Leduc 0.10
| Leduc 0.10 | |
|---|---|
 Leduc 0.10 |
|
| Type: | Prototype experimental aircraft |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
October 21, 1947 |
| Production time: |
Was never mass-produced |
| Number of pieces: |
3 |
The Leduc 0.10 was a research aircraft from France, the first aircraft in the world to fly solely powered by a ramjet .
design
Designed by René Leduc in 1938, it was built by Ateliers d'Aviation Louis Breguet . After a lengthy construction phase - partly kept secret from the German occupation authorities - the aircraft was completed in 1947. The aircraft had a double-walled fuselage with the cabin for the pilot and controls of the aircraft inside the inner hull. The annular gap between this and the cylindrical outer shell formed the inlet for the ramjet engine.
history
A take-off without outside help was not possible, as ramjet engines cannot generate thrust from standstill or low airspeed. Therefore, the Leduc 0.10 was brought to a sufficient altitude and speed for take-off by a Sud-Est-SE.161 -Languedoc- carrier aircraft . After test flights by the Languedoc / 0.10 network, independent gliding tests of the Leduc 0.10 began in October 1947. After three of these flights, the first self-propelled flight was carried out on April 21, 1949 over Toulouse . At an altitude of 3,050 meters (10,010 ft), the engine was tested at half power in a shallow descent for 12 minutes, the aircraft reaching a speed of 680 km / h (420 mph). In the following tests, the Leduc 0.10 achieved a top speed of Mach 0.85 and demonstrated the usability of ramjet engines in practice with a rate of climb of 40 m / s (7900 ft / min) to 11,000 m (36,000 ft). This rate of climb was greater than that of contemporary fighter jets. Of the two Leduc 0.10 originally built, one was destroyed in an accident in 1951 and the second was badly damaged the following year. Both pilots survived with serious injuries.
Leduc 0.11 and subsequent prototypes
In addition, a third aircraft was built and named Leduc 0.11. Essentially similar to the Leduc 0.10, it had a Turboméca-Marboré -I jet engine on each wing tip to ensure better flight control during landing. This first flew on February 8, 1951, but was scaled back to 0.10 standards a few months later. After problems including fogging of the pilot's windows, engine synchronization, and wing flexing were caused by the jet engines. The jet engines were replaced by replacement masses and the aircraft was taken to the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace in Le Bourget . The larger Leduc 0.21 made its maiden flight on May 16, 1953 in an air take-off. The Leduc 0.22 swept wing supersonic interceptor began testing on December 26, 1956, equipped with a SNECMA Atar turbojet, before the program was terminated in 1958.
Technical specifications
- Crew: 2
- Length: 10.25 m
- Span: 10.52 m
- Wing area: 16.0 m 2 (172 ft 2 )
- Empty weight: 1,700 kg
- Gross weight: 2.800 kg
- Engine: 1 × Leduc ramjet, 15.7 kN thrust
- Top speed: 800 km / h
See also
literature
- Tony Buttler, Jean-Louis Delezenne: X-Planes of Europe . Hikoki Publications, Manchester 2012, ISBN 978-1-902109-21-3 .
- Michael JH Taylor: Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation . Studio Editions, London 1989, ISBN 0-517-69186-8 , pp. 750 .
- World Aircraft Information Files . Bright Star Publishing, London. File 900 Sheet 05.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c H. F. King: Milestones of the Air . McGraw-Hill, New York 1969, ISBN 0-07-032207-4 , pp. 113 .