Heinkel HE 18

Heinkel HE 18
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Type:	Sports and training aircraft
Design country:	German Empire
Manufacturer:	Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugwerke
First flight:	1924
Number of pieces:	2

The Heinkel HE 18 was a German sports and training aircraft made by Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in the 1920s.

history

The Heinkel-Werke in Warnemünde developed the HE 18 in 1924 as the successor to the HE 3 from the previous year. The design showed some serious differences, especially in relation to the wings , which received a combined flap system over the entire span on the rear wing and were also connected to the fuselage in a semi- cantilevered manner by struts . Furthermore, the supporting and tail units were designed to be foldable for transport and space-saving storage, so that the parked aircraft only required an area of ​​7.2 m in length, 1.9 m in width and 2.3 m in height. An easy-to-install double controller was provided for school purposes . In addition, the HE 18 could be converted into a seaplane by adding a floating mechanism. Although the pattern was designed as a mixed construction, a pure all-wood construction should also be possible. It was also possible to install various drives in the 80 hp performance class.

Despite these details aimed at simplifying series production, the HE 18 was not a success. Only two copies were built. The first of these with the serial number 214 was delivered without a drive to the Aviation Science Association of the Technical University of Braunschweig and was named "Braunschweig" on July 18 , initially with a 70 hp in- line engine from Daimler Mercedes . Another name was MB 4 for "Braunschweig motorized aircraft". This HE 18 initially flew without a license plate and was only registered as being in February 1928 after it had been converted to an 85 hp L 1b engine from JunkersD–475 . It was flown in this way for a while, but broke on October 18, 1929 and was deleted from the aircraft role in February of the following year .

The second HE 18 with the serial number 215 received a radial engine from Siemens & Halske and was D–596flown as. She had an accident on May 23, 1925.

construction

The U 18 was a strutted low-wing aircraft in composite construction . The fuselage consisted of a welded tubular steel frame with a square cross-section and a slightly curved upper side, which was planked with aluminum sheets in the engine and upper area and covered with fabric in the rest of the area. The crew cabins with twin rudders were open and one behind the other. The fuel tank was located between the forward cockpit and the engine and separated from the latter by a firewall .

The wings consisted of fabric-covered wooden structures with two box spars , Spruce straps , plywood webs and internal struts, which were supported on the upper side on about 1/3 of the span with V-struts towards the fuselage. Ailerons were attached to the trailing edge over the entire span , which also acted as landing flaps and reduced the landing speed by up to 15%. The surfaces could be folded onto the fuselage for transport.

The framework of the tail unit was made of welded steel tubes covered with fabric. The horizontal stabilizer was supported towards the fuselage and could be folded up for transport. The oars were not balanced.

The HE 18 could either be equipped with a rear wheel landing gear or with two floats . In the land version, the two main wheels were connected to each other by an axle, had a large track width and suspension in the front struts. There was a grinding spur at the stern. As a seaplane, the model received two parallel wooden floats with 80% reserve buoyancy.

Technical specifications

Parameter	Data (HE 18 country)	Data (HE 18 See)
crew	2
span	11.1 m
length	7.2 m	7.8 m
height	2.7 m	3.3 m
Wing area	17.4 m²
Wing extension	7.1
V shape	2 °
Preparation mass	490 kg	545 kg
Payload	230 kg
Takeoff mass	720 kg	775 kg
drive	an air-cooled seven-cylinder - four stroke - radial engine
Type	Siemens & Halske Sh 5
Starting power	85 PS (63 kW) at 1600 rpm 76 PS (56 kW) at 1500 rpm
Top speed	145 km / h	140 km / h
Landing speed	78 km / h	80 km / h
Rate of climb	1.9 m / s	1.2 m / s
Rise time	9.0 min at 1000 m altitude	14.0 min at 1000 m altitude
Summit height	3200 m	2500 m
Range	approx. 420 km
Flight duration	approx. 3 h

literature

• Volker Koos: Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugwerke 1922–1932. Heel, Königswinter 2006, ISBN 3-89880-502-6 , p. 49/50.
• Volker Koos: Aviation between the Baltic Sea and Breitling. The sea and landing airfield Warnemünde 1914–1945. Transpress, Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-344-00480-8 , pp. 55 and 66.
• Hans-Jürgen Becker: Seaplane - flying boats, amphibians, float planes. In: German aviation. Volume 21. Bernard & Graefe, Bonn 1994, ISBN 3-7637-6106-3 , p. 141.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Karl Ries: Research on the German aviation role. Part 1: 1919-1934. Dieter Hoffmann, Mainz 1977, ISBN 3-87341-022-2 , p. 42.
2. ↑ Ries, p. 49