Start here
A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
Meet the aircraft
The wooden DR400 has a side-by-side cabin under a large canopy and outer wing panels angled upward. French flying clubs have used it widely for instruction and personal flying.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗A familiar glider tug gets a closer look
Unwin already knew the DR400 through glider towing, so this flight offered a chance to pay closer attention to an aircraft that was familiar in daily work. Departing Saltby in the Regent, he set out for a photographic flight with Steve Waddy’s Cessna 172. The late-afternoon meeting near the former RAF Cottesmore and the surrounding landscape gave the assessment a pleasant travelling setting.
Pilot · September 2018. Solo evaluation of a 27-year-old DR400/180 Regent from Saltby, including formation photography; a different variant from the simulated 100 Cadet.
Pilot · Read more ↗Cockpit lighting and sound have additional controls
The X-Plane 11 package includes a popup flashlight and a sound mixer with separate external, cockpit and effects controls.
Robin DR400/100 Cadet · Just Flight · Just Flight · X-Plane 12 · X-Plane 11
Just Flight · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube Frankie HM Channel & Plane Spotting · 3 min ·
Robin DR400 (D-EQHS) | Pilots eye landing | Cockpit view landing on Mautendorf Airfield
A DR400 approach and landing at Mauterndorf in the Austrian mountains.
Family reference · DR400; exact subvariant not identified
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet Robin DR400/100 Cadet
The wooden DR400 has a side-by-side cabin under a large canopy and outer wing panels angled upward. French flying clubs have used it widely for instruction and personal flying.
Engines and roles vary across the family, including towing versions. The DR400/100 Cadet is a lower-powered development; photographs and specifications of larger-engined Robins describe those versions.
Robin DR400/100 Cadet
Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
History & design
Production returns after the Apex closure
Borchert’s 2012 report describes Robin New Aircraft restarting production after Apex’s 2008 closure. It distinguishes that restart from the intervening support work: CEAPR had retained the type certificates and continued supplying parts.
fliegermagazin · Pilot Report: Robin Ecoflyer 2.0S ↗Historical company situation reported in October 2012
Development milestones
Designer: Jean Délémontez and Pierre Robin
First flight: 1972
Developed from: Robin DR.200
Wikipedia contributors · Robin DR400 ↗Robin DR400 · family/variant named by the source · Wikipedia revision 1348740052
Pilot accounts
A familiar glider tug gets a closer look
Unwin already knew the DR400 through glider towing, so this flight offered a chance to pay closer attention to an aircraft that was familiar in daily work. Departing Saltby in the Regent, he set out for a photographic flight with Steve Waddy’s Cessna 172. The late-afternoon meeting near the former RAF Cottesmore and the surrounding landscape gave the assessment a pleasant travelling setting.
Familiarity did not prevent him noticing small irritations. The harness arrangement and lack of an opening window mattered, and for formation work he preferred the more open view of the Remorqueur’s bubble canopy. Nevertheless, the older Regent remained a comfortable and enjoyable aircraft to fly, with the outing revealing details that ordinary towing duties could leave in the background.
Pilot · September 2018. Solo evaluation of a 27-year-old DR400/180 Regent from Saltby, including formation photography; a different variant from the simulated 100 Cadet.
Read the full account · Pilot ↗An old club aircraft tries a different engine
Briand encountered a Robin with more than ten thousand hours behind it that nevertheless looked remarkably fresh after restoration. Nogaro Aviation’s Gilles Aurensan and Karine Baillou were exploring a different future for such club aircraft through a Rotax engine conversion. The quieter start and revised engine display made the change apparent before the flying began.
The report compares the converted Dauphin with a conventional Lycoming-powered club Robin, using loads chosen for a comparable two-person travelling mission. Briand found the lighter conversion more playful in its responses. The appeal lay in giving an established club aeroplane a new working life, while the prototype status and differing loads make this a particular development-stage comparison rather than a result for every DR400.
FLYER · published online December 2022. Historical test of Nogaro Aviation’s early Rotax 912 iS Sport conversion in DR400/120 Dauphin F-GORZ; certification was still pending in the account.
Read the full account · FLYER ↗A hot-day flight attracts interest back at the airport
Borchert’s Ecoflyer flight began with a simple turn of the key, one of the diesel installation’s conspicuous differences from earlier Robins. With three people aboard on a hot day, he felt there was adequate power for the outing. In the air, he appreciated the direct stick controls and the wide view through the low window line.
The cabin still involved compromises, particularly in rear-seat legroom, and the report gives those practical details space alongside its enthusiasm. After returning, Borchert went to the airport restaurant and looked back to find people already gathering around the aircraft.
fliegermagazin · October 2012. DR400 Ecoflyer F-HECA with a 155-hp Thielert Centurion 2.0S diesel; three aboard in hot weather, distinct from the 100 Cadet.
Read the full account · fliegermagazin ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
Compare simulator versions →MSFS 2024DR400-100 Cadet
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
DR400-100 Cadet
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
MSFS 2020DR400-100 Cadet
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
DR400-100 Cadet
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
X-Plane 12 · X-Plane 11Robin DR400/100 Cadet · Just Flight
Just Flight · Released
Robin DR400/100 Cadet · Just Flight
Just Flight · Released
X-Plane 12Robin DR400/100 Cadet
Aerobask · Released
Robin DR400/100 Cadet
Aerobask · Released
X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12 Enhancement Robin DR400/100 Cadet
SimCoders · Released
Robin DR400/100 Cadet
SimCoders · Released
Manuals & resources
Find your next read
Choose a topic for a short introduction and a link to the original source. Simulator references identify the developer and edition they cover.
Simulator documentation
Cockpit lighting and sound have additional controlsRobin DR400/100 Cadet · Just Flight · Just Flight · X-Plane 12 · X-Plane 11
The X-Plane 11 package includes a popup flashlight and a sound mixer with separate external, cockpit and effects controls.
X-Plane 11 Regent feature list
Just Flight · Read the source ↗Circuit breakers connect to simulator failuresRobin DR400/100 Cadet · Just Flight · Just Flight · X-Plane 12 · X-Plane 11
The publisher describes functional circuit breakers linked to X-Plane’s failure system, alongside selectable panel states and interactive flight checklists.
X-Plane 12 Regent cockpit features
Just Flight · Read the source ↗Automatic fuel-tank switching is optionalRobin DR400/100 Cadet · Just Flight · Just Flight · X-Plane 12 · X-Plane 11
An optional automatic tank-switching setting persists between sessions. The product also documents auxiliary-tank transfer controls and an EFB weight-and-balance interface.
X-Plane 12 Regent systems and EFB features
Just Flight · Read the source ↗The developer lists FADEC testing and preheatingRobin DR400/100 Cadet · Aerobask · X-Plane 12
Aerobask specifically includes a simulated FADEC test and preheating, along with VR manipulators. The feature list does not establish undocumented controls or simulator interfaces.
Aerobask DR401 feature list
Aerobask · Read the source ↗The X-Plane 11 flight computer supplies travelling informationRobin DR400/100 Cadet · Just Flight · Just Flight · X-Plane 12 · X-Plane 11
The earlier Regent product describes a flight computer displaying fuel burn, endurance, speed and wind information. This feature list applies to the X-Plane 11 release.
Just Flight X-Plane 11 product description
Just Flight · Read the source ↗The earlier release uses a popup for engine diagnosticsRobin DR400/100 Cadet · Just Flight · Just Flight · X-Plane 12 · X-Plane 11
The X-Plane 11 feature list describes a popup engine-diagnostics display. Its interface is distinct from the EFB engine-condition page documented for X-Plane 12.
X-Plane 11 Regent interface
Just Flight · Read the source ↗Pilot account
A familiar glider tug gets a closer lookPilot · September 2018. Solo evaluation of a 27-year-old DR400/180 Regent from Saltby, including formation photography; a different variant from the simulated 100 Cadet.
Unwin already knew the DR400 through glider towing, so this flight offered a chance to pay closer attention to an aircraft that was familiar in daily work. Departing Saltby in the Regent, he set out for a photographic flight with Steve Waddy’s Cessna 172. The late-afternoon meeting near the former RAF Cottesmore and the surrounding landscape gave the assessment a pleasant travelling setting. Familiarity did not prevent him noticing small irritations.
Dave Unwin
Pilot · Read the source ↗An old club aircraft tries a different engineFLYER · published online December 2022. Historical test of Nogaro Aviation’s early Rotax 912 iS Sport conversion in DR400/120 Dauphin F-GORZ; certification was still pending in the account.
Briand encountered a Robin with more than ten thousand hours behind it that nevertheless looked remarkably fresh after restoration. Nogaro Aviation’s Gilles Aurensan and Karine Baillou were exploring a different future for such club aircraft through a Rotax engine conversion. The quieter start and revised engine display made the change apparent before the flying began.
Christian Briand
FLYER · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Manual
Microsoft Flight Simulator aircraft manualsMicrosoft / aircraft developersAircraft background
Robin DR400Wikipedia contributors · Research background · Wikipedia revision 1348740052 · retrieved 2026-09-12Resource
MSFS 2024 FAQ and edition aircraft inventoryMicrosoft MSFS 2020 FAQ and edition aircraft inventoryMicrosoftProduct
Robin DR400 (X-Plane 12)Just Flight · Official developer / designated store catalogue · checked 2026-09-12 Robin DR400 (X-Plane 11)Just Flight · Official developer / designated store catalogue · checked 2026-09-12 Robin DR401Aerobask · Official developer / designated store catalogue · checked 2026-09-12 Reality Expansion Pack · JustFlight Robin DR400SimCoders · Official developer / designated store catalogue · checked 2026-09-12Type designator
ICAO Doc 8643 — aircraft type designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Public search data retrieved 2026-09-14; authority update 2026-09-03Built-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261022-v1 · 5 profile choices
Aerobask Robin DR401 CDI155
Aerobask · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
Aerobask Robin DR401 CDI155: The stabilator/tab arrangement motivates reversible stick loading.
Just Flight Robin DR400
Just Flight · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
Just Flight Robin DR400: The stabilator/tab arrangement motivates reversible stick loading.
SimCoders REP / Just Flight DR400-180 Regent (XP12)
SimCoders · Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
SimCoders REP / Just Flight DR400-180 Regent (XP12): The stabilator/tab arrangement motivates reversible stick loading.
Robin DR400/100 Cadet
Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Review pending
MSFS 2024 · MSFS 2020 · X-Plane 12 · X-Plane 11
Robin DR400/100 Cadet: The stabilator/tab arrangement motivates reversible stick loading.
Robin DR401 CDI155
Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024 · X-Plane 12
A wooden touring-aircraft family recognisable by the upward-angled outer wing panels.
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