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Aviation History
1947
1947 - 0794.PDF
464 FLIGHT MAY 22ND. 1947 KZ-VII In The Air Some Impressions of the New Lark THEKE have been quite a number of foreign light air-craft visiting this country during the last few weeks.In last week's issue I wrote some notes following a briefflight in the Ercoupe, and one warm evening last week needed no persuasion to fly the Danish KZ-VII. "Ihis four-seater KZ, also named Lark, will be of particularinterest to aircraft-starved British pilots because, believe it or not, an import licence can be obtained and delivery dates areonly about two months behind orders. R. K. Dundas, Ltd., the agents for Skandinavisk Aero Industri A/S in this countryand the Commonwealth, would be glad to arrange delivery of a standard KZ-VII.for a price of £2,150, £290 of which is duty,or of a de luxe model fitted with electrics and in non-standard colours for ^2,300.In our issue of August 29th last I described my impressions of flying the two-seater KZ-III Lark, and the' VII is verysimilar, being in fact a four-seat version with a little more power and some improvements to detail. The engine is a C.125Continental flat six, while the KZ-III had a 100 h.p. Cirrus Minor. To "simplify and speed-up production, only one modelis being produced, and as the main demand in Europe, also borne out by American experience, is for a four-seater, theKZ-III has been discontinued. The principal flying characteristic of the Lark is the controlat very low speeds and the aircraft's reluctance to stall and refusal to spin. While these safety qualities, which are becom-ing the talking point of so man;' modern light aircraft, are 100 per cent desirable, I think it is time a small warning noticewas displayed on the windscreens, like the running-in instruc- tions on a new car, to say that the aircraft should not be flownat less than 30 m.p.h. for the first, thousand feet. More than one very experienced pilot has lost his life in the last year orso through overdoing the walking-pace-climb-off-the-deok demonstration. As far as the KZ-VII is concerned, any un-intentional stall which might occur during normal flying prac- tice would be due to abnormal pilot error.I tried a circuit and bump with three people up after first flying with only two, and could hardly detect any differencein handling. The climb ficiirf of .-/m fi ;min claimed seems to Flight " photoaraph. The broad nose and spacious interior are particularly appar in this photograpr be accurate, and, flown solo, 1,000 ft/min initial climb caabe obtained. Over a short run I reached a speed of 195 k.p.h, or 121 m.p.h. at full throttle and cruised without effort at175/180 k.p.h, or no m.p.h. The main criticism of the earlier KZ^III was its lack of rear-ward view, but on the KZ-VII this is* quite satisfactory, and the straight-forward view is also slightly improved.For a machine of its type, the Lark's low landing speed of /* Flight " photograph. The Lark climbs steeply away from Gatjvick airfield._ about 35 m.p.h. is a good feature, and although I wouldn'ttry it with someone else's aircraft, I am told by Mr. Kramme, the demonstrating pilot, and Mr. Harttung, the sales manager,that on grass the machine may be landed safely with brakes lull on. For small-field work, in the mountainous Scandinavian:ountries in particular, this and its full load, still-air take-off run of only 165 yd will be most useful. The full-span two-position flaps, of course, have a lot to do with this low-speed performance. They are full-span in so much as both aileronsare -depressed by 15 degrees when flap is fully lowered. Flown solo, the Lark can be pulled off safely after a 70-yd run,an emergency landing could be made in little more than tennis court area. "Flight" photogrmi/i. The panel 1 ayout is neat and simple and entry to front rear seats presents no problem. Forsgorne peogjg--- "prongs " of the forked stick are a little TboTongT KZ-VII LARK Span 31.5ft Length 21.5ft Height 6.9ftWing area 140 sq ft Weight empty 1,022 Ib Useful load 889 1b Max. all-up weight 1,911 Ib Max. wing loading ... 13.5 Ib sq in Power loading 15.3 Ib/h.p. Max. speed S.U 124 m.p.h. Max. speed (2,350 r.p.m.) 109 m.p.h. Landing speed 34 m.p.h. Rate of climb S.L. *. ... 590 ft/min Range 450 miles Service ceiling 13.500ft 4
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