• Welcome aboard HomebuiltAirplanes.com, your destination for connecting with a thriving community of more than 10,000 active members, all passionate about home-built aviation. Dive into our comprehensive repository of knowledge, exchange technical insights, arrange get-togethers, and trade aircrafts/parts with like-minded enthusiasts. Unearth a wide-ranging collection of general and kit plane aviation subjects, enriched with engaging imagery, in-depth technical manuals, and rare archives.

    For a nominal fee of $99.99/year or $12.99/month, you can immerse yourself in this dynamic community and unparalleled treasure-trove of aviation knowledge.

    Embark on your journey now!

    Click Here to Become a Premium Member and Experience Homebuilt Airplanes to the Fullest!

Avions Peña

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

cluttonfred

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2010
Messages
10,702
Location
World traveler
I wrote to Louis Peña and received a couple of nice replies back with some info and photos, so I have translated and posted the information here for future reference with his permission. I do not know if M. Peña speaks English, our exchanges were in French, but I am happy to help if anyone wants to contact him.

THE PLANES

Dahu & Bilous & Capeña.jpg Joker.jpg
Super Joker & Bilous.JPG Canari.jpg
  • Capeña
    • Single-seat aerobat comparable to the Extra 200, 180-200 hp, taildragger
  • Bilouis
    • Two-seat version of the Capeña still able to do competitive aerobatics when flown solo, same engine and gear
  • Dahu
    • Non-aerobatic, four-seat mountain flyer, glider tow plane, and general tourer, 180-200 hp, taildragger
  • Joker
    • Two-seat trainer and sport aircraft capable of basic aerobatics, 100-180 hp
  • Super Joker
    • Three-seat aerobat and tourer capable of basic aerobatics with two onboard, 180 hp, tricycle gear
  • Canari des Cîmes (no plans available)
    • One-off project mating the wings of a SOCATA Rallye to a fuselage, tail, and tricycle gear of Peña’s own design and construction. I believe this is Peña’s personal aircraft.
All of Peña’s designs reflect the influence of his longtime association with the Mudry CAP series, all are of wooden construction, and all are known for crisp handling.

Capeña info.jpg Bilouis info.jpg Dahu info.jpg
Joker info.jpg Super Joker info.jpg

COMMENTS FROM THE DESIGNER

[Message 1]

Hello,

Thank you for your interest in my airplanes!

The plans sets for my 5 airplanes are each available for the same price, which is €600. Each set includes about 100 pages of various sizes from A4 to A3 and larger. Having worked at Mudry, I took my inspiration from their plans: each component is represented by one or more sheets. Since all my planes have tapered wings, each wing rib is presented full-size. Otherwise, the plans are at 1/10 scale or full-size for small parts.

I am sending along a few photos and layout pages in two or three emails. Don't hesitate to contact me by phone for more details.

Hoping to hear from you soon.

Louis Peña​

[Message 2]

Here are the Super Joker and Bilouis. My Dahu was equipped with a 180 hp Lycoming. The 2+2 version with 115 hp would require lightening of the entire structure. For that matter, the 180 hp version at economy cruise (2000-2100 rpm) used only 25 lph (6.6 U.S. gph) but had some real get up and go on takeoff.

FYI, a prootype was built from each plans set. In fact, I don't finalize a plans set until after completing the test flights.

Talk to you soon.

Louis Peña​

[Message 3]

Yes, of course, you can share this information, knowing that I am only an amateur builder, I was a flight instructor by profession, and a volunteer one in the years since my retirement.
ABOUT LOUIS PENA

Louis Peña is well-known in French aviation circles but little-known outside of Europe. Peña, born in 1940 so now almost 80, jokes that his love affair with aviation began quite early when his mother watched famous French pilot Michel Détroyat practicing aerobatics while pregnant with little Louis. Alternatively, he jokes that his Spanish father used to threaten to give him a kick in the pants to send him flying! More seriously, he had two uncles who were pilots during the Spanish Civil War, and the one who survived was his childhood idol.

Starting with control-line models as a teen, he earned his private pilot license before his 20th birthday, then joined French Army Light Aviation (ALAT) in 1960, first as a pilot, then instructor/examiner, then in parallel did the same the civilian Dax Aero Club. He became a parachutist (80 jumps, 50 of them free fall) and a helicopter pilot on the Alouette 2. In the late 1960s and into the 1970s he was a member of the ALAT aerobatic demonstration team, a light aircraft test pilot for the French government, test and display pilot for Mudry, and chief pilot at Dax until the 1990s.

Peña began aerobatic competition in 1966, becoming a member of the French national aerobatic team in 1972 and winning three French national aerobatic champion titles, always in Mudry CAP aircraft. He finished his competitive flying in 1986 as a member of the 1986 world championship bronze medal team. Altogether, he has over 17,000 flight hours including over 5,000 aerobatic hours. Now retired, he describes himself as a volunteer flight instructor and amateur aircraft designer and builder.

LINKS

https://avions-louispena.webnode.fr/ (current site, French, use this contact form)
http://lpena.free.fr/ (old site, French, contact form does not work)
https://www.facebook.com/avions.pena/
Wikipedia has a little info on each Peña design, but not a general Louis Peña aircraft page. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peña_Dahu and expand the list of aircraft at the bottom of the page.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top