LFG Roland Pfeilflieger

Last updated
Pfeilflieger
1914-1915 Roland.JPG
A Roland Pfeilflieger used by the Schutztruppe in German South-West Africa
RoleReconnaissance and bomber aircraft
National origin Germany
ManufacturerLFG (Luft-Fahrzeug-Gesellschaft), Reinickendorf
First flight1914

The LFG Roland Pfeilflieger, (Arrow-flyer), was a German swept wing, single engine, two seat biplane built in Germany in 1914. It made one distinguished long duration flight and served in colonial German South-West Africa.

Contents

Design and development

Just before World War I the term Pfeilflieger was used to describe a category of biplanes with swept back wings, a feature adopted to provide some automatic stability.[ citation needed ] At least six other manufacturers (Ago, [1] DFW, [2] Harlan, [3] Lohner Daimler, Sommer [4] and Union [5] ) as well as LFG designed and built them, though some had less sweep than others. Most had Pfeilflieger in their name.

The LFG Arrow was amongst the more strongly swept of the class. It had wings of unequal span, with ailerons only on the overhung upper planes. There was marked dihedral on the lower wing but none on the upper. With three pairs of long interplane struts on each side, the LFG was a three bay biplane with a large interplane gap. It could be powered either by a 100 hp (75 kW) Mercedes D.I water cooled six cylinder inline engine or by a four-cylinder inline Argus As I engine of the same output. The Argus engined version had a span reduced by 0.69 m (2 ft 3 in), 81% of the wing area and a slightly longer fuselage. [6] [7]

The fuselage was flat sided and rectangular in section, with the engine exposed in the nose and the passenger/observer's cockpit immediately behind it. In some engine installations the radiator was mounted along the fuselage side, with this cockpit between them. The pilot's cockpit, fitted like the passenger's with a celluloid windscreen, was much further aft at about mid-fuselage with the main fuel tank between them. Because the LFG had a very broad chord, low aspect ratio horizontal tail of the sort known at the time as "Taube type", he sat not far in front of its leading edge. The tailplane carried an undivided elevator. There was a triangular fin and a high, rounded and balanced rudder. The Arrow had a fixed, conventional undercarriage with V-form struts, their leading members bent round into short skids laterally connected by a rod to which the wheels, on their single axle, were joined via rubber shock absorbers. [6] [7]

The aircraft that made the 16 hour flight, showing extra tankage behind the engine LFG Arrow.png
The aircraft that made the 16 hour flight, showing extra tankage behind the engine

Operational history

Before the outbreak of World War I Bernard Langer flew a Roland Pfeilflieger, equipped with a Mercedes engine and extra tankage in place of the passenger, on a non-stop sixteen-hour flight. [7] During the war at least one LFG Roland Pfeilflieger served with the Schutztruppe (Protection Force) in German South-West Africa, now Namibia between 1914 and 1915. [8]

Variants

Mercedes D.I engine
as described [1]
Argus As I engine
span 12.34 m (40 ft 6 in); length 8.08 m (26 ft 6 in); wing area 32.5 m2 (350 sq ft) [1]

Specifications (with Mercedes D.I engine)

The smaller span, Argus powered Pfeilflieger LFG Arrow 3-view.png
The smaller span, Argus powered Pfeilflieger

Data fromFlight 1 August 1914, p.877 [1]

General characteristics

Performance

Related Research Articles

Luft-Fahrzeug-Gesellschaft, also referred to as LFG, was a German aircraft manufacturer during World War I. They are best known for their various "Roland" designs, notably the Roland C.II Walfisch (whale), Roland D.II haifisch (Shark) and Roland D.VI, although they also produced a number of airships and many experimental designs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LFG Roland C.II</span> Type of aircraft

The LFG Roland C.II, usually known as the Walfisch (Whale), was an advanced German reconnaissance aircraft of World War I. It was manufactured by Luft-Fahrzeug-Gesellschaft G.m.b.H.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fokker V.1</span> Type of aircraft

The Fokker V.1 was a small German sesquiplane experimental fighter prototype built in 1916 by the Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. Sporting a parasol wing, it was the first Fokker aircraft purportedly designed by Reinhold Platz—the respective roles played by Fokker himself, Platz, and possibly others in the conceptual design of Fokker airplanes are a matter of dispute among historians—and was an early experiment in cantilever wing construction, eliminating the bracing wires typical of aircraft design at the time, something that had already been achieved with metal materials in Hugo Junkers' own pioneering Junkers J 1 in 1915.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristol Gordon England biplanes</span> Type of aircraft

The Bristol Gordon England biplanes were a series of early British military biplane aircraft designed by Eric Gordon England for the Bristol Aeroplane Company that first flew in 1912. Designed for easy ground transport, the aircraft could be quickly disassembled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LFG Roland D.VI</span> 1910s German fighter aircraft

The Roland D.VI was a German fighter aircraft built at the end of World War I. It lost a fly-off to the Fokker D.VII, but production went ahead anyway as insurance against problems with the Fokker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LFG Roland D.I</span> Type of aircraft

The LFG Roland D.I was a fighter aircraft produced in Germany during World War I. It was a single-seat aircraft based originally on the Roland C.II two-seat reconnaissance type. It shared its predecessor's unusual design feature of having a deep fuselage that completely filled the interplane gap, but in comparison, the fuselage was much sleeker. While the C.II's appearance had earned the Walfisch ("Whale"), the D.I became known as the Haifisch ("Shark"). The I-struts that had been used to brace the C.II's wing were replaced by more conventional struts. Other changes to the wing included the removal of stagger from the design and the introduction of slight sweepback.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LFG Roland D.III</span> 1910s German fighter aircraft

The LFG Roland D.III was a fighter aircraft produced in Germany during World War I.

The Sopwith Admiralty Types 137 and 138 were a pair of single-engine, two-seat naval biplane floatplanes, built to a British Admiralty order in 1914. They were similar in design, but having a more powerful engine the Type 138 was the larger and heavier. They were used in early torpedo dropping experiments in 1914.

The Hollandsche Vliegtuigenfabriek Avia was a two-seat biplane, designed and displayed in the Netherlands in 1918. It was advertised as a fighter or as a post and passenger aircraft. Its first flight has not been confirmed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LFG Roland D.IV</span> 1910s German fighter aircraft prototype

The LFG Roland D.IV, later redesignated LFG Roland Dr.I was a German single engine, single seat triplane fighter flown in mid-1917. It produced no performance or operational advantages over existing types and only one was built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LFG Roland D.VII</span> 1910s German fighter aircraft prototype

The Luft-Fahrzeug-Gesellschaft (LFG) Roland D.VII was a German single seat, single engine biplane fighter aircraft built during World War I. Problems with its underdeveloped V-8 engine prevented its production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LFG Roland D.IX</span> 1910s German fighter aircraft prototype

The LFG Roland D.IX was a World War I German single seat fighter aircraft, a biplane powered by one of a new generation of powerful rotary engines. Three slightly different prototypes were built but there was no series production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LFG Roland D.XV</span> 1910s German fighter aircraft

The LFG Roland D.XV was a World War I German single seat fighter aircraft, ordered as a test-bed for engine comparisons. It was distinguished from earlier Roland biplane designs by the elimination of flying wires. Two later aircraft, also called LFG Roland D.XV, were completely different designs with slab sided fuselages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LFG Roland G.I</span> 1910s German bomber aircraft prototype

The LFG Roland G.I was a large prototype single-engine biplane bomber built in Germany in 1915, during World War I. It had a single engine buried in the fuselage driving pusher configuration propellers mounted on outriggers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LFG V 39</span> 1920s German trainer aircraft

The LFG V 39 was a simple biplane trainer built in Germany in the mid-1920s. It took part in the Round Germany Flight in the summer of 1925.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LFG V 60</span> 1920s German floatplane trainer

The LFG V 60 was a small, single engine, tandem seat floatplane training aircraft, designed and built in Germany in the mid-1920s. About five were constructed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schütte-Lanz G.I</span> Type of aircraft

The Schütte-Lanz G.I was a large, twin engine, pusher configuration, experimental biplane built in Germany early in World War I. Only one was completed.

The Schütte-Lanz D.VI was a single engine, parasol wing fighter aircraft designed and built in Germany towards the end of World War I. It had a very short career, crashing on its first flight.

The LFG V 8 Bärbel (Barbel) in English) was a small, single-engined, biplane flying boat which carried two passengers. The sole example was built in Germany shortly after World War I but was exported and used for Baltic flights.

The LFV V 18 Sassnitz was a German flying boat able to hold up to eight passengers. Only one is known to have flown.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Aircraft made in Germany". Flight . Vol. VI, no. 34. 21 August 1914. p. 877.
  2. "New Arrow-Type DFW Biplane". Flight . Vol. VI, no. 34. 28 August 1914. p. 898.
  3. "Harlan Arrow Taube". Flight . Vol. VI, no. 35. 4 September 1914. p. 924.
  4. "Sommer Arrow". Flight . Vol. VI, no. 23. 5 June 1914. p. 604.
  5. "The Union Arrow Biplane". Flight . Vol. VI, no. 37. 18 September 1914. p. 960.
  6. 1 2 "The L.F.G. Arrow Biplane". Flight . Vol. VI, no. 36. 11 September 1914. p. 940.
  7. 1 2 3 "The Roland (L.F.G.) Arrow Biplane". Flight . Vol. VI, no. 37. 18 September 1914. p. 957.
  8. "Aircraft in the German Colonies" . Retrieved 26 July 2013.