Koolhoven FK.46
| Koolhoven FK.46 | |
|---|---|
_1.jpg) FK.46L with Walter Minor 4 engine |
|
| Type: | Trainer aircraft |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
1933 |
The Koolhoven FK.46 was a civilian training aircraft developed in the 1930s by the Dutch Koolhoven Flugzeug AG (NV Koolhoven vfluguigen).
development
Frits Koolhoven designed the FK.46 as a braced double - decker with a tandem cockpit and rigid rear wheel chassis . He placed the two fuel tanks to the left and right of the front pilot's seat under the upper wing . The first prototype , equipped with a Cirus-Hermes in - line engine and two open cabins, took off on its maiden flight in autumn 1933. The second copy was also powered by a Cirrus engine, but received a closed, three-part cabin with separate sliding hoods for the front and rear seats. Only a small number of the FK.46 were built, most of them a British gipsy majorEngine received. Four of them were sold to the Nationale Luchtvaartschool (National Aviation School, NLS for short). The Air Force of the Netherlands acquired a fifth FK.46 and examined it for possible military suitability; apparently unsuccessful, because the aircraft was returned and subsequently used civilly. The FK.46 proved to be good-natured and easy to fly trainer aircraft that after a stall was easy to maneuver back into a stable attitude. As a result, it was possible to reduce the flight hours required to obtain the license for this type by a quarter. The FK.46 were flown until the end of the 1930s and most of them were still in active service when the war began in May 1940.
In 1935, the FK.46L appeared as a one-off with a reduced empty weight . It had again been equipped with an open pilot's cabin and was powered by a Czech Walter Minor with 95 hp. Another difference was that the two drop tanks under the wings were combined into a single, wider, but flatter unit. Since no interested parties could be found for the aircraft, there was no series production.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 2 |
| span | 8.00 m |
| length | 7.30 m |
| height | |
| Wing area | 24 m² |
| Empty mass | |
| Takeoff mass | 870 kg |
| drive | an air-cooled four-cylinder in - line de Havilland Gipsy Major engine |
| power | 130 hp (96 kW) |
| Top speed | 175 km / h near the ground |
| Service ceiling | 4200 m |
Web links
literature
- Peter Alles-Fernandez (Ed.): Aircraft from A to Z. Volume 2. Bernard & Graefe, Koblenz 1988, 3-7637-5905-0, p. 431.