The VEF I-12 was a
tandem, two seats
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
n
trainer aircraft designed by
Kārlis Irbītis
Kārlis Irbītis (October 14, 1904, in Limbaži municipality, Lāde parish, Governorate of Livonia – October 13, 1997, in Saint-Laurent (borough), Saint-Laurent, Quebec, Canada) was a Latvian aeroplane designer.
His greatest successes, for the ...
and produced by
VEF in
Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
.
Design and development
The single engine,
tandem, two seat I-12 was a development of the similarly laid out I-11, strengthened for aerobatics. It was an all wood
low wing 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 confi ...
, entirely
plywood
Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...
covered apart from the tail control surfaces and with a fixed,
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 ...
. Its
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 ...
wing was built around a main and an auxiliary box
spar, both made from
spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...
and plywood. The short wing centre section was integral with 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 ...
, with the main undercarriage legs on it. These and the wheels, fitted with brakes, were
faired. Outboard, the wing panels tapered to rounded tips, carrying both the balanced and slotted differential
ailerons and hand-operated camber-changing
split flaps.
[
The fuselage was a rectangular box formed from spruce ]longerons
In engineering, a longeron and stringer is the load-bearing component of a framework.
The term is commonly used in connection with aircraft fuselages and automobile chassis. Longerons are used in conjunction with stringers to form structural ...
, with a ply roof behind the cabin, where a long, multipart canopy enclosed the pilot and passenger's seats. The pilot sat at the rear; both had removable sections for access. In front of them the Blackburn Cirrus four cylinder in-line, inverted engine was mounted on steel bearers, driving a wooden propeller. At the rear of the fuselage the empennage
The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third ed ...
was conventional, with the tailplane
A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplane ...
mounted on the fin
A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...
above the fuselage line and braced from below with a steel strut on each side. The elevator
An elevator or lift is a wire rope, cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or deck (building), decks of a building, watercraft, ...
s were hinged forward of the rudder
A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...
, which carried a trim tab, but were shaped to allow its movement as it extended to the keel.[
]
Operational history
The I-12 first flew on 26 June 1937, the first of twelve examples built. The first prototype, on a European tour begun in July 1937, made several demonstrations in Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
.[ In the UK it raced at ]Ramsgate
Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to t ...
, coming fifth in the handicapped Thanet Air Race at Ramsgate
Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to t ...
, as well as winning first prize for the best turned out aircraft.[ Late in August it came in second in the Cinque Ports Wakefield Cup races at ]Lympne
Lympne (), formerly also Lymne, is a village on the former shallow-gradient sea cliffs above the expansive agricultural plain of Romney Marsh in Kent. The settlement forms an L shape stretching from Port Lympne Zoo via Lympne Castle facing Lympne ...
.[ Its tour ended the following July, flown back to ]Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
by P. Avery in a record nine hours, non-stop from London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.[ Avery flew another I-12 in 1939, coming fifth in the London to ]Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
race and competing in the Isle of Man competition in May.[
The I-12 was enthusiastically reviewed by the British aeronautical press][ and Rollasons were designated as distributors after the I-12 had been adjusted to meet UK certification requirements.][ It was also offered for sale in the UK by D.R.P. Engines at £750][ but no examples reached the UK civil register.
At least four were purchased as ]trainers
Sneakers (also called trainers, athletic shoes, tennis shoes, gym shoes, kicks, sport shoes, flats, running shoes, or runners) are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but which are now also widely used f ...
by the Aizsargi
Aizsargi (literally: "Defenders", "Guards") was a volunteer paramilitary organization or militia ( lv, Aizsargu organizācija, "Guards Organization", AO) in Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially ...
in early 1938, most surviving to the Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
occupation of 1940.[
]
Operators
;
*Aizsargi
Aizsargi (literally: "Defenders", "Guards") was a volunteer paramilitary organization or militia ( lv, Aizsargu organizācija, "Guards Organization", AO) in Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially ...
* Latvian Air Force
Specifications (I-12)
See also
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vef I-12
1930s Latvian military trainer aircraft
Low-wing aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1937
VEF aircraft