NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2025
Éric’s wishes
Customer satisfaction is our priority
2024 ended as well as it began. Yes, last year was an excellent year for SE Aviation Aircraft. I’m thinking in particular of our delivery rate, which accelerated with five aircraft handed over. I’m also thinking of our fleet of second-hand MCRs which is still very popular with you, and the complete refurbishment of several aircraft, like the MCR-4S F-PAMV, for example. On the R&D side, our activity is also growing, with, among other things, the work we’re doing with propeller manufacturer E-PROPS to exploit the GLORIEUSE three-blade on our aircraft, the adaptation of the new 160 bhp Rotax 916 and, of course, the programme for our DRIADE drone, which is making rapid progress.
But what our teams are most proud of is when you call us or write to us to express your satisfaction.
Because understanding your needs, listening to you in order to develop solutions to improve the quality of our aircraft – in short, being there for you unconditionally – is one of our strongest values. And, in 2025, you can count on us to keep at it, more than ever!
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2025!
Éric Fumey – SE Aviation Aircraft CEO
Our customers, their aircraft…
Mélanie Astles has selected the MCR-4S!
In addition to an MCR-4S based at Avignon airport (LFMV), which she now owns, Mélanie has flown aerobatic aircraft such as the Extra 330SC/LX, Cap 332 and Edge 540, as well as DR400s, PA28s, Cessna 152s, DA-40s, TB10s and TB20s, and has even owned a Cirrus SR22-G3 and a CR100. She has also flown Airbus A320s and even had the incredible opportunity to fly in the back seat of a Rafale jet fighter.
In 2008, at Saint-Auban (LFMX), she discovered the MCR-R180 glider tow plane. For a year, she flew this 180hp aircraft for the gliding club, and was impressed by its performance. The following year and until 2011, at Chalon-sur-Saône, Mélanie will be flying the MCR-4S F-PACL, an aircraft with which she will be giving flying lessons to students at the aero club.
“With F-PACL, I discovered the versatility of the MCR-4S and how interesting it is in terms of cost/performance ratio. I have very positive memories of it!”
The memory is so positive that in 2023, she buys an MCR-4S F-PLAN. With 580 flying hours behind it, the aircraft is in its prime condition and needed a thorough overhaul. Built in 2008, the F-PLAN (s/n32) is powered by a 100 hp Rotax 912 driving an E-PROPS Durandal. In terms of avionics, the aircraft is fitted with an EFIS MGL Avionics Stratomaster Odyssey and Mélanie uses a tablet for the GPS. In terms of paint scheme, the aircraft is quite simple: white with a blue stripe on the fuselage and a small stylised gecko on the fin.
Mélanie uses her MCR-4S for business trips. At its controls, she travels to the aerobatics training camps she organises in Europe, most recently in Spain. During this latest trip, she had the opportunity to admire the Pyrenean mountain range from the air, with Florent Oddon (reigning world aerobatics champion) co-pilot for the day. “It was a magical flight,” she says.
Mélanie’s F-PLAN also takes her all over France to give talks where she explains her unusual career path and how she has managed to make a living from her passion. What’s more, she likes her MCR-4S so much that she sometimes flies it purely for pleasure, on local flights, just to admire the sky and clouds in the light of the sunset.
In the near future, the pilot would like to change the look of her MCR-4S by giving it an original covering. “I’d love to do it in pink! It would be the very first pink MCR”, she says, laughing but serious nonetheless.
Finally, Mélanie has just bought a second MCR-4S: the F-PIXL. This project is a bit special in that the aircraft hasn’t flown for 10 years. It is currently on our site benefiting from a full refurbishment. In addition, we are currently carrying out tests on this aircraft to make it the first MCR-4S to be fitted with the E-PROPS Glorieuse propeller coupled to a Rotax 912S.
While we wait for the F-PIXL to fly again with this new propeller, we wish Mélanie Astles, our aerobatic customer champion, some very fine flights at the controls of the F-PLAN, each one more ‘magical’ than the last.
When Mélanie talks about her MCR 4S …
With a fuel efficiency of 18 litres/hour, I’m flying at 125 kts with my MCR-4S. It’s a radical change from the gas-guzzling single-seater aerobatics! I also love the stability of this aircraft when cruising, but what I like most when I’m on board is the outward visibility. I can really enjoy the scenery and I feel like I’m in a happy bubble, at one with the sky and the clouds. As for SE Aviation Aircraft, I haven’t been a customer for very long, but I’ve already realised just how committed Eric, Lydie and all the people who work at SE Aviation Aircraft are. They’re always ready to listen and very responsive. These are rare qualities! I’d like to thank them all.
