FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1956
1956 - 0131.PDF
'3 February 1956 T - connection with Messerschmitt, it is quite natural that they shouldhave produced the first Spanish jet-propelled aircraft, the HA.200-R1. The main factory is in the Calle San JacintoSeville, and there are flight-testing facilities at the city's main civil airport, San Pablo. Production is at present centred mainly on the MesserschmittMelO9, the G variant of which is still being turned out. Originally the Germans provided 25 MelO9Gs; construction then began,using the Hispano 12-Z-17 engine of 1,300 h.p. Three-blade' metal, constant-speed de Havilland airscrews, made under licenceby the Spanish national aircraft propeller company, are now standard. Several versions have appeared. The first licence-built machinewith the Hispano engine was designated HA.1109-K1L. It corresponded in most respects to its German forerunner, butexamples which still exist appear to have no armament. A few years ago the Spanish government ordered two prototypes of atandem two-seater trainer, the HA.1110, which varied only in cockpit layout from the standard fighter. These two prototypesare still at San Pablo, and no production order has been placed. The Hispano 12-Z-17 engine went out of production some timeago and the version designated HA.1109-M1L was produced, powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin 500-45 engine of 1,400 h.p.with a Rotol four-blade airscrew. An armed version of the K1L is now coming off the production lines with eight rocketrails and two Hispano 20 mm cannons, while similarly equipped MILs will soon take its place. The sight of numbers of MelO9s in the Seville factory, allpainted dull grey and looking distinctly aggressive, gave me a shock; comparatively few Englishmen can have seen such a sightbefore. Because the details of the aircraft must even now be fairly unfamiliar, it is worth while noting some of them here. Theempty and all-up-weights are respectively 5,390 lb and 6,300 lb and the maximum speed at 12,200ft is 414 m.p.h. Range atcruising speed is 405 miles and the maximum rate of climb at 9,100ft is 2,196ft/min. Service ceiling is 33,500ft and touch-down speed 112 m.p.h. The aircraft carries 88 gal of fuel in a boot-shaped tank fitting behind and underneath the pilot's seat.Span, length and height are respectively 32ft 7in, 29ft 7in and 8ft 6in. The Merlin of the latest version is arranged in a powerplantalmost identical with that of the Spitfire to which it was originally fitted and it is notable that no difficulty at all was experiencedin mounting it in the MelO9. The under-wing radiators, the engine bearers and the other fixed items were all completelysuited to it and the company said that they had remarkably little trouble with the conversion. It is well known that Messerschmittdesigned the fin and rudder of the MelO9 as an aerofoil section in order to counteract torque by "sideways lift." The Merlinrotates in the opposite direction to the Hispano; but, since speed is no longer important in the aircraft, no alteration has beenmade to the vertical tail surfaces and the changed torque is counteracted simply by maintaining the rudder some degrees tothe right in flight. The first two 1109 MIL prototypes had an extended tailwheel leg to reduce the tail-down attitude on theground, but this expedient is to be eliminated in production. After snowing me the aircraft, the technical director, Don RicardoMonet y Anton, hastened to add that it was not considered as a front-line fighting aircraft by the Spanish Air Force, but ratheras an operational trainer. In the prototype field, Hispano is very active with a design-team broadly directed by Willi Messerschmitt. The first com- pletely post-war aircraft, the tandem two-seat HA.100, with tri- The Hispano HA.ll 12-K1L carries tour small rocket rails and a Hispano 20 mm cannon on each wing. The engine in this case is the Hispano 12-2-17 of 1,300 h.p. 131 "Flight" photograph The engine bearers, radiators and other fixed items of the HA.1109, the Spanish Mel09, were found to require very little alteration before the Rolls-Royce Merlin 500-45, shown here, could be fitted. cycle undercarriage and a radial engine of some 750 h.p., was infact designed under his direction. The HA.200-R1 Saeta jet trainer is a direct development of this machine though consider-able modification was, of course, required. Four prototypes of the HA. 100 were ordered. Two of them, with the sub-designa-tion El, are powered by the Spanish Elizalde B.4 Beta of 750 h.p. with de Havilland two-blade, constant-speed airscrew; and two,sub-designated Fl, have the Wright Cyclone 800 h.p. engine with an Aeroproducts two-blade, steel, constant-speed airscrew.Two of the prototypes are now complete, the first flight having been made by Maj. R. Lorenzo Bellido in December 1954; theother two are under construction. Production jigs for the HA.100 are now almost complete andthe type has been ordered for service with the Spanish Air Force. It is all-metal, flush riveted and has a two-piece sliding canopy.The tailplane is variable in incidence and the flaps are slotted and extended rearwards, Fowler-fashion. Fittings under thewings will accommodate bomb pylons or rocket rails and a three- leaf airbrake is extended under the fuselage, at the wing trailing-edge, by a single hydraulic ram. A plain reflector gun-sight is provided for the front pilot. The tricycle undercarriage retractshydraulically inwards and rearwards and is completely covered by fairing plates.Main data on the HA.100 are: span, length and height respectively 34ft lin, 26ft lin and 10ft 8in, with a wing areaof 187 sq ft. Wing- and power-loadings are 29.21 lb/sq ft and 8.11 lb/h.p. Empty and all-up weights are 3,858 lb and 6,010 lb.Fuel capacity is 158.5 U.S. gal, giving a range of action at cruising speed of 821 miles. Maximum and cruising speeds at9,514ft are 292 m.p.h. and 269 m.p.h. and service ceiling 33,630ft. Minimum speed is 63.4 m.p.h. and initial rate of climb2,130ft/min. The landing distance over a 50ft obstacle without wind is 1,783ft. The makers' name for the aircraft is Triana.I spoke about the HA.200-R1 with Major Fernando de Juan Valiente, the company's chief test pilot, who has so far done allthe 15 hours' flying in the new aircraft. I might have been able to fly in it myself had it not been undergoing a routine enginechange and inspection. The second prototype was nearing com- pletion in the factory. Major de Juan was enthusiastic about theaircraft's handling qualities. It was, he said, light and respon- sive, with a completely viceless and straightforward stall. Raisingthe speed by easy stages he had so far reached 460 m.p.h. without trouble. He had made the first flight on August 16th last year.In his flights so far, without trying to establish rigid performance figures, he had found a stalling speed, clean, of 87 m.p.h. and, withflaps and undercarriage down, 76 m.p.h. He normally approached over the hedge at 100 m.p.h. and the take-off run was between1,143ft and 1,206ft. The design maximum Mach number is about 0.8.Apart from a slight modification to the wing-root attachments and the alteration of the wheel wells to accommodate a slightlyshortened main undercarriage, the wings of the HA.200 are externally identical with those of the HA.100. The tail also iscommon to the two types. From the rear of the canopy forwards, however, the HA.200 is completely new. The canopy has beenredesigned to take the stresses of pressurization and access is therefore via two hinged panels.The two Turbomeca Marbore Us are mounted side by side low down in the nose and breathe through a common oval intake.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
