| FVA-1 Schwatze Düvel | |
|---|---|
| Role | Glider |
| National origin | Germany[1] |
| Manufacturer | Flugwissenschaftlichen Vereintung Aachen[1] |
| Designer | Professor Theodore Kármán and Wolfgang Klemperer[2] |
| First flight | 1920[1] |
| Number built | 5[2] |
The FVA 1 Schwatze Düvel (Black Devil) was a glider produced in Germany in 1920.
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Ater World War I aviation in Germany was seriously curtailed with swingeing reparations and very tight regulation. One loophole in the regulations was gliding which was virtually ignored. To stimulate interest in gliding a competition was organised at the Wasserkuppe for August 1920. Professor Kármán and Wolfgang Klemperer formed an aviation research group at Aachen University and proceeded to design and build gliders for research and competitions[2].
For the 1920 Rhön meeting at Wasserkuppe the FVA (Flugwissenschaftlichen Vereintung Aachen - Flight Research Association Aachen) built a simple monoplane glider. This aircraft, the FVA 1 Schwatze Düvel, was an internally braced cantilever monoplane with large trousers over skids either side. Conventional controls on the tailsurfaces and trailing edges of the wings ensured adequate contol. Due to lack of money the black muslin fabric, donated by the father of a students girlfriend, was re-inforced with cardboard at the wing leading edges and fuselage nose in lieu of expensive aircraft plywood[1].
The cockpit was in line with the leading edge of the wing with the pilot sitting on a seat over the wing structure, with no protection from the elements with only his legs faireed over by the nose of the aircraft. Conventional stick and rudder pedals controlled the ailerons, elevator and rudder[2].
Klemperer wished to fly the FVA-1 at the 1920 Rhön meeting, but the aircraft had been built without official sanction, so a semi-secret operation was carried out to transport the aircraft by rail under a tarpaulin. One intrepid student spent the entire journey under the tarpaulin with the aircraft. Due to the transport difficulties their arrival at Wasserkuppe was delayed, but luckily the competition had been extended due to the poor weather[2].
At the 1920 Rhön meeting Klemperer flew the FVA-1 three times on the 3rd of September, making the first ever bungee launches, a system devised by Klemperer himself[1]. The longest flight that day was 1830m with a duration of 2minutes 22seconds, eclipsing Pelzners best efforts on the FVA-1's first flying day, with more to come[1]. The FVA-1 flew again on the 7th of September in a brisk 30 knot wind, actually gaining 30m in height, whilst hovering over the ridge, before landing. Two more FVA pilots flew the FVA-1 that day but the aircraft was seriously damaged when the third pilot stalled and crashed the FVA-1 spectacularly. The Schwatze Düvel was repaired and returned to Wasserkuppe in August 1921 for the next Rhön meeting[1].
A refined version of the FVA-1 was produced as the FVA-2 Blaue Maus(Blue Mouse)[1]. This aircraft followed the arrangement, and construction of the FVA-1, with a lower seating position, to reduce drag, increased span/area to reduce wing loading and reduced empty weight. Several were produced to order and at least one of these aircraft was fitted with a wheeled undercarrriage replacing the main skids, and one other was used by Wolfgang Klemperer to research glider launching from balloons unsuccessfully as the aircraft enterred a flat spin and didn't recover before hitting the ground[2].
Klemperer also took one to the 1921 Rhön meeting at Wasserkuppe[1], where the improved performance was demonstrated with several long flights in both distance and duration.. The Blaue Maus was also flown by two other pilots, Bienen and Fromm, who had to pass their pilots tests before being able to fly competition tasks. During the 1921 competition, on 30 August, Klemperer launched in the Blaue Maus and proceeded to set a world record distance flight of 4.6 km during a 13 minute flight to Gersfeld and back, but despite this momentous event the Blaue Maus came third as the competition scored straight line distance only[2].
Data from Simons, Martin. Sailplanes 1920-1945 2nd revised edition. EQIP Werbung und Verlag G.m.b.H.. Königswinter. 2006. ISBN 3-9806773-4-6
General characteristics
Performance
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