The Italian Aerospace Information Web
by Aeromedia - corso Giambone 46/18 - 10135 Torino (Italy)

A small Jodel Bébé in the Turin's sky

Just recently, a Spanish-registered Jodel D.92 made a five-day stop at Turin/Aeritalia airport. The first Jodel (also a Swiss alpine song known in English as a "yodel", comes from the acronym of the surnames of its designers Édouard Joly e Jean Délémontez) was a D.9 Bébé which flew for the first time on December 22, 1948. The aircraft was of wood and fabric construction, aimed at amateur builders and also one of the forerunners of the ultra-light category. The immediate success of the Jodels prompted the series production of many new versions by Wassmer of Issoire near Dijon, by SAN (Société Aéronautique Normande) of Bernay-Saint-Martin and by CEA (Centre-Est Aéronautique) set up at Darois by Pierre Robin in October 1957. The latter company became Avions Pierre Robin in 1970. Other European manufacturers also produced small numbers of Jodels.

The Bébé seen at Turin sported a small dome protruding from the canopy to cope with the stature of the pilot. This particular brought to the mind of your Aeromedia chief editor another D.92 Bébé with a similar solution seen at Innsbruck during the Europa Tour 1971. This aircraft was built during 1958 and 1959 by two Austrian amateur builders named Rieser and Keplinger. In 1971 it was still powered by its original Volkswagen engine and was sporting a showy and enlarged canopy. In 1975 this Bébé was converted to the D.95 standard with the installation of a 40 HP STAMO engine. It is reported that the aircraft, owned by Hubert Keplinger, is still airworthy at Ubersee in Germany. (Aeromedia)

In the picture: Jodel D.92 Bébé EC-ZCZ home-built (c/n 778 manufactured in 2001) parked at Turin/Aeritalia airport in August 2025. (Aeromedia)

(Aeromedia, August 2025)