The LFG V 40 and V 44 were one-off, single-engine, two-seat sports

monoplanes 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 ...

, identical apart from their engines, 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 1925.

Design and development

The V 40 and V 44 were all-metal high-wing monoplanes, with thick, straight-edged,

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...

wings. Highly stressed members were steel, with

duralumin Duralumin (also called duraluminum, duraluminium, duralum, dural(l)ium, or dural) is a trade name for one of the earliest types of age-hardenable aluminium alloys. The term is a combination of '' Dürener'' and ''aluminium''. Its use as a tra ...

elsewhere including the skin. The

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

s were deep-bellied and flat-sided with

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 ...

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 ...

s over the wing. On both aircraft, the pilot sat near the quarter chord position, with a slot in the fuselage below the wing to enhance his downward view, and the passenger was placed within a cut-out in the

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. ...

. The tailplane was on top of the fuselage and the rounded vertical tail included a

balanced rudder Balanced rudders are used by both ships and aircraft. Both may indicate a portion of the rudder surface ahead of the hinge, placed to lower the control loads needed to turn the rudder. For aircraft the method can also be applied to elevators and ...

which extended down to the keel. The

conventional undercarriage Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

was fixed, with mainwheels on a single axle mounted on short V-struts and assisted by a tailskid. The V 40 and V 44 airframes were identical, but the V 40 was powered by a

Siemens-Halske Sh 11 The Siemens-Halske Sh 11 was a seven-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine for aircraft built in Germany in the 1920s. First run in 1925, it was rated at 75 kW (100 hp). Applications * Albatros L 68 * Bach 3-CT-2 Air Yacht * Bach 3-CT- ...

7-cylinder radial and the V 44 by a

Bristol Lucifer The Bristol Lucifer was a British three-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine for aircraft. Built in the UK in the 1920s by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, it produced 100 horsepower (75 kW). The Lucifer was originally a Cosmos Engineering e ...

3-cylinder radial. Both were nose-mounted, uncowled, and drove two-blade

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

s. External dimensions, apart from the exact length, were the same, and the weights were also similar.

Operational history

The V 40 and V 44 were amongst five LFG entries to the Round Germany Flight held in the summer of 1925, though only the

LFG V 39 The LFG V 39 was a simple biplane trainer built in Germany 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 ...

took take part. LFG V 44 side

Variants

; V 40:

7-cylinder radial engine. One built. ; V 44:

3-cylinder radial engine. One built.

Specifications

References

{{LFG aircraft 1920s German sport aircraft

LFG V 40 The LFG V 40 and V 44 were one-off, single-engine, two-seat sports monoplanes, identical apart from their engines, built in Germany in 1925. Design and development The V 40 and V 44 were all-metal monoplanes#Types of monoplane, high-wing monopl ...

High-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1925