| Dornier Do K | |
|---|---|
 Do K3 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Airliner |
| National origin | Germany |
| Manufacturer | Dornier |
| Designer | |
| Number built | 3 |
| History | |
| First flight | 7 May 1929 (Do K1) |
The Dornier Do K was a German commercial passenger and freight monoplane, designed by Claude Dornier and built by Dornier Flugzeugwerke. [1] Only three prototypes of different designs were built and the type was not a commercial success. [1]
The first Dornier Do K was the K1 which first flew on 7 May 1929. [1] The K1 was a conventionally-braced high-wing monoplane, powered by a single nose-mounted 510 hp (380 kW) licence-built Bristol Jupiter VI radial engine, and had a conventional landing gear with a tailskid. [1] The square-section fuselage had an enclosed cockpit for two with a cabin behind for freight or eight passengers. [1] Test flights showed that performance was poor and the aircraft was redesigned. [1]
The Do K2 flew in December 1929 with similar wings and fuselage but had a changed landing gear and four 240 hp (179 kW) Gnome-Rhone Titan radial engines. [1] The four engines were strut mounted on each side of the fuselage in tandem pairs, one in tractor configuration and the other as a pusher. [1] Although the aircraft had an increase in available power, the performance was little improved on the K1. [1]
The K3 was a complete rethink of the design. The braced wing was replaced with a cantilever wing of larger span. [1] The fuselage was changed to oval and stretched for two extra passengers and the tailskid was replaced with a tailwheel and the main units were enclosed in fairings. [1] The four engines were in the same tandem arrangement as the K2, but located lower on the fuselage and changed to 305 hp (227 kW) Walter Castor radial engines. [1] The performance was greatly improved but still provoked little interest and no others were built. [1]
Data from [1] The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft
General characteristics
Performance
