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Aviation History
1925
1925 - 0175.PDF
MARCH 26, 192S THE HEINKEL H.E. 18 SPORTS MONOPLANE A New German Low-Power Two-Seater IN view of the recent production in this country of a two-seater machine fitted with an engine of 60-70 h.p., and intended for school^ and sporting flying, i.e. the De Havilland " Moth " with " Cirrus " engine, described and illustrated in FLIGHT of March 5, it is of interest to know what other nations are doing in the matter of machines of approximately this power, and we are, therefore, pleased to be able to place before our readers this week details and illustrations of the new German machine which forms the subject of the following article. Owing to the limitations placed upon the size and power of German aircraft by the Versailles lreaty, German designers have for the last few years been turning their attention to machines of a power permitted by the Allies, and have in consequence obtained considerable designer to the Caspar works, but now established with his own firm, and constructed by that firm, the Heinkel Flugzeugwerke at Warnemiinde. The machine is the outcome of the Heinkel HE. 3 of 1923, which did so well at Gothenburg, and is very similar to its prototype except in certain minor alterations, made in order to cheapen the machine in quantity production. Fundamentally the Heinkel H.F..18 is a low-wing monoplane with vee bracing struts as on the De Havilland D.H.53. One objection that has been raised against this type, and the only really serious one we have ever heard put forward, is the possible danger to the crew in case of the machine turning over on the ground. In the Heinkel two-seater provision is made against this by fitting a detachable steel THE HEINKEL H.E. 18 : Three-quarter front view. The engine is a 75 h.p. Siemens radial. experience with machines of relatively low power. But for the absence of suitable German small engines it seems likely that more would have been accomplished with really low- power machines, of the type known in this country as light 'planes. As it is, most of the German light 'planes have been fitted with British motor-cycle engines. In the low- power or " not-quite-so-light " 'plane class, however, the Germans designers have had available for several years engines of suitable type, and most of the German machines are, therefore, fitted with German engines, among which the two types of Siemens radial engines appear to have become most popular. The Heinkel H.E. 18 shown in the accompanying illustrations was designed by Herr Ernst Heinkel, at one time chief tube guard running from the engine plate to the rear of the aft cockpit. In the photographs this guard is not shown in place, but it is stated that it can be fitted very quickly. The fuselage is made in two distinct types, according to the requirements of the customer. The standard type, which is the one shown in the photographs, is of steel tube con- struction and covered with fabric. If, however, the machine is to be used under conditions or in localities where repairs to a steel tubular structure cannot easily be effected, an all-wood fuselage, with ply-wood covering, can be supplied instead. This question of steel tube construction is one that might, we think, with advantage be taken up again now in this country in connection with low-power aeroplanes. The THE HEINKEL H.E. 18 iThree-quarter rear view from above. This photograph gives an excellent idea of thelines of the machine. 175
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