Engineering:Udet U 6
| U 6 | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Type | Touring aircraft |
| National origin | Germany |
| Manufacturer | Udet Flugzeugbau |
| Designer | Hans Henry Herrmann |
| Number built | about 7 |
| History | |
| First flight | 1923 |
| Developed from | Udet U 1 |
The Udet U 6 was a small, low-power sport aircraft developed in Gerrmany in the early 1920s as an improved version of the Udet U 1.[1][2][3]
Of around seven examples built, three received German civil registrations, D 325, D 330, and D 487[4]
Design
The U 6 was a low-wing cantilever monoplane of conventional design.[5] It was powered by a single, piston engine mounted in the nose, driving a two-blade tractor propeller.[5] It had a conventional tail and conventional, tailskid undercarriage.[5]
The fuselage and tail unit were of all-wood construction.[5] The wings were wooden as well, covered in fabric.[5]
Although based on the series of Udet Flugzeugbau designs that started with the U 1, the U 6 was a substantially modified design. The pilot and passenger were still seated in tandem, but were now in separate, open cockpits.[3] The angular tail fin of the U 1 was replaced with a rounded one,[3] and the wing planform was more complex than the simple, trapezoidal shape of the U 1.[5] The improved aerodynamics of the design resulted in an improvement in top speed of around 10 kilometres per hour (6.2 mph; 5.4 kn).[3]
One example, D 325, was fitted with ski undercarriage.[4]
Operational history
Test flights of the U 6 began in July 1923, and in August, the aircraft was displayed at the Internationella luftfartsutställningen i Göteborg 1923 ("ILUG", "The International Aero Exhibition Gothenburg") show in Göteborg.[3]
Company founder Ernst Udet also demonstrated the U 6 at the ADAC (Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club, "General German Automobile Club") rally at Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1924.[3] (The Winterfahrt or "winter rally" was held between 1–3 February that year.) Between 13–14 May the same year, he flew a U 6 on a 1,250-kilometre (780 mi) journey in several stages with passenger Countess Margot von Einsiedel.[3]
More competition wins soon followed. On 18 May 1924, Ernst Udet and Franz Hailer flew U 6s to first and second place in the Ostpreußischen Samland-Küstenflug für Kleinflugzeuge ("East Prussian Samland coastal flight for small aeroplanes") event from Dessau to Königsberg organised by the Ostpreußischen Verein für Luftfahrt ("East Prussian aviation association").[4]
Eduardo Olivero used a U 6 to set an unofficial South American altitude record for an aircraft in its class at Castelar, Argentina, on 28 May 1924.[4] With passenger Maria Elena Ortiz Machado, he climbed to 3,400 metres (11,200 ft) in 2 hours, 10 minutes.[4] This particular machine was later bought by Carlos Ardohein, who suffered a fatal crash in it near Buenos Aires on 27 February 1926.[4]
U 6s were used at a number of German flying schools.[4] At least one of these, Oberbayerische Sportflug ("Upper Bavarian sport flying") in Schleissheim regarded it as unsuitable for beginners and reserved it for more experienced students.[4] A U 6a was also ordered by a Mexican flying school, but it is not now known how far this order proceeded.[4]
Variants
- U 6
- original version with Siemens-Halske Sh 4 engine
- U 6a
- version with Siemens-Halske Sh 5 engine
Operators
Flying schools:
- Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Flieger, Würzburg, Germany[4]
- Oberbayerische Sportflug, Schleissheim, Germany[4]
- Ortloff, Berlin, Germany[4]
- Relakraft, Königsberg, Germany[4]
Specifications
Data from Birchal 2013, p.51
General characteristics
- Crew: 1 pilot
- Capacity: 1 passenger
- Length: 5.50 m (18 ft 1 in)
- Wingspan: 8.90 m (29 ft 2 in)
- Height: 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)
- Wing area: 12 m2 (130 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 470 kg (1,036 lb)
- Gross weight: 800 kg (1,764 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × Siemens-Halske Sh 4 five-cylinder, radial, air-cooled piston engine, 47.5 kW (63.7 hp) (65 PS)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 150 km/h (93 mph, 81 kn)
Notes
References
Bibliography
- Bichel, Olaf (2013) (in de). Die Flugzeuge der Udet Flugzeugbau GmbH. Oberschleißheim: Bayerische Flugzeug-Historiker eV.
- The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft. 13. London: Aerospace Publishing. 1984.
- Taylor, Michael J. H. (1993). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions.
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