Sonaca

The SONACA is a Belgian company active in the fields of the aeronautical and aerospace engineering. It has subsidiary companies with the Canada, the the United States and the Brésil.

History

Company SONACA is the heiress of the Belgian society “Fairey Planes”.

The latter was a subsidiary company of the English company “Fairey Aviation”. This subsidiary company was creates in 1931 when Belgium bought 43 Firefly IIM; the contract stipulated that part of the apparatuses (33) should be manufactured in Belgium. The company “Fairey Planes” is established, under the control of English engineer Ernest Oscar Tips, with Gosselies, on the site of the aerodrome of Charleroi.

The company “Fairey Planes” produced thereafter Fairey Foxes.

The range of light planes (plane of pleasure) Tipsy was developed and built with the Fairey factories, under the impulse of E.O.Tips.

Another development of the Fairey factories was the “Phantom”, a version improved of Fox. Although this biplane was recognized for the elegance of its lines, he was not business success.

hurricane S were produced right before the second world war.

The factory was destroyed by a bombardment in May 1940.

It did not have any more an activity until 1946. On this date, an activity of maintenance of the planes of the Belgian Air force started again and of some planes of the administration of the civil aviation.

From 1950, the factory started to produce Meteor-F8 for the Belgian and Dutch forces air.

It produced then, of 1953 to 1958, the fuselages of the Hawker Hunter of these same air forces.

In 1957, it manufactured the Tipsy Nipper, cheap single-seat single-engined aircraft, been driven by an engine VW of 25 CV.

From 1957 to 1963, the maintenance of F-84F of the Belgian Air force carried out.

When six European countries to choose to be equipped with F-104G, “Fairey Planes” and SABCA, like much of other companies in Europe, joined to carry out the production of it. The Belgian F-104G were produced between January 1962 and June 1965.

Between 1964 and 1971, “Fairey Planes” carried out the maintenance of the F-104G of Luftwaffe.

In 1972, the English company “Fairey Aviation” bought the company Britten-Norman. Consequently, the Islander and Trislander manufactured in Romania were completed in Gosselies. The acquired Belgian army 12 Islanders in 1976.

In spite of the success of the Britten-Norman range, the known Fairey U.K. of serious financial problems.

However, Belgium had chosen the F-16 like plane multi role and the construction of the Belgian specimens was to be realized by a Belgian company. Also, the Belgian government decided to repurchase the company to ensure the perenniality of the contract.

Thus “Fairey Planes” becomes “SONACA” on June 1st, 1976.

SONACA

Between 1979 and 1991, the SONACA produced 160 F-16 for Belgium and 60 for Denmark.

Within the framework of the F-16 program, the SONACA is remainder a supplier of Lockheed Martin (which repurchased General Dynamics) for the last version of F-16. On the whole more than 1350 fuselages postpones were delivered and more than 220 complete structures were integrated.

In the military field the SONACA takes part in the following projects

A400M development and d´attaque production

of the edges of the wings and their system of de-icing associated
with the doors of the principal train d´atterrissage
of the driving careenages.

B-Hunter (Drone S IAI in service in the Belgian army)

In the civil field the SONACA takes part in the following projects

Airbus

All the mobile leading edges and their rails, of all the Airbus are produced by the SONACA
A380: parts of fuselage

Embraer

ERJ 135/140/145 and Legacy

Central parts and back of the fuselages with their doors
Pylons of fixing of the engines
edges d´attaque of the wings and the system of associated de-icing (development, certification and production).

d´attaque Embraer 170/190

Part moving the edges of the wings and their actuateurs and de-icing
Of the elements of fuselage center section

Falcon 7X of Dassault Aviation

Leading edge

In the space field the SONACA took part in the following projects: Hermes, ARD, GSTP, FESTIP, CRV, X38, Spot5, Columbus, Mars Beagle 2, Aladdin, Corot, Pleiads.

Subsidiary companies

Brazil:

SOBRAER : Assembly and completion for Embraer and Airbus
SOPEÇAERO: Parts manufacture covered with sheet metal
PESOLA: machining

Canada

SONACA NMF CANADA machining and forming of panels d´ailes

the USA

SONACA NMF AMERICA machining and forming of panels d´ailes

Bond extenes

Site of the SONACA
the page on the SONACA on the site of Belgian Aircraft Association (BAHA)

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