The LFG V 39 was a simple

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

trainer 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 betwe ...

in the mid-1920s. It took part in the Round Germany Flight in the summer of 1925.

Design and development

The V 39 was a two bay biplane with constant chord wings mounted with slight stagger and a wide gap. The fabric covered wings had box spars and three-ply

rib In vertebrate anatomy, ribs ( la, costae) are the long curved bones which form the rib cage, part of the axial skeleton. In most tetrapods, ribs surround the chest, enabling the lungs to expand and thus facilitate breathing by expanding the ches ...

s. There were

ailerons 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 Flight dynamics, roll (or ...

on both upper and lower wing, externally rod-connected. The upper wing was centrally supported with

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. The trainer was designed to be powered by a

Mercedes D.I The Mercedes D.I (also known as the Type E6F) was a six-cylinder, water-cooled, SOHC valvetrain inline engine developed in Germany for use in aircraft in 1913. Developing 75 kW (100 hp), it powered many German military aircraft during t ...

or D.II engine. It is known that the smaller engine at least was flown. The fuselage was deep bellied, flat sided, constructed from wood and covered with three-ply. There were two open,

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...

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 ...

s, the rear one provided with vision enhancing

trailing edge The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge meets.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 521. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. ...

cut-outs in both upper and lower planes. The V 39's

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 ...

was standard for the time, with mainwheels on a rigid axle supported by fuselage mounted V-struts and with a tailskid. The V 39 was designed to combine modest performance with reliability and robustness with easy handling and a low landing speed.

Operational history

The V 39 was one of more than ninety aircraft to take part in the Round Germany Flight held in the summer of 1925.

Specifications

References

{{LFG aircraft Biplanes 1920s German civil trainer aircraft LFG V 39)