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Aviation History
1925
1925 - 0701.PDF
LJOCTOBER 29, 1925 THE ALBATROS L.69 " Bristol "-Engined Monoplane Wins " Round Saxony" Flight IT will be recollected that in the " Round-Germany"flight, which took place in June last, a very promising machine, which did not get an opportunity of really showingwhat it could do, was the Albatros L.69 monoplane, fitted with Bristol " Lucifer" engine. Such short flights as weremade by the machine demonstrated that it was very fast, and, but for the fact that minor defects were discovered at thelast moment, there is little doubt that the L.69 would have done well in the Rundflug. These troubles were of a minorcharacter only, such as are to be expected with any new type of machine, and if it had been possible to finish the machine of their engines. In Class " D " the Albatros L. 69, pilotedby Student, completed the two circuits of the course in 6 hours 14 mins. flying time, which corresponds to an averagespeed of 165 kms./hr. (102-5 m.p.h.)- The next-best time was made by another Albatros, a type L.68 biplane withSiemens engine. This machine, owing to the fact that its engine was rated at just under 100 h.p., was classed " C,"and covered the course in 7 hours 57 mins., or at an average speed of 130 kms./hr. (80-75 m.p.h.). The Udet " Flamingo " was third home with a flying timeof 8 hours 28 mins., a speed of 122 kms./hr. (76 m.p.h.). THE ALBATROS L.69 : This front view shows the clean lines of the machine, and the cowling of the Bristol " Lucifer " engine. a month or so earlier, these defects woukT have been dis-covered, and doubtless would have been rectified in time for the Rundflug. That there was nothing much the matter with the machinehas now been amply demonstrated by the fact that in the recent " Round-Saxony " flight, the Albatros L.69, pilotedby Student, won first prize in Class D (machines with engines of more than 100 h.p.). Before giving a description of the Albatros machine, it The Albatros L.69 was designed as a high-speed sportsmonoplane, and, although it is a cantilever monoplane, it has been designed with such high factors of safety that itmay be stunted to almost any extent. No figures relating to the actual speed of the " Bristol "-engined machine areavailable, but it may be taken for granted that the average speed maintained during the " Round-Saxony " flight doesnot represent anything like the actual top speed of which the machine is capable. THE ALBATROS L.69 : Three-quarter rear view. The fuselage comes to a point at the back, this conebeing detachable so as to give access to the control levers, etc. may be of interest to outline very briefly the nature of the" Round- Saxony " flight. This consisted of two laps of the circuit : Chemnitz-Plauen-Leipzig-Grossenhain-Bautzen-Zit-tau-Dresden-Chemnitz. The competition was a speed race, but instead of handicapping the various machines, as wouldprobably have been done in this country, the competitors were divided into four classes according to the horse-power Three-ply wood enters very largely into the constructionof the Albatros L.69, this being the material used not only for covering the fuselage, but the greater portion of the wing.Probably one of the first firms in the world to make such extensive use of three-ply was the Albatros works, where,as far back as 1913, a two-seater biplane was produced in which the fuselage was ply-wood covered. One of these 701
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