GARDAN

The SOCATA Horizon is a French four-seat touring monoplane that was designed by Yves Gardan in the 1960s. It was built under licence by Sud Aviation, and later by its SOCATA subsidiary. The prototype first flew on July 21, 1960, and the aircraft was initially produced by Sud Aviation at Nantes and Rochefort. By the end of 1974, when production was terminated, Sud Aviation and its SOCATA subsidiary had manufactured 273 units. Most Horizons were purchased by French pilot owners, but examples were also exported to several countries, including Germany, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, and some are still in service as of 2014. An improved variant was developed, originally as the Super Horizon 200, and later went into production as the ST 10 Diplomate.