The Bäumer B II "Sausewind" was a light sports tandem two-seat, open cockpit, wooden cantilever monoplane. It was built by German aviation company Bäumer Aero GmbH, based at Hamburg Airport.
| Sausewind | |
|---|---|
| |
| The Sausewind before its famous 5.242km flight in 1925 known as "Der Deutsche Rundflug 1925". | |
| Role | 2-seat sportplane |
| National origin | Germany |
| Manufacturer | Bäumer Aero GmbH |
| First flight | 26 May 1925 |
It was the first aircraft made in Germany to be designed for aerodynamic performance.[1]
Design and development
editThe development was triggered when the BZ am Mittag announced the "B.Z. Preis der Lüfte (BZ Prize of the Skies)" as part of the 1925 Deutschland-Rundflug (The Round Germany Flight) [2] which offered prize money of 100,000 Reichsmarks for the winner.
The brothers, Siegfried and Walter Günter, designed the B II at Bäumer Aero GmbH. The "Sausewind" was the first aircraft to make use of a elliptical wing and tail units, which offered aerodynamic advantages over the rectangular wings that were common at the time. To reduce air resistance all control cables and control levers were installed internally. The undercarriage used split axles to reduce drag compared with a continuous axle.
Operational history
editOn May 31, 1925, the B II took off from Berlin-Tempelhof for The Round Germany Flight. The flight time (including several emergency landings) for the distance of 5,242 kilometers was 91 hours and 12 minutes over five 2-day stages. The Sausewind took second place in Group B for aircraft with a maximum of 80 HP. It received a prize of 15,000 Reichsmarks.
At the Otto Lilienthal Competition from June 15 to July 23, 1925, the B II won the highest speed at 100 m altitude (183.5 km/h), maximum altitude (4770 m) and best climb rate (2.11 m/s).
Loss
editThe B II “Sausewind” was lost in a crash landing on September 19, 1925.
You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in German. (December 2010) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
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Specifications
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Data from The Round Germany Flight [3]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 6.1 m (20 ft 0 in)
- Wingspan: 9.3 m (30 ft 6 in)
- Wing area: 11.6 m2 (125 sq ft)
- Aspect ratio: 7
- Empty weight: 280 kg (617 lb)
- Gross weight: 490 kg (1,080 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × Wright L4 piston engine, 45 kW (60 hp)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 170 km/h (110 mph, 92 kn)
- Rate of climb: 3 m/s (590 ft/min)
References
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- ^ Wolfgang Borgmann (2010-04-15). "Vom Sausewind zur Spitfire" (PDF). HAW Hamburg.
- ^ Hanns Klemm. "1925 Deutschland-Rundflug (German Sightseeing Flight)".
- ^ Flight 28 May 1925, p.318.
- Hallion, Richard P. "Airplanes that Transformed Aviation". Air & Space. 9 May 2008. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
- "THE ROUND-GERMANY FLIGHT". Flight, 28 May 1925. pp. 317–326.