Flitzer Z-21
{{Short description|British homebuilt aircraft}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2022}}
| {{Infobox aircraft begin
| name=Z-21 | image=VH-SFF Flitzer at Serpentine in June 2011 (5915655424).jpg | caption= }}{{Infobox aircraft type | type=Amateur-built aircraft | national origin=United Kingdom | manufacturer=Flitzer Sportplanes | designer=Lynn Williams | first flight= | introduced= | retired= | status=Plans available (2012) | primary user= | more users= | produced= | number built= | developed from= | variants with their own articles= }} |
The Flitzer Z-21 or Staaken Flitzer is a British amateur-built aircraft, designed by Lynn Williams and produced by Flitzer Sportplanes of Aberdare, Wales. The aircraft is supplied as plans for amateur construction.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12, page 103. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485XTacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16, page 108. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. {{ISSN|1368-485X}}
In the late 1990s, it was also marketed as plans and in kit form by Bell Aeromarine of Leicester, UK.Purdy, Don: AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition, page 362. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998. {{ISBN|0-9636409-4-1}}
Design and development
The Z-21 is a single-seat, open cockpit 1920s-style biplane with fixed conventional landing gear with spoked wheels and a single engine in tractor configuration.
The aircraft is made from wood, with its flying surfaces covered in doped aircraft fabric. Its {{convert|5.5|m|ft|1|abbr=on}} span wing has a combined area of {{convert|9|m2|sqft|abbr=on}} and ailerons on the bottom wing only. The aircraft was designed for the {{convert|65|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} Volkswagen air-cooled engine, but other variants have been developed that use a variety of engines, including the {{convert|110|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} Rotec R2800 radial engine.
Further planned developments include a tandem two seater, a four aileron version and a lighter weight version.
Operational history
In August 2014 there were eleven Flitzers registered in the United Kingdom.{{cite web|url =http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=60&pagetype=65&appid=1&mode=summary&aircrafttype=FLITZER|title=CAA Register}}
Specifications (Z-21)
{{Aircraft specs
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|crew=one
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|span m=5.5
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|wing area sqm=9
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|empty weight kg=218
|empty weight lb=
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|gross weight kg=341
|gross weight lb=
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|fuel capacity={{convert|38.6|L}}
|more general=
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Volkswagen air-cooled engine
|eng1 type=four cylinder, air-cooled, four stroke automotive conversion
|eng1 kw=
|eng1 hp=65
|prop blade number=2
|prop name=wooden
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|max speed kmh=150
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|cruise speed kmh=137
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|stall speed kmh=67
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|climb rate ms=3.6
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|wing loading kg/m2=37.9
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References
{{reflist}}
- {{cite magazine |last=Williams |first=Lynn |title=Flitzer: Fiction Made Fact |magazine=Aeroplane Monthly |date=August 1996 |volume=24 |issue=8 |pages=64–67 |issn=0143-7240}}
External links
{{Commons category|Staaken Z-21 Flitzer}}
- {{Official website|http://www.flitzerbiplane.com/}}