Penkala 1910 Biplane Explained

The 1910 Penkala Biplane also called the Leptir (English: Butterfly) was the first aircraft to fly in Croatia.

Design and development

The Leptir was a single engine, sesquiplane aircraft with conventional landing gear. The open girder fuselage provides an unusually long distance to the tail surfaces, compared to modern aircraft. The flat bottom surface of the fuselage was covered, forming a long thin triangular surface intended to provide lift, which was not functional in level flight. The aircraft was tail heavy with a center of gravity at 70 percent of wing chord.[1]

Operational history

The first flight occurred on 22 June 1910 with pilot Dragutin Novak. The aircraft was crashed several months later.

Variants

1910 Biplane
  • Original design
    1910 Leptir II
  • Modifications to include skids
    2010 CA-10 Replica
  • Replica aircraft - Powered by 800NaN0 Rotax 912 with the center of gravity moved forward for safety.

    External links

    Notes and References

    1. Sport Aviation. June 2013. Homage to a Local Hero.