The Grade monoplane was a single-seat aircraft constructed by

Hans Grade Hans Grade (May 17, 1879 – October 22, 1946) was a German aviation pioneer. Hans Grade was born in Köslin, Pomerania. On 28 October 1908 he successfully conducted the first motor-flight over German soil in a motorised triplane aircraft ...

in 1909. It was the first successful heavier-than-air aircraft produced in Germany, and around 80 were eventually built.

Design and development

The aircraft 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 the pilot sitting below the wing. A pair of inverted V struts formed the fabric-covered cabane structure which carried the upper bracing wires: the front struts were continued below the wing, with the forward struts bearing the mainwheels. An elongated cruciform tail unit was attached to the end of a single boom by a universal joint immediately behind the single tailwheel. Lateral control was effected by

wing-warping Wing warping was an early system for lateral (roll) control of a fixed-wing aircraft. The technique, used and patented by the Wright brothers, consisted of a system of pulleys and cables to twist the trailing edges of the wings in opposite direc ...

. It was powered by a 12 kW (18 hp) two-stroke air-cooled V-4 engine, also built by Grade, which drove a two-bladed aluminium bladed propeller.

Operational history

The aircraft was first flown on 17 August 1909 A series of longer flights were made in September, and on October 30 Grade won the Lanz prize of 40,000 marks for the first German-built aeroplane to fly in a figure 8 round two markers a kilometre apart. Grade used the money from winning the Lanz prize to establish an aircraft manufacturing business and flying school at Bork, near Magdeburg. The aircraft were sold for 12,000 marks, the price including a course of flying instruction. Grade competed with some success at the Heliopolis aviation meeting held in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

in January 1910, when he won one of the daily speed and distance competitions by flying in 22 m 57 sec. An example was bought by the Japanese army, and was the first aeroplane to be flown in Japan.

Survivors

*A restored aircraft is on display at the Magdeburg Technikmuseum. *A restored aircraft is on display at the

Deutsches Museum The Deutsches Museum (''German Museum'', officially (English: ''German Museum of Masterpieces of Science and Technology'')) in Munich, Germany, is the world's largest museum of science and technology, with about 28,000 exhibited objects from ...

in Munich, with the original engine displayed separately. *A replica is displayed at the Kakamigahara Aerospace Science Museum

Specifications

References

{{reflist 1900s German aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1909