Canard (aeronautics) flown, including the Ambrosini SS.4, Curtiss-Wright XP-55 Ascender and Kyūshū J7W1 "Shinden". These were attempts at using the canard configuration to give advantages in areas such as performance, armament disposition or pilot view, but no production aircraft were completed. The Shinden was ordered into production "off the drawing board" but hostilities ceased before any other than prototypes had flown. Just after the end of World War II in Europe in 1945, what may have been the first canard designed and flown in the Soviet Union appeared as a test aircraft, the lightweight Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-8 "Utka" (Russian for "duck"). It was
Canard-Duchêne period. In 1978, Canard-Duchêne was associated with Veuve Clicquot and then joined the LVMH Group, which transmitted its rigour and search for quality. Subsequently, the House saw substantial growth on European markets. The takeover by the independent Champagne group Thiénot occurred in October 2003. Canard-Duchêne produces a diverse range of champagnes. The Authentic Brut Non-Vintage epitomises the Canard-Duchêne style, where freshness and intensity unite nobility and nature. It is made from a blend of 60 different Cru wines, and the blend of grapes is made up of 45% Pinot Noir, 35% Pinot Meunier and 20% Chardonnay. Reserve wines from several