Messerschmitt S 14

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Messerschmitt S 14
Messerschmitt S 14, 1923
Type: Glider
Design country:

German EmpireGerman Empire German Empire

Manufacturer:

Aircraft construction Messerschmitt

First flight:

1923

Number of pieces:

2

The Messerschmitt S 14 was a German glider from the 1920s and the last and most successful non-propulsion design executed by Willy Messerschmitt . Subsequently, he turned to the construction of powered aircraft .

History and construction

When his S 13 glider, designed for the 4th Rhön competition , crashed on July 7, 1923 as a result of a material fault, with the pilot Wolf Hirth fracturing his pelvis, Messerschmitt developed the close look in a very short time in order to still be able to attend the meeting ajar design S 14. The plywood-clad hull boat with closed driver's seat and skid was largely retained, as was the wing control that he had taken over from his learning and design time with the aviation pioneer Friedrich Harth . The wing , designed in high- wing configuration, was therefore not equipped with ailerons , but had a steerable, double-hinged, plywood-planked center piece with two diagonal fuselage struts to change direction. Fundamental changes related to the use of a new Göttingen -Gö-482 surface profile borrowed from the HAWA Vampyr (S 13: Gö 535) and the slightly shortened span . The structure with a torsionally stiff box spar , planked front edge and otherwise warp-soft wooden frame with a cellular fabric covering was largely identical.

Two copies of the S 14 were launched and were built by Willy Messerschmitt in his company Flugzeugbau Messerschmitt, Bamberg , which he founded in 1923 . The financing was secured by Messerschmitt's older brother Ferdinand, who had already provided support in founding the company. The aircraft were completed in time to take part in the main Rhöntreffen competition held in the last two weeks of August. On the penultimate day of the competition, Hans Hackmack managed to reach a height of 303 m above the starting point in gusty weather with about 20 m / s in about 2 minutes, the highest height reached by the Rhön in 1923. When attempting this best performance still to be outbid, the pilot Max Standfuss was killed when his Erfurt monoplane crashed . In addition to the altitude prize, Hackmack also won the Albert Böhm Prize for the highest flight altitude, the Medal of Honor of the German Aviation Association (DLV) for the highest flying performance and the 2nd prize in the distance competition for the flight distance achieved. Messerschmitt was awarded one of the two design prizes awarded by the Georgen Foundation for the development of the S 14. In addition, Messerschmitt submitted the construction plans of the S 14 as his diploma thesis in November 1923 and successfully completed his mechanical engineering studies at the Technical University of Munich .

After some improvements, one of the two S 14s was sold to the Lower Franconia Würzburg Working Group.

Technical specifications

Parameter Data
crew 1
span 13.80 m
length 5.50 m
height 1.10 m (without vertical stabilizer)
Wing area 18.80 m²
Wing chord 1.36 m
Wing extension 10.1
Wing loading 9.3 kg / m²
Preparation mass 105 kg
Payload 75 kg
Takeoff mass 180 kg
profile Gö 482

literature

  • Günter Brinkmann, Hans Zacher: The evolution of the gliders. In: German aviation. Volume 19, Bernard & Graefe, Bonn 1992, ISBN 3-7637-6104-7 .
  • Hans J. Ebert, Johann B. Kaiser, Klaus Peters: Willy Messerschmitt - pioneer of aviation and lightweight construction. In: German aviation. Volume 17, Bernard & Graefe, Bonn 1992, ISBN 3-7637-6103-9 .
  • Gerhard Wissmann: Adventure in wind and clouds. The history of gliding. Transpress, Berlin 1988, ISBN 3-344-00275-9 .