Udet U 12

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U 12 Flamingo
Udet U 12 Flamingo D-EOSM.jpg
D-EOSM of the Deutsches Museum , Munich, Germany. This replica has a Sh 14 engine, a later, more powerful version of the Siemens-Halske engines fitted to original U 12s.
RoleCivil trainer aircraft
Manufacturer Udet Flugzeugbau, BFW and others under licence
Designer Hans Herrmann
First flight 1925
Number builtca. 300

The Udet U 12 Flamingo was an aerobatic sports plane and trainer aircraft developed in Germany in the mid-1920s.

Contents

Design and development

The U 12 was a conventional, single-bay biplane of wooden construction with the wings braced by large I-struts. The pilot and instructor or passenger sat in tandem, open cockpits. The U 12 proved extremely popular and sold well, due in no small part to Ernst Udet's spectacular aerobatics routines while flying the aircraft. One particularly acclaimed part of his act included swooping down towards the airfield and picking up a handkerchief with the tip of one wing. [1] The popularity of this aircraft was insufficient to rescue Udet Flugzeugbau from its dire financial position, but when the company's assets were taken over by the state of Bavaria to form BFW, production of the U 12 soon resumed in earnest. BFW-built U 12s were exported to Austria, Hungary and Latvia, and later built under licence in these countries as well.

Udet in rear seat Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1985-0607-500, Ernst Udet in Flugzeug "Flamingo".jpg
Udet in rear seat

Variants

Germany

Austria

20 aircraft produced by Fliegerwerft Thalerhof

Hungary

Forty aircraft produced by KRG and another 40 by Manfred Weiss Works. Some examples armed and used for fighter or bomber training

Operators

Flag of Austria.svg  Austria
Flag of Hungary (1915-1918, 1919-1946).svg  Hungary
Flag of Latvia.svg  Latvia

Survivors

Udet Flamingo replica built in 1993 Udet Flamingo D-EOSC OTT 2013 01.jpg
Udet Flamingo replica built in 1993

No original aircraft are known to exist. An airworthy replica was kept at the Deutsches Museum but crashed at the 2013 Tannkosh event. [2]

Specifications (U 12a)

Udet U-12 Flamingo 3-view drawing from Aero Digest November 1927 Udet U-12 Flamingo 3-view Aero Digest November 1927.jpg
Udet U-12 Flamingo 3-view drawing from Aero Digest November 1927

General characteristics

Performance

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References

  1. Air Trails: 49. Winter 1971.Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=158981 Aviation Safety Net website