Junkers J 15
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The Junkers J 15 was an all-metal
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 con ...
built in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
in 1920 to explore the design parameters of small single-engined passenger transports. In particular, it could fly in either high or low wing configurations. It led to the Junkers J 16 light airliner.


Design and development

With the exception of the J 4 biplane, all Junkers aircraft were monoplanes and all those built before 1920 were low-wing aircraft. Junkers had been successful with their four-passenger J 13 and believed there was a market for a smaller aircraft carrying just two passengers and using a smaller engine than the J 13. The J 15 was built to optimise the low power, small aircraft configuration and in particular to provide data on whether it should have a high or low wing. The Junkers J 15 was a single-engined cantilever winged monoplane with an all-metal structure of Duralumin tubing skinned with corrugated Duralumin, a method used in all previous Junkers aircraft from the J 9 onwards. It was first flown with a low-set wing with the high thickness-chord ratio typical of Junkers. The wing was only slightly tapered and blunt tipped, with short, wide chord ailerons at the wing tips which curved out behind the trailing edge proper. When reconfigured as a high wing machine, the wing was attached just above the fuselage by short struts. The fuselage was deep, giving the J 15 a tubby look, with the two passengers in a windowed internal cabin above the wing. The pilot sat well behind them and clear of the trailing edge of the wing, in an open cockpit. The tailplane was mounted on the top of the fuselage and a small triangular fin carried a rudder that extended down to the bottom of the fuselage, moving in a cut-out between the elevators. The J 15 was powered by a 158 hp (118 kW) upright inline Mercedes D.IIIa engine driving a four-blade propeller. The fixed main undercarriage had a pair of main wheels each mounted on V-legs splayed out from the fuselage bottom and interconnected by linked axles braced by a pair of centre line struts. The sole J 15 was complete by the autumn of 1920, but was moved to the
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for its first flight in early 1921 to avoid the restrictions on German aircraft production imposed by the Allies after their victory in
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. After flying as a low-wing monoplane the wing was moved to the high position and the low fuselage wing roots skinned over with corrugated Duralumin, leaving the profile visible. The high wing configuration was judged superior and adopted for the larger and heavier
J 16 J16 may refer to: Roads * County Route J16 (California) * Malaysia Federal Route J16 Vehicles * GSR Class J16, an Irish steam locomotive * , a ''Sandhayak''-class survey ship of the Indian Navy * LNER Class J16, a British steam locomotive clas ...
production two passenger machine. The J 16 was also influenced by the J 15 trials in having a cockpit immediately ahead of the wings, as the take off view from the mid fuselage cockpit of the latter was poor with high set wings, and by the addition of aerodynamic balances to elevators and rudder.


Specifications


References

{{Junkers aircraft J 015 1920s German civil aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft High-wing aircraft