LFG V 40

V 40
Role	Two-seat sports aircraft
National origin	Germany
Manufacturer	LFG (Luft-Fahrzeug-Gesellschaft)
First flight	1925
Number built	2 (V 40, V 44)

The LFG V 40 and V 44 were one-off, single-engine, two-seat sports monoplanes, identical apart from their engines, built in Germany in 1925.

Design and development

The V 40 and V 44 were all-metal high-wing monoplanes, with thick, straight-edged, cantilever wings. Highly stressed members were steel, with duralumin elsewhere including the skin. The fuselages were deep-bellied and flat-sided with tandem open cockpits over the wing. On both aircraft, the pilot sat near the quarter chord position, with a slot in the fuselage below the wing to enhance his downward view, and the passenger was placed within a cut-out in the trailing edge. The tailplane was on top of the fuselage and the rounded vertical tail included a balanced rudder which extended down to the keel. The conventional undercarriage was fixed, with mainwheels on a single axle mounted on short V-struts and assisted by a tailskid.^[1]

The V 40 and V 44 airframes were identical, but the V 40 was powered by a 75 hp (56 kW) Siemens-Halske Sh 11 7-cylinder radial and the V 44 by a 100 hp (75 kW) Bristol Lucifer 3-cylinder radial. Both were nose-mounted, uncowled, and drove two-blade propellers. External dimensions, apart from the exact length, were the same, and the weights were also similar.^[1]

Operational history

The V 40 and V 44 were amongst five LFG entries to the Round Germany Flight held in the summer of 1925, though only the LFG V 39 took take part.^[1]^[2]

V 44

Variants

V 44

V 40: 75 hp (56 kW) Siemens-Halske Sh 11 7-cylinder radial engine. One built.
V 44: 100 hp (75 kW) Bristol Lucifer 3-cylinder radial engine. One built.

Specifications

Data from Flight 28 May 1925 p.323-4^[1]

General characteristics

Crew: One
Capacity: One passenger
Wingspan: 11.4 m (37 ft 5 in)
Wing area: 18 m² (190 sq ft)
Gross weight: 829 kg (1,828 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Siemens-Halske Sh 11 7-cylinder radial, 56 kW (75 hp)
Propellers: 2-bladed ^[2]

Performance

Maximum speed: 150 km/h (93 mph, 81 kn)
Landing speed: 75 km/h (46 mph)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "The round-Germany flight". Flight. Vol. XVII, no. 22. 28 May 1925. pp. 323–4.
^ ^a ^b "Some impressions of the round-Germany flight". Flight. Vol. XVII, no. 23. 4 June 1925. p. 343.

[Flight1-1] "The round-Germany flight". Flight. Vol. XVII, no. 22. 28 May 1925. pp. 323–4.

[Flight2-2] "Some impressions of the round-Germany flight". Flight. Vol. XVII, no. 23. 4 June 1925. p. 343.

[1]

[2]