The SAI KZ X was a light aircraft produced in Denmark for army co-operation duties in the early 1950s.

KZ X
KZ X prototype, after modification into KZ X Mk.2, in Danmarks Flymuseum
Role Observation aircraft
National origin Denmark
Manufacturer Skandinavisk Aero Industri
First flight 29 September 1951
Primary user Danish Army
Number built 12

Design and development

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The KZ X was a strut-braced, high-wing, two seat military observation monoplane developed from the KZ VII with a more powerful,108 kW (145 hp), Continental C145 engine.[1]

Deliveries to the Danish Army began in 1952 but by the summer of that year two had already crashed. The investigations of these crashes, attributed to failure of the wooden rudder, were conducted with technical assistance from Britain's Royal Aircraft Establishment but no underlying defect in the aircraft design was uncovered. The prototype was modified with a steel-framed rudder as the KZ X Mk.2 but the KZ X was returned to service. When two more crashes took place in 1954 the type was finally withdrawn then scrapped in 1960, leaving the prototype as the only surviving example.[1] It is now in the Danmarks Flymuseum, active again in 2009 after restoration.[2][3]

Operators

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  Denmark

Specifications

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General characteristics

  • Crew: Two
  • Length: 6.50 m (21 ft 4 in)
  • Wingspan: 9.41 m (30 ft 10 in)
  • Height: 2.20 m (7 ft 3 in)
  • Wing area: 13.0 m2 (140 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 529 kg (1,166 lb)
  • Gross weight: 860 kg (1,896 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Continental C145 air-cooled flat-six piston engine, 108 kW (145 hp)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 215 km/h (134 mph, 116 kn)
  • Range: 800 km (500 mi, 430 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 4,400 m (14,400 ft)

References

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  1. ^ a b Simpson, Rod (Winter 2021). "The KZ Legacy". Air Britain Aviation World: 238–242.
  2. ^ Ogden, Bob (2009). Aviation Museums and Collections of Mainland Europe. Air Britain (Historians) Ltd. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-85130-418-2.
  3. ^ "Danmarks Flymuseum". 23 December 2021.

See also

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  • Bridgman, Leonard (1951). Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1951–52. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, Ltd.
  • Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 563.
  • Simpson, R. W. (1995). Airlife's General Aviation. Shrewsbury: Airlife Publishing. pp. 348–49.