkably common and important in New Zealand.  Additionally, it is legal to land on New Zealand's many fine and deserted beaches.  

Much more on the Ganagobie Sandpiper later.