Trainer aircraft First flight: 1935 Gotha

The Gotha Go.149 aircraft was designed in the mid-1930s as a training aircraft for in-depth flight training, with a possible use as a combat trainer and air defense fighter. It was designed by engineer Albert Kolker at Gothaer Waggonfabrik A.G.

The first plane took off in 1936. Cantilever low-wing mixed design with a closed cockpit had an oval section semi-monocoque fuselage made of light alloys. The wing of a wooden structure with plywood sheathing was made with ailerons and flaps. The tail unit included a fin, stabilizer with V-braces and rudders with horn compensation. The chassis was made according to the scheme with a tail wheel. The main racks with a wide gauge were retracted inward into niches closed by flaps in the lower surface of the wing. As part of the power plant, an inverted V-shaped 8-cylinder piston engine Argus As 10C air-cooled take-off power of 240 hp was used. With. (179 kW) driven by a two-bladed wooden propeller equipped with spinner.

The Go.149 was distinguished by advanced aerodynamics and flight characteristics for this category of aircraft. But production was again limited to only nine aircraft of experimental modifications (V-1 and V-2). In addition, two more projects were developed - a modernized version of the UTS (V-3) with an Argus As 10K engine and a training fighter (Project 16) with an Argus As 410 engine, armed with two 7.9 mm MG 17 machine guns. However, both projects remained unrealized.

Photo	Description
	Drawing Go 149

Trainer aircraft First flight: 1936 Gotha

In parallel with the release of the undoubtedly successful Go.145 training biplanes, Gotha built several equally successful twin-engine tourist cash desk cars. One of these aircraft was the Go.150, created in 1936. It was a monoplane of mixed construction, typical for those years, with a two-seat closed cockpit and a non-retractable landing gear in fairings. The aircraft was equipped with two small-sized Zundapp engines, which, although they did not provide high speed, had good performance characteristics. By the time of the first flight of the Go.150, the German aviation industry was working with might and main for military needs, so the number of aircraft built was limited to 10 copies. All of them received civilian registration numbers, but were used in the interests of the Luftwaffe, mainly as liaison and training aircraft. Their operation continued for a relatively short time and by the beginning of the 1940s. Go.150 aircraft were taken out of service.

The Go.150 also has a history of setting a flight altitude record for touring vehicles of this class. To do this, the design of the Go.150 was lightened, and the pilot was provided with the equipment necessary for flying at high altitude. First, three test attempts were made, in which the aircraft alternately reached an altitude of 7100, 7500 and 7800 meters. Only when there was full confidence in achieving the record, Go.150 set off on his famous flight.

On July 5, 1938, having waited for cloudless weather, the pilot Fritz Platz raised the car into the air and gradually, alternating climbs with "platforms" at certain heights, began to rise to a given height. After 45 minutes, he reached 7000 meters, but at the same time the rate of climb of the aircraft was greatly reduced. At an altitude of 7100 meters it was only 1 m/s, and after another 700 meters it dropped to 0.5 m/s. Nevertheless, Platz persistently continued to fly, after 1.5 hours reaching an estimated altitude of 8000 meters. Having made sure that the instrument readings were correct, the pilot released the gas and after 30 minutes made a successful landing at his airfield. This record was officially recorded by the FAI and became one of the last achievements of German pilots made before the war.

Photo	Description
	Drawing Go 150

Multi-purpose auxiliary aircraft First flight: 1940 Gotha

The Go 241 project was an evolutionary development of the Go 150 concept in the form of a light transport and touring aircraft, in which the pilot and co-pilot/passenger sat side by side, and behind them were seats for two passengers seated side by side in an enclosed cockpit.

Designer Kalkert tried to improve the aerodynamics of the new aircraft (D-IRMM). The Go 241 project received retractable main landing gear, split flaps and a twin tail unit. The power plant of the new aircraft included two six-cylinder inverted in-line air-cooled Hirth HM 506A engines with a take-off power of 160 hp each. With. (119 kW), although initially two radial engines BMW Bramo Sh.14A were also air-cooled. Go 241 did not go into production due to the outbreak of World War II.

The only prototype was lost in 1944.

Photo	Description
	Drawimg Go 241

Bibliography

• Wings of the Luftwaffe (warplanes of the Third Reich) /William Green/
• Gotha Go 149 /World Aviation. de Agostini./
• Dvoumotorova obchodni letadla /Vaclav Nemecek./