Aero A.200

Aero A.200

Manufacturer: Aero Vodochody
First flight: 1934
Primary user: Czechoslovakia
Produced: 1934
Number built: 2

The Aero A.200 was a sportsplane of Czechoslovakia, designed and built specifically to compete in Challenge 1934, the European touring plane championships. It was a four-seater low-wing monoplane.

Operational service

Flown in competition by Jan Ambrož, the A.200 took fourth place, beaten by the RWD-9 (that took both first and second places for Poland) and the Fieseler Fi 97 (from Germany). The other A.200, flown by Vojtěch Ža�ek, took the 14th place for 34 competitors. They carried registrations OK-AMA and OK-AMB.

In a technical evaluation, A.200s scored the 4th result from among aircraft types taking part in the Challenge. They had the best short take-off capabilities in the contest - A.200s needed 74.5-77.6 m to take off and fly over 8-m high gate, although they needed some 118 m to land from above the gate.

Description

Mixed construction low-wing monoplane, braced with wire. Fuselage of a steel frame, covered with wood and canvas, elliptical in cross-section. Rectangular wings of wooden construction, canvas covered, fitted with all-span slats and with flaps. Wings were folding rearwards. Cab had two seats side by side in front, with twin controls, and two seats in the rear, under a common multi-part canopy. Fixed landing gear with a rear skid. Radial engine in fuselage nose, with NACA cowling. Two-blade propeller.

Specifications (A.200)

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Capacity: 3 passengers (incl. 2nd pilot)
Length: 7.80 m (25 ft 7 in)
Wingspan: 11.10 m (36 ft 5 in)
Height: 2.55 m (8 ft 4⅜ in)
Wing area: 16.6 m² (178 ft²)
Empty weight: 560 kg (1,200 lb)
Loaded weight: 950 kg (2,090 lb)
Useful load: 390 kg (860 lb)
Powerplant: 1x— Walter Bora aircooled 9-cylinder radial engine, 161.7 kW (220 hp)

Performance

Maximum speed: 255 km/h (138 knots, 159 mph)
Cruise speed: 220 km/h
Stall speed: 55 km/h (30 knots, 34 mph)
Range: 800 km (432 nm, 500 mi)
Service ceiling: 6,300 m (21,000 ft)
Rate of climb: m/s (ft/min)
Wing loading: 57.2 kg/m² (11.7 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: 0.17 kW/kg (0.11 hp/lb)

Comparable aircraft

Fieseler Fi 97 - Breda Ba-42

Marian Krzyżan: "Międzynarodowe turnieje lotnicze 1929-1934", Warsaw 1988, ISBN 83-206-0637-3 (Polish language)

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Source: WikiPedia