The Focke-Wulf F 19 ''Ente'' (German: "Duck") was a German experimental "canard" aircraft in the late 1920s.

Design

The F 19 Ente was a high-wing

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

with a canard layout and fixed

tricycle undercarriage Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle ge ...

. The pilot sat in an 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 ...

, while an enclosed

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was provided for two or three passengers. The canard was mounted on short struts above the nose of the aircraft, ahead of the cockpit, and the two engines were housed in nacelles mounted under the wings. The F 19 design was set so that the front stabilizer would stall some moments before the rear-mounted main wing, which in theory made the ''Ente'' virtually stall-proof.

Operational history

The first example flew on 2 September 1927 but was destroyed on 29 September during a demonstration of single-engine flight, after a control rod snapped. Focke-Wulf co-founder

Georg Wulf Georg Wulf (1895-1927) was a German aviation pioneer and aircraft manufacturer. Biography Wulf was born 17 May 1895 in Bremen. He was the son of a customs agent. He attended the high school on Dechanat Street. Around 1910, Henrich Focke, with th ...

was killed in the crash. Nevertheless, a second aircraft (''D-1960'') was built, flying in late 1930. This was used for a promotional tour of Europe the following year which took it to Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, and the UK. On 7 November 1931, it was demonstrated at

Hanworth Air Park London Air Park, also known as Hanworth Air Park, was a grass airfield in the grounds of Hanworth Park House, operational 1917–1919 and 1929–1947. It was on the southeastern edge of Feltham, now part of the London Borough of Hounslow. In th ...

, flown by Focke-Wulf chief pilot Cornelius Edzard.''The Tail First Plane'
britishpathe.com
(Note: Commentary by passenger

The Hon Mrs Victor Bruce Mildred Mary Petre (10 November 1895 – 21 May 1990) was a British record-breaking racing motorist, speedboat racer and aviator in the 1920s and 1930s, and later, successful businesswoman. Commonly referred to as Mrs Victor Bruce, she was also k ...

, pilot Edzard in cockpit) Later, it was put on display at the '' Deutsche Luftfahrtsammlung'' in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, where it was destroyed in an Allied air raid in 1944.

Specifications

Notes

References

* *

External links

"Plane That Flies Backwards Called Safest Craft", February 1931
rare photo in article
1931 British Movietone newsreel film of Focke Wulf F 19 ''Ente'' taking off, flying, and landing

The Tail First Plane (1931)

British Pathé British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Photos and film of Focke Wulf F 19 ''Ente''
{{Focke-Wulf aircraft 1920s German civil utility aircraft F 19 Canard aircraft High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1927 Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft