Letov Å -19
The aircraft Letov Š -19 is a single-engine biplane, which was developed as a passenger aircraft for four passengers and a pilot. The first flight of the machine took place in 1924.
History and construction
The Letov Š - 19 was made in the Letov works in Letňany in Prague in Czechoslovakia. The design resulted from Alois Smolik. The chassis was rigid and had a tail skid. The pattern is based on the design of the Letov Š - sixth The wings were braced braced with N- stems.
The design was done at the suggestion of the Czechoslovak airline Československé Státní Aeroliniev ( CSA ), which started these machines then in the years 1925 to 1927 mainly from Prague to Kosice ( Košice ). The enclosed passenger cabin was located directly behind the engine. You could be achieved through a door on the left top of the fuselage and a mounted stairs. The open pilot seat joined to the cabin, which was moved from the aircraft center left.
First, again, the Maybach -IVa engine of 191 kW as the Letov Š -6 was installed. With this engine, three machines were manufactured. This showed defects in the structure and in the flight characteristics.
As short time later were equally strong engines of the type Walter W -IV is available, four machines were manufactured with modified ailerons and an improved wing bracing again.
The machine showed some deficiencies that were a further procurement in the way. First, the entry and exit for passengers was very difficult. Due to its proximity to the engine, the cabin was very loud. The pilot had a limited field of view through his lying far back seat. Ultimately, could not reach the flight performance comparable foreign machines, the machine as a biplane. It remained so for the seven had produced aircraft of this type.