Kayaba Ku-2
| Kayaba Ku-2 | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Experimental glider |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
October 1940 |
| Number of pieces: |
1 |
The Kayaba Ku-2 was a Japanese experimental glider .
development
The Ku-2 was one of a series of flying wing aircraft built by Kayaba Kōgyō in Japan on behalf of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II from 1938 to 1942 to investigate the possibilities of the tailless aircraft.
The engineer Hidemasa Kimura and the chief designer Shigeki Naito developed the Ku-2 on the basis of the previous model HK-1. The machine had a swept-wing similar to the Delta I of Alexander Lippisch with two rudders at the end of the wings. A total of 262 test flights were carried out with the Ku-2 between October 1940 and May 1941.
The Ku-3 was also a flying wing, but without vertical stabilization surfaces and a swept inner wing and a less swept outer wing.
The results of the test series went into the version of the Ku-4. The Ku-4 was built with a 90 kW (120 PS) rear engine with a pusher propeller as a powered aircraft. The test series was given up in 1942, there was no series production.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data Kayaba Ku-2 |
|---|---|
| constructor | Hidemasa Kimura |
| span | 9.80 m |
| Wing area | 14.50 m² |
| Hull length | 3.04 m |
Web links
- Photo of the Ku-2 on aviation-history.com
