| Hoffman Flying Wing | |
|---|---|
| Role | Blended wing aircraft |
| National origin | United States of America |
| Designer | Raoul J. Hoffman |
| First flight | 1934 |
| Number built | 1 |
The Hoffman Flying Wing was a 1935 attempt at an all-wing aircraft.[1]
Contents |
Raoul J. Hoffman, a Hungarian engineer, helped develop the Laird Super Solution racer, and Owl Trimototor. Later he worked for C.L. Snyder's company Arup Manufacturing Corporation, developing a series of flying wings known as the Arup S-1, and S-2.[2] When diagonsed with tuburculosis, Hoffman moved to St. Petersburg, Florida and developed his own flying wing[3] for a customer in Chicago, Illinois. After poor performance, and arson destroying the Arup S-3 follow-on, Hoffman returned to Arup to develop the Arup S-4.[4]
The chord of the Hoffman flying wing spanned from the rear of the cowling along the entire fuselage of the aircraft. The thickness of the wing was up to 20 in (51 cm) at the root. From the top the wing appeared semi-circular with a slightly swept leading edge. The aircraft used a conventional taildragger configuration with retractable landing gear. The center section and controls were welded steel tubing, the rest was spruce wood with aircraft fabric covering.[5]
The test aircraft used fixed landing gear for trials. Test flights were successful, with the aircraft winning an impromptu race against a 165 hp (123 kW) conventional aircraft.[6] Visibility was noted as poor compared to conventional aircraft. During later 1936 testing, the prototype caught fire and crashed, killing its test pilot.[7]
Data from Popular Aviation
General characteristics
Performance
|
||||||||||||||