LFG V.40 / V.44

Flight, May 1925

THE ROUND-GERMANY FLIGHT

THE MACHINES

Luftfahrzeug-Gesellschaft

   The Luftfahrzeug-Gesellschaft, whose works are at Stralsund, is, like the Albatros Works, one of the oldest firms in Germany, but for some years has not been, perhaps, quite so prominent as during the years preceding the War. Lately, however, the firm seems to have revived somewhat. Quite a number of L.F.G. machines are entered for the Round-Germany flight, the types being the V.39, V.40, V.42, V.44, and the V.52, but the types V.42 and V.52 were not completed in time for photographs to reach us before going to press with this week's issue of FLIGHT.
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   The V.40 is a metal machine, both the fuselage and wings being built entirely of metal, mainly of duralumin. Highly stressed parts are, however, built from Krupps rustless steel. The machine is a pure cantilever monoplane with the pilot's cockpit in front in the forward portion of the wing and with the passenger's cockpit aft of the wing, the trailing edge being cut away to improve the view.
   Constructionally the L.F.G. V.40 follows Dornier practice rather than Junkers' in that the metal covering is perfectly smooth and not corrugated as in the Junkers'. The 75 h.p. Siemens radial engine is mounted on the nose of the fuselage without any cowling. The L.F.G. V.40 has a span of 11-4 m. (37 ft. 5 ins.); a wing area of 18 sq. m. (194 sq. ft.), and a total loaded weight of 829 kg. (1,825 lb.). The top speed is stated to be 150 km./h. (93 m.p.h.), with a landing speed of 75 km./h. (46 m.p.h.).
   The V.42 is somewhat similar in appearance to the V.40, but is a somewhat larger machine and fitted with a 100 h.p. Mercedes engine. Like the V.40 it is an all-metal cantilever monoplane, the wing span being 12-6 m. (41 ft. 4 ins.), and the wing area 24 sq. m. (258 sq. ft.).
   The total loaded weight is 1,069 kg. (2,350 lbs.). The top speed is 145 km./h. (90 m.p.h.), and the landing speed 68 km./h. (43 m.p.h.).
   The V.44 is of the same o.a. dimensions and exactly similar to the V.40, but it is of particular interest to readers of FLIGHT on account of the fact that it is fitted with a Bristol "Lucifer" engine of 100 h.p. The photograph of the V.44 and of the installation of the Bristol "Lucifer" will be found herewith.
   In the V.52 Herr Baatz has returned to wood construction, as he maintains that the question nowadays is not metal or wood, but rather which types it pays to build in wood and which in metal. The V.52 is a small semi-cantilever monoplane with 55 h.p. Siemens engine. The fuselage is ply-wood covered and the wing is built up of box-spars and three-ply ribs with fabric covering. Like the other L.F.G. machines, the V.52 is a two-seater and has a wing span of 10 m. (32 ft. 10 ins.), and a wing area of 13-28 sq. m. (143 sq. ft.). The estimated top speed is 145 km./h. (91 m.p.h.), and the landing speed 60 km./h. (37-5 m.p.h.).