Heinkel He 178

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinkel_He_178

The Heinkel He 178 was the world's first aircraft to fly under turbojet power,
and the first practical jet aircraft. It was a private venture by the German
Heinkel company in accordance with director Ernst Heinkel's emphasis on
developing technology for high-speed flight. It first flew on 27 August 1939,
piloted by Erich Warsitz. This flight had been preceded by a short hop three
days earlier.

1936, a young engineer named Hans von Ohain had taken out a patent on using the
exhaust from a gas turbine as a means of propulsion.

He presented his idea to Ernst Heinkel, who agreed to help develop the concept.
Von Ohain successfully demonstrated his first engine, the Heinkel HeS 1 in 1937,
and plans were quickly made to test a similar engine in an aircraft. The He 178
was designed around von Ohain's third engine design, the HeS 3, which burned
diesel fuel. The result was a small aircraft with a metal fuselage of
conventional configuration and construction. The jet intake was in the nose, and
the aircraft was fitted with tailwheel undercarriage. The main landing gear was
intended to be retractable, but remained fixed in "down" position throughout the
flight trials.

The high-mounted wooden wings had the characteristic Günter brothers elliptical
trailing edge. Photos showing a "straight wing" (straight-line-taper in the wing
planform, for both the leading and trailing edges) were of the second prototype
He 178 V2, which never flew under power.

The aircraft made its maiden flight on 27 August 1939, only days before Germany
invaded Poland. The test pilot was Erich Warsitz, who had also flown the world's
first rocket powered airplane, the Heinkel He 176, on its maiden flight in June
1939.

Heinkel had developed the turbojet engine and the testbed aircraft, the Heinkel
He 178 V1, in great secrecy. They were kept secret even from the German air
force, and on 1 November 1939, after the German victory in Poland, Heinkel
arranged a demonstration of the jet for officials, which Hermann Goering,
commander in chief of the Luftwaffe, did not attend. Ernst Udet and Erhard
Milch, Minister of Aircraft Production and Supply watched the aircraft perform,
but were unimpressed. While a technical success, speeds were limited to 598
kilometres per hour (372 mph) even when fitted with more powerful HeS 6 1,300lb
thrust engines and combat endurance was only 10 minutes.

Undeterred, Heinkel decided to embark on the development of a twin-engine jet
fighter, the He 280 as a private venture using what had been learned from the He
178 prototype.


Role
Experimental prototype/Pioneer aircraft

Manufacturer
Heinkel

First flight
27 August 1939

Significance

Ernst Heinkel was disappointed by the lack of official interest in his
private-venture jet. In his autobiography, he attributes this to the failure of
the leaders of the Reichsluftfahrtministerium to understand the advantages of
jet propulsion and what breakthrough the He 178 represented. In fact, the Reich
Air Ministry was already developing its own jets, a fact unknown to Heinkel.

Specifications

General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 7.48 m (24 ft 6 in)
Wingspan: 7.2 m (23 ft 7 in)
Height: 2.1 m (6 ft 11 in)
Wing area: 9.1 m2 (98 sq ft)
Airfoil: root: Günter symmetrical 11% ; tip: Günter symmetrical 7%
Empty weight: 1,620 kg (3,571 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 1,998 kg (4,405 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Heinkel HeS 3 turbojet engine, 4.41 kN (992 lbf) thrust

Performance
Maximum speed: 598 km/h (372 mph, 323 kn)
Range: 200 km (120 mi, 110 nmi)




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