Focke-Wulf A 43

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Focke Wulf A 43 falcon
Three-sided view
Type: Touring plane
Design country:

German EmpireGerman Empire German Empire

Manufacturer:

Focke-Wulf

First flight:

June 1932

Number of pieces:

1

The Focke-Wulf A 43 " Falke " (later also called Fw 43) was a touring aircraft made by the Bremen manufacturer Focke-Wulf .

history

The Focke-Wulf A 43 was created from an order from 1930 for a fast touring aircraft. Construction of the prototype began in 1931 and was completed at the end of May 1932 and flew for the first time in June. Approval was granted in August 1932. On September 26th, the aircraft was presented to an invited audience in Berlin-Tempelhof , consisting of journalists, pilots and representatives of Luft Hansa. Previously, it had already been presented on September 17th as “Europe's fastest airliner” in service with Norddeutsche Luftverkehrs AG on Neuenlander Feld in Bremen. The subsequent transfer of the A 43 from Bremen to Berlin over 330 km was managed by the Focke-Wulf test pilot Cornelius Edzard with the Fw supervisory board chairman Ludwig Roselius as a passenger in 1:29 hours. The only model built (D-2333) was then successfully used by Norddeutsche Luftverkehrs AG , which was co-founded by Cornelius Edzard. The entire construction was based on Edzard's experiences and ideas, Paul Klages acted as construction and development manager . The A 43 was also shown at the German Air Sports Exhibition that took place in Berlin from October 1 to 23, 1932 .

When the Norddeutsche Luftverkehrs AG was dissolved after the seizure of power , the A 43 became state property and was probably used as a courier aircraft by the Reich Aviation Ministry . In November 1934 it was given as a gift to Tsarist Bulgaria and was flown over to Sofia by Lieutenant Popgantschew . Whether as intended as the personal travel aircraft of the Bulgarian King Boris III. Was used, can no longer be traced.

construction

The A 43 was a stripped high-decker in composite construction with a spacious, soundproofed and closed cabin. The pilot sat in front and behind him up to two passengers who had a good view down. The high-decker construction also enabled easy entry into the machine. In order to achieve a high speed, emphasis was placed on good aerodynamics. An eight-cylinder V-engine Argus As 10 with 162 kW (220 hp) power was used as the drive, which could bring the aircraft to a top speed of 256 km / h. Problematic and ultimately one of the reasons why the machine remained a one-off was the very high landing speed of 108 km / h due to the lack of landing flaps . In addition, there was the relatively high surface loading of 82 kg / m², which was almost twice as much as comparable constructions of that time.

Technical specifications

Parameter Data
crew 1
Passengers 2
length 8.3 m
span 10.0 m
height 2.3 m
Wing area 14 m²
Empty mass 725 kg
Takeoff mass 1125 kg
Top speed 255 km / h
Cruising speed 215 km / h
Landing speed 108 km / h
Service ceiling 5100 m
Range 1050 km
Engines an Argus As 10 with 220 PS (162 kW)

See also

literature

  • Peter W. Cohausz: Focke-Wulf A 43 "Falke" - fast air taxi . In: Flugzeug Classic, July 2017, pp. 42–44.

Web links

Commons : Focke-Wulf Fw 43  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ According to the company tradition of that time, all Focke-Wulf aircraft had internal bird names.
  2. ↑ FliegerRevue February 2010; Pp. 56-58; Focke-Wulf's birds
  3. ^ Reinhold Thiel : Focke-Wulf aircraft construction. H. M. Hauschild, Bremen 2011, ISBN 978-3-89757-489-2 , p. 63/64.
  4. ↑ Wolfgang Wagner: Kurt Tank - designer and test pilot at Focke-Wulf. Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Koblenz 1980, ISBN 3-7637-5271-4 ( Die Deutsche Luftfahrt 1).
  5. ↑ a b c René Scheer: Focke-Wulf A 43. The lonely falcon. In: Aviation Classics. No. 08/2019, Motorpress Stuttgart, pp. 26–30.
  6. ↑ Fw 43 (aerial archive)