The Astra-Protopopescu or Astra-Proto was a
Romanian
reconnaissance aircraft
A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using photography), signals intelligence, as ...
flown and tested in 1925.
Design and development
The Astra-Proto, designed by Lieutenant-Colonel
Ștefan Protopopescu
Ștefan Protopopescu (14 January 1886 – 10 October 1929) was a Romanian officer and aviation pioneer, he held the no. 1 pilot license in Romania, being the first licensed pilot in Romania and the first pilot of the Romanian Army.
Military care ...
and built by the
Astra Aircraft Factory at
Arad was intended as a reconnaissance aircraft. It was a biplane with constant
chord
Chord may refer to:
* Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously
** Guitar chord a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning
* Chord (geometry), a line segment joining two points on a curve
* Chord ( ...
wings, straight-edged and slightly swept at about 2°. Their tips were rounded. The lower wing was a little shorter and smaller in area, providing 47% of the total. The structure of the wings, like that of the rest of the aircraft, was entirely wood and they were each built around two
spars. It was a
single bay biplane with significant stagger; the wings were relatively displaced horizontally by and separated vertically by . The bay was formed by a parallel pair of
interplane struts on each side, together with bracing wires; each pair of struts leaned forwards because of the stagger and also slightly outwards. The central upper wing was joined to the upper fuselage by
cabane strut
In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of strut, which act in ...
s. These leaned outwards at the front and rear of the wing, the latter supplemented with a central, transverse inverted V-pair. Only the upper wing carried the long
aileron
An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...
s which occupied about 60% of the span.
[
Its engine was a Hispano-Suiza 8F][ water-cooled V-8 with its ]radiator
Radiators are heat exchangers used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics.
A radiator is always a ...
in the nose. The fuselage was basically of rectangular cross-section, though the upper fuselage was formed by a curved decking. The pilot's open cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft.
The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...
was under the upper wing trailing edge; both the upper and lower trailing edges had cut-outs to improve his view. The observer/gunner sat in a second cockpit immediately behind the pilot, equipped with dual controls as well as cameras and radio. Three machine guns could also be mounted there. The fuselage tapered aft to conventional, unbalanced tail surfaces with a continuously curved tailplane and elevators positioned near the top of the fuselage. The fin and rudder were also smoothly curved together; the latter extended to the keel and worked in a rounded elevator cut-out.[
The Astra-Protopopescu had a conventional, fixed tailskid ]undercarriage
Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include:
*The landing gear of an aircraft.
*The ch ...
. A short V-form strut was attached to each lower fuselage longeron, joined by a cross-piece at their apexes, above which a single axle bearing the main wheels was rubber sprung. The wooden tailskid was also rubber sprung.[
The exact date of the first flight of the Astra-Protopopescu is not known but its tests had been concluded by June 1925.][ Though the results were satisfactory and although it met the requirements set by the Romanian Ministry for War,][ no orders for serial production were received.]
Specifications
See also
* Proto 1
* Proto 2 (aircraft)
Proto 2 was a training biplane manufactured at the '' Fabrica de avioane Astra'' in Arad in 1924.
Design and development
Following the accident of Ioan Sava, a new variant of the Proto 1 was created, called the Proto 2. The airplane kept t ...
* Astra Aircraft Factory
References
{{reflist, refs=
[{{cite journal , last=Béjar , first=Auguste, date=11 June 1925 , title= L'Avion Astra-Protopopescu, journal=Les Ailes, issue=208 , pages= 2 , url= http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6568240r/f2 ]
[{{cite book , last=Gudju , first=Ion , location=Brasov , author2=Gheorghe Iacobescu , author3=Ovidiu Ionescu , url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Romanian_Aeronautical_Constructions_1905-1974.pdf, title=Romanian Aeronautical Constructions 1905-1974, page=102]
1920s Romanian military aircraft
Ștefan Protopopescu