Spijker V.2
The Spijker V.2, sometimes anglicized to Spyker V.2 or Spyker-Trompenburg V.2, was a low powered, tandem seat biplane designed and built for the Dutch government for pilot training towards the end of World War I. More than seventy were built.
| V.2 | |
|---|---|
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| Role | Dual control training aircraft |
| National origin | Netherlands |
| Manufacturer | Spijker (from 1915 the Nederlands Automobile and Aeroplane Co.), Trompenburg. |
| First flight | March 1917 |
| Retired | 1926 |
| Number built | 78 |
Design
The Spijker V.2 was a conventionally laid out single engine tractor biplane. Its wings had constant chord and no sweep or stagger. It was a two bay biplane, with two pairs of parallel interplane struts on each side and two further pairs acting as a cabane between fuselage and the upper wing.[1] Ailerons were fitted to both upper and lower wings.[2] Over the fuselage was a semicircular cut out in the trailing edge of the upper wing to enhance the upward view from the rear seat. The tandem open cockpits were fitted with dual controls.[1]
The V.2 was powered by a 60 kW (80 hp) Thulin A (Le Rhône 9C) rotary engine,[3] driving a two blade propeller and enclosed by a 360° or 270° cowling. Its fuselage was built with wooden longerons and T-sectioned cross pieces braced with wire.[2] The conventional undercarriage was fixed, with mainwheels on a single axle supported at each end on V-form struts, cross braced. A tail skid completed the landing gear.[1]
Operational history
Because of the war in which the Netherlands remained neutral the European public did not see the V.2 until one of the first post-war air shows, the Eerste Luchtverkeer Tentoonstelling (First Air Traffic Exhibition) held in Amsterdam in August 1919. The V.2's ability to loop on a small engine was noted.[2] Seventy-eight V.2s were built for the Dutch government.[4] Fifty-eight of these were for the Army Aviation Group (LVA), eighteen for the Dutch Naval Aviation Service (MLD) and two for the KNIL. There were a significant number of fatal losses in both the LVA and MLD but the V.2s were flown by both services until 1924, when the MLD replaced their V.2s with Fokker S.3s; nine of their V.2s went to the LVA.[5]
Specifications
Data from Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War I[1]
General characteristics
- Crew: Two
- Length: 6.64 m (21 ft 9 in)
- Wingspan: 10.85 m (35 ft 7 in) upper and lower wings
- Height: 3.0 m (9 ft 10 in)
- Fuel capacity: 114 L (25 imp gal; 30 US gal)
- Oil capacity: 25 L (5.5 imp gal; 6.6 US gal)
- Powerplant: 1 × Thulin A[3] rotary engine, 60 kW (80 hp)
- Propellers: 2-bladed
Performance
- Maximum speed: 115 km/h (71 mph, 62 kn)
- Stall speed: 70 km/h (43 mph, 38 kn)
- Rate of climb: 2.1 m/s (410 ft/min)
- Wing loading: 23 kg/m2 (4.7 lb/sq ft)
References
Citations
- Taylor, 2001, p.197
- Flight 1919, pp.1156-1157
- Warbird News, 2014
- Noppen, 2007, p.62
- Wesselink, 1982, p.17
Bibliography
- Staff writer (9 April 2014). "Nieuport 11 and Spijker M.V II For The Aviodrome Museum". Warbirds News. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
- Taylor, Michael (2001). Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War I. London: Jane's Publishing Company. p. 197. ISBN 1-85170-347-0.
- "E.L.T.A. show". Flight. Vol. XI, no. 35. 28 August 1919. pp. 1156–7.
- Noppen, Ryan (Spring 2007). "Orange Skies: The Aerial Defense of Dutch Neutrality". Over the Front. North Brunswick, NJ: League of WWI Aviation Historians. 22 (1): 62.
- Wesselink, Theo; Postma, Thijs (1982). De Nederlandse vliegtuigen. Haarlem: Romem. ISBN 9022837920.