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The SAI KZ II was a sport aircraft built in Denmark in 1937, produced in three major versions before and after the Second World War.
Danmarks Flymuseum page on the KZ II Kupé (in Danish)
Danmarks Flymuseum page on the KZ II Sport (in Danish)
Danmarks Flymuseum page on the KZ II Træner (in Danish)
;Specific
Design and development
In its original form, designated the ''Kupé'' (Danish: "Coupé
A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors.
The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...
") it was a low-wing cantilever monoplane of conventional design with fixed tailwheel undercarriage and two seats side by side under an enclosed canopy. The fuselage structure was of steel tube, skinned in plywood and fabric, and the wings were wooden with plywood covering and could be folded back along the fuselage for transport and storage.
This was followed by the aerobatic KZ II Sport with a revised fuselage design, placing the two seats in separate open cockpits in tandem, and a dedicated military trainer version along the same lines, the KZ II Træner ("Trainer"). This latter type was first produced in 1946, as a step towards rebuilding Denmark's air force after the war. They remained in service until 1955, when nine examples were sold into private hands.
In 2008, an example of each variant (including the sole extant KZ II Sport) is preserved in the Danmarks Flymuseum.
Variants
* KZ II Kupé - original version with side-by-side seating under an enclosed canopy and de Havilland Gipsy Minor or Cirrus Minor engine (14 built) * KZ II Sport - aerobatic version with tandem seating in open cockpits and Hirth 504A engine (16 built) * KZ II Træner - military trainer version similar to KZ II Sport with de Havilland Gipsy Major engine (15 built)
Operators
; *Danish Navy
The Royal Danish Navy ( da, Søværnet) is the sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Islands and Greenland). Oth ...
- ordered 4 × KZ II Sport, but these were confiscated by Germany before delivery
* Danish Air Force
The Royal Danish Air Force ( da, Flyvevåbnet, lit=The Flying weapon) (RDAF) is the aerial warfare force of The Kingdom of Denmark and one of the four branches of the Danish Defence. Initially being components of the Army and the Navy, it was ...
- 15 × KZ II Træner operated between 1946 and 1955
Specifications (KZ II Træner)
See also
References
* *Danmarks Flymuseum page on the KZ II Kupé (in Danish)
Danmarks Flymuseum page on the KZ II Sport (in Danish)
Danmarks Flymuseum page on the KZ II Træner (in Danish)
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