The Göppingen Gö 8 was a 1/5 scale model of the
Dornier Do 214
The Dornier Do 214 was a proposed large long-range flying boat, developed by Dornier in World War II.
Development
Originally designed as the Do P.93 for passenger transatlantic service from Lisbon to New York, the Do 214 was redesigned as th ...
, a large projected trans-atlantic long-range
flying boat
A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for buoyancy.
Though ...
, designed by
Dornier Werke GmbH in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The Gö 8 was used primarily to validate the hydro-dynamic and aerodynamic properties of the Do 214.
Design and development
The Gö 8 was designed and built by
Wolf Hirth
Wolfram Kurt Erhard Hirth (28 February 1900 – 25 July 1959) was a German gliding pioneer and sailplane designer. He was a co-founder of Schempp-Hirth, still a renowned glider manufacturer.Segelflugbildkalendar 2011
Hirth was born in Stuttgar ...
and
Ulrich Hütter /
Schempp-Hirth
Schempp-Hirth Flugzeugbau GmbH is a glider manufacturer based in Kirchheim unter Teck, Germany.
History
Martin Schempp founded his own company in Göppingen in 1935, with the assistance of Wolf Hirth.
The company was initially called "Sport ...
at
Göppingen
Göppingen (; or ) is a town in southern Germany, part of the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg. It is the capital of the Goeppingen (district), district Göppingen. Göppingen is home to the toy company Märklin, and it is the birthplace ...
. Construction was primarily of wood, with smooth surfaces, replicating the planing surfaces in scale. A retractable
tailwheel
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 ...
undercarriage was installed in the hull. The pilot sat under a long greenhouse canopy which followed the profiles of the proposed Do 214, giving good visibility. Accommodation for a flight test engineer was provided in the hull behind the pilot.
[
]
Operational history
The Gö 8 flight trials were undertaken at Oberpfaffenhofen
Oberpfaffenhofen is a village that is part of the municipality of Weßling in the district of Starnberg, Bavaria, Germany. It is located about from the city center of Munich.
Village
The village is home to the Oberpfaffenhofen Airport and a ...
, with hydrodynamic
In physics, physical chemistry and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids – liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including (the study of air and other gases in moti ...
testing on Bodensee
Lake Constance (, ) refers to three Body of water, bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhei ...
, towed by a motorboat. Further aerodynamic testing was carried out at the Göttingen aeronautical research laboratory.[
]
Specifications (Gö 8)
References
External links
Planeurs : Göppingen Gö-8
{{RLM aircraft designations
1940s German experimental aircraft
Glider aircraft
Flying boats
Schempp-Hirth aircraft
Aircraft with retractable conventional landing gear
Amphibious aircraft