The Rogožarski AŽR (
Serbian Cyrillic:Рогожарски АЖР) was a single-engined, two-seat
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 ...
aircraft designed as a
trainer in
Yugoslavia before
World War II. It was designed and built at the Rogožarski factory in Belgrade.
Design and development
William Schuster, a flight engineer, designed the AŽR at the end of 1929. The first test flight of the prototype was conducted by a factory test pilot on 5 November 1930. The aircraft was a
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 ...
with the lower wing smaller than the upper. It was equipped with a seven-cylinder
Walter Castor
The Walter Castor was a Czechoslovakian seven-cylinder, air-cooled radial engine for powering aircraft that was developed in the late 1920s. The Super Castor was a nine-cylinder development.Gunston 1989, p. 174. Castor I production began in 1928 ...
air-cooled
radial engine of 240 hp and a wooden double-bladed
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 ...
. The plane had dual controls, the two crew (pilot and flight instructor), sat one behind the other. It was to be employed as an intermediate trainer, replacing the outdated
Hansa-Brandenburg C.I
The Hansa-Brandenburg C.I, also known as Type LDD, was a 2-seater armed single-engine reconnaissance biplane designed by Ernst Heinkel, who worked at that time for the parent company in Germany. The C.I had similarities with the earlier B.I (Typ ...
. The fuselage, which was of rectangular cross-section, was made of wood and covered with plywood. The wings had rounded ends, each was connected by a pair of metal struts and wire tensioners. Construction of the wing involved the use of wood covered with canvas. The landing gear was fixed and had no axle.
Operational history
After the completion of factory tests, the aircraft was examined by the
Yugoslav Royal Air Force Commission but it did not allow mass production due to a number of perceived shortcomings in the machines' handling. The aircraft was only used in 1931 for advertising purposes, demonstration flights and participation in air shows. It also competed in the King's Cup and the like; AZR still hoped to come to some arrangement with the military. This did not happen, Rogozarski withdrew from aircraft design, the prototype was registered as a civilian plane and used by the factory. It received the civil registration UN-PAU. In the meantime, the economic situation was such that the AŽR was standing in its hangar, waiting for better days; despite bank loans, there was a distinct lack of orders and the company went bankrupt in 1933.
Circumstances improved in the summer of 1934 when the Yugoslav Air Force bought the AZR and the fortunes of the factory improved, becoming a shareholder company. The AŽR was used as a trainer until 1937.
[О. Петровић., Војни аероплани Краљевине СХС/Југославије (Део II: 1931–1941.), Лет 3/2004. Београд, 2004.]
Operators
;
*
Royal Yugoslav Air Force
The Royal Yugoslav Air Force ( sh-Latn, Jugoslovensko kraljevsko ratno vazduhoplovstvo, JKRV; sh-Cyrl, Југословенско краљевско ратно ваздухопловство, ЈКРВ; ( sl, Jugoslovansko kraljevo vojno letalstv ...
1 aircraft
Specifications
See also
Notes
References
*
*
* Gunston, Bill. ''World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines''. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989.
* Јанић, Чедомир (април 2000.). "Рогожарски АЖР". Аеромагазин 17: стр. 34. ISSN 1450-6068.
* Д. Лучић: Основи практичне аеродинамике са описима аероплана, Библиотека „Ваздухопловног Гласника“, Нови Сад, 1936,
* О. Петровић., Војни аероплани Краљевине СХС/Југославије (Део II: 1931–1941.), Лет 3/2004. Београд, 2004.
* С. Микић; Историја југословенског ваздухопловства, Штампарија Драг. Грегорић, Београд, 1933.
External links
*https://web.archive.org/web/20120219070818/http://www.goldenyears.ukf.net/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogozarski Azr
AZR
Touat-Cheikh Sidi Mohamed Belkebir Airport is a public airport located 6 nm (11 km) southeast of Adrar, the capital of the Adrar province (''wilaya'') in Algeria.
Facilities
The airport resides at an elevation of above mean sea level. ...
1930s Yugoslav military aircraft
Trainer aircraft
Biplanes
Single-engined tractor aircraft