Heinkel HD 24

HD 24

Picture - Plx¼schow's seaplane, the Heinkel HD 24 "Tsingtau"

Role: Training seaplane
National origin: Germany
Manufacturer: Heinkel, Svenska Aero
First flight: 1926
Primary users: DVS Flygvapnet
Number built: 35

The Heinkel HD 24 was a training seaplane developed in Germany in the late 1920s. It was a conventional single-bay biplane with equal-span, unstaggered wings. The fuselage was braced to both the upper and lower wings with a number of struts on its sides, in addition to the normal cabane struts. The pilot and instructor sat in tandem, open cockpits, and the undercarriage consisted of twin pontoons, although this could be readily exchanged for wheels or skis.

Heinkel entered two HD 24s in the Seeflugwettbewerb seaplane competition in 1926, leading to orders by the DVS (23 aircraft) and the Swedish Navy. The latter aircraft were to be built in Sweden by Svenska Aero based on two pattern aircraft provided by Heinkel. Before the Swedish examples could be delivered, the Flygvapnet had assumed responsibility for Swedish naval aviation, and so took delivery of the six domestically-produced machines, designating them Sk 4.

One HD 24 was exported to China, and another was bought by German explorer Gunther Plx¼schow who named it Tsingtau and took it on an expedition in 1927-28 to Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. The journey was recorded in his book and documentary film Silberkondor x¼ber Feuerland.

A full size replica of the Tsingtau D1313 is being assembled for static display as of April 17th, 2009, in Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is located at about 500 of Alicia Moreau de Justo Avenue.

Variants

Sk 4 - HD 24 for Swedish service with Mercedes D.IIIa engine (2 built by Heinkel, 4 by Svenska Aero)
Sk 4A - Sk 4 with Junkers L 5 engine (2 built by Svenska Aero, plus 3 converted from Sk 4)
Sk 4B - Sk 4 with Armstrong Siddeley Puma engine (3 converted from Sk 4)

Operators

Sweden

Swedish Air Force
Swedish Navy

Specifications (HD 24a)

General characteristics

Crew: Two, pilot and instructor
Length: 8.60 m (28 ft 3 in)
Wingspan: 14.20 m (46 ft 7 in)
Height: 3.84 m (12 ft 7 in)
Wing area: 50.1 m² (539 ft²)
Empty weight: 1,300 kg (2,870 lb)
Gross weight: 2,150 kg (4,740 lb)
Powerplant: 1 x— BMW IV, 240 kW (320 hp)

Performance

Maximum speed: 180 km/h (113 mph)
Service ceiling: 4,500 m (14,800 ft)
Rate of climb: 4.3 m/s (850 ft/min)

Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. pp. 498.

Heinkel HD 24 Pictures and Heinkel HD 24 for Sale.

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Source: WikiPedia