What was special about the 1924 SIMB AB?

Short answer

It was an all-metal aircraft in the heart of the biplane era, with straight-edged, slightly tapered wings and an unusual main-wheel mounting via a large-chord, inverted-T-shaped faired pylon. It was judged too radical and expensive and received no production order.

Published: November 5, 2026 · Updated: November 5, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

What was special about the 1924 SIMB AB?

Boeing P-26A Peashooter

An all-metal aircraft in the heart of the biplane era

The aircraft was first shown to the public as the SIMB AB-C 1 at the 1922 Paris Aero Show. It was an all-metal aircraft, with straight-edged, slightly tapered wings and a rounded-section fuselage. At a time when biplanes dominated, it was judged too radical and too expensive, so it received no production order.

Landing gear and first flights

It had a conventional landing gear, with a pair of individual main wheels and a tailskid. The mounting of those main wheels was unusual: a large-chord, inverted-T-shaped faired pylon. It first flew in the summer of 1924, eventually taking to the air in August of that year, piloted by Florentin Bonnet.