User:Nigel Ish/Sandbox Prage E-55
| Praga E-55 | |
|---|---|
| Role | Military observation/liason aircraft |
| National origin | Czechoslovakia |
| Manufacturer | ČKD-Praga |
| First flight | 1949 |
| Number built | 1 |
The Praga E-55 was a prototype Czechoslovakian multi-purpose single-engine light aircraft designed by ČKD-Praga and intended for the Czechoslovak Army. A single example was built, first flying in 1949, but the type was not selected for production, and the single example was used by an aeroclub before being withdrawn from use in 1953.
Design and development
[edit]In November 1947, the Czechoslovak Ministry of Defence issued requirements for two light aircraft for service in support of the Czechoslovak Army, a smaller two-seat aircraft, to be powered by the 105 hp (78 kW) Walter Minor 4-III engine and a larger three-seat aircraft to be powered by the 160 horsepower (120 kW) Walter Minor 6-III engine.[1][2] The larger aircraft was required to fulfil a number of roles, including observation and liaison duties, casualty evacuation and glider towing. It was required to give a good view in all directions for the observation role, and to operate out of short airstrip and to be easy to maintain in the field. It was also required to be transportable by towing behind a motor car or on the back of a 2.5 te truck.[3]
In the summer of 1948, the proposal from ČKD-Praga, the E-55, produced by chief designer Jaroslav Šlechta, was selected to meet the larger, Walter Minor 6, powered requirement, while Aero's Ae 50 was chosen for the smaller Walter Minor-4 powered requirement.[1]
The E-55 was a high-winged tractor configuration monoplane, with a pod and boom arrangement. It had a short, heavily glazed fuselage nacelle, with the twin tail carried on the end of a tubular tailboom.[4][5] The pilot and an observer sat side-by-side at the front of the enclosed cabin, with a seat for a third crewmember behind them.[5] The right front seat could be removed to accommodate racks that could carry two stretchers one above the other, while a medical attendant could sit to the left of the stretchers, although this required operating at overload weights. For glider towing, the aircraft was operated as a single seater, with the radio removed to reduce weight.[4]
Specifications
[edit]Data from Mongrafie: Praga E-55[6]
General characteristics
- Crew: 3
- Length: 8.13 m (26 ft 8 in)
- Wingspan: 11.50 m (37 ft 9 in)
- Height: 2.28 m (7 ft 6 in)
- Wing area: 17.62 m2 (189.7 sq ft)
- Aspect ratio: 7.5:1[5]
- Airfoil: NACA 23012
- Empty weight: 723 kg (1,594 lb)
- Gross weight: 1,040 kg (2,293 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × Walter Minor 6-III 6-cylinder air-cooled in-line piston engine, 118 kW (158 hp)
- Propellers: 2-bladed Aero LC 70, 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) diameter wooden fixed-pitch propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed: 167 km/h (104 mph, 90 kn) (TAS)
- Cruise speed: 150 km/h (93 mph, 81 kn) (EAS)
- Stall speed: 70 km/h (43 mph, 38 kn) (TAS)
- Range: 450 km (280 mi, 240 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 3,250 m (10,660 ft)
- Time to altitude: 8 min 30 s to 1,000 m (3,300 ft)
References
[edit]- ^ a b Marjánek 1976, p. 867.
- ^ Marjánek 1980, p. 712.
- ^ & Marjánek 1976, pp. 867–868.
- ^ a b Marjánek 1976, p. 868.
- ^ a b c Bridgman 1956, p. 121.
- ^ Marjánek 1976, p. 868–869.
- Bridgman, Leonard (1956). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1956. New York: The McGraw-Hill Book Company Inc.
- Marjánek, Pavel (1980). "Mongrafie: Aero Ae-50". Letectví + Kosmonautika (in Czech). Vol. 56, no. 18. pp. 712–714.
- Marjánek, Pavel (1976). "Mongrafie: Praga E-55". Letectvi a Kosmonautika (in Czech). Vol. 52, no. 22. pp. 867–870.
- Mau, Hans Joachim (1979). Tschechoslowakische Flugzeuge (in German). Belin: Transpress. ISBN 3-344-00121-3.
- "Praga E-55 (ČSR)". Flieger Revue (in German). No. 1. 1979. p. 40.
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