Wassmer WA-50

Wassmer WA-50
Type:	four-seat light aircraft
Design country:	France
Manufacturer:	Wassmer Aviation
First flight:	1966
Production time:	until 1977
Number of pieces:	190

Wassmer WA-50 is a series of small aircraft produced by the French manufacturer Wassmer Aviation in Issoire . These are four four-seater low - wing aircraft with an identical basic design and different engines. The WA-50 was the world's first aircraft to be made entirely from GRP . In addition to the prototype WA-50, the versions WA-51 Pacific , WA-52 Europe and WA-54 Atlantic were produced.

history

Wassmer began developing a plastic light aircraft in 1962 . The machine should be easy to maintain, inexpensive and durable. The target group were private customers. In March 1966, was the first flight of the prototype WA-50 provided by a Lycoming-O-320 - engine was driven at 112 kW and with a retractable undercarriage disposal. Subsequently, the mass production of the WA-51 Pacific, which began with a rigid nose landing gear fitted. At the same time, the WA-52 Europa was produced with a Lycoming O-320 with 119 kW and a controllable pitch propeller . The WA-53 was supposed to be a version with a 92 kW engine, but it was never realized. From 1973 Wassmer switched production to the WA-54 Atlantic. This aircraft had a larger hold and was powered by a Lycoming O-360 with 134 kW. The chassis has also been revised. In 1977 the production of the WA-54 was stopped due to the bankruptcy of Wassmer. Up to this point 190 copies of all WA-50 models had been produced.

Accidents

• On May 1, 1999, a WA-54 Atlantic took off on a circular flight from Schönhagen airfield . About 900 meters behind the runway , the engine failed at a height of about 50 meters. The pilot initiated a right turn, which resulted in a stall . The plane tilted to the right, hit the ground hard, and caught fire shortly after. The pilot and passenger were able to escape seriously injured from the wreck.

• On March 31, 2005, a WA-52 Pacific got into an uncontrolled attitude during a training flight and crashed into a field near Rhede in Emsland . The pilot and his passenger were seriously injured in the accident.

• On January 14, 2006, the engine failed on a WA-52 Pacific near Naarden in the Netherlands . The pilot and passenger were slightly injured in the emergency landing that followed.

• On September 3, 2010, a WA-54 Atlantic flew with the pilot and one passenger on board from Oehna to Kempten . After the pilot, the traffic pattern had reached Kempten, he told the flight controllers on the radio that he did not have the space in sight. The flight controller, who in turn had the aircraft in sight, advised the pilot to fly north and shortly afterwards the pilot reported the place in sight. Twenty seconds later the pilot again reported the loss of visual contact with the field. After another hint from the flight controller, the pilot reported the place in sight again. According to witnesses, the plane flew very low and slowly towards the airfield. About a mile before the start of the runway , the pilot made a change of course to the west and the plane then crashed. The 69-year-old pilot and his passenger were killed in the accident. The BFU attributed the accident to the fact that the pilot did not notice the steady decrease in speed at low altitude while looking for the place and that he lost control of the aircraft when he suddenly changed direction in front of an obstacle.

Technical specifications

Three-sided view WA-54 Atlantic

Parameter	WA-51 Pacific	WA-52 Europe	WA-54 Atlantic
crew	1
Passengers	3
length	7.5 m
span	9.4 m
height	2.1 m		2.26 m
Wing area	12.4 m²
Wing extension	7.1
Empty mass	590 kg		630 kg
Max. Takeoff mass	1040 kg	1060 kg	1130 kg
maximum permissible load	3.6 g / −1.9 g
Engine	Lycoming O-320- E2A	Lycoming IO-320-B1A	Lycoming O-360 A
power	112 kW (152 hp )	119 kW (162 hp)	134 kW (182 PS)
Cruising speed	137 kn	141 kn	146 kn
Top speed	154 kn	158 kn	163 kn
Pull-in speed with flaps extended	58 kn		60 kn
Stall speed with flaps retracted	65 kn	67 kn	66 kn
Tank capacity	2 × 75 liters
Range	910 km		900 km

Web links

Commons : Wassmer WA-50 series  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

literature

• Encyclopedia of Airplanes . Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1995, ISBN 3-89350-055-3 , p. 432 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Wassmer WA-50 / WA-51 Pacific / WA-52 Europe / WA-54 Atlantic. Flugzeuginfo.net, accessed April 14, 2018 . 
2. ↑ Avions Wassmer. Retrieved April 14, 2018 (French). 
3. ↑ investigation report 3X052-0 / 99th (PDF) Federal Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau , September 2000, accessed on April 14, 2018 . 
4. ↑ Bulletin - Accidents and Serious Disruptions in the Operation of Civil Aircraft. (PDF) Federal Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau , March 2005, accessed on April 14, 2018 . 
5. ↑ Bulletin - Accidents and Serious Disruptions in the Operation of Civil Aircraft. (PDF) Federal Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau , January 2006, accessed on April 14, 2018 . 
6. ↑ Investigation report 3X128-10. (PDF) Federal Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau , July 1, 2013, accessed on April 14, 2018 .