LFG Roland D.XVI
{{Short description|1910s German fighter aircraft}}
| {{Infobox Aircraft Begin
| name=LFG Roland D.XVI | image=LFG Roland D.XVI first prototype.jpg | caption=LFG Roland D.XVI first prototype }}{{Infobox Aircraft Type | type=Single seat fighter aircraft | national origin=Germany | manufacturer=LFG Roland (Luft-Fahrzeug-Gesellschaft) | designer= | first flight=September–October 1918 | introduced= | retired= | status= | primary user= | more users= | produced= | number built=2 | program cost= | unit cost= | developed from= | variants with their own articles= }} |
The LFG Roland D.XVI, initially designated the LFG Roland E.I, was a single-seat, single-engine, parasol wing German fighter aircraft flown close to the end of World War I. Only two were built.
Design and development
File:LFG Roland D.XVI second prototype.jpg
The D.XVI had a fully cantilevered fabric covered parasol wing mounted above the fuselage on a pair of N-form struts from the lower fuselage. These struts were laterally stabilized with a near horizontal strut on each side, joining the upper fuselage and the upper end of the rear member of the N. In plan the wing was straight tapered with blunt tips and included a trailing edge cut-out to improve upward vision from the cockpit. The wing was quite thick and the ailerons short.
Its fuselage was flat-sided and rectangular in cross-section, with plywood covering. The prototypes differed in the way this covering was applied; on one the grain ran diagonally, on the other longitudinally. They also differed in their vertical tails, one broader and lower than the other. Both had deep horn balanced rudders which extended to the keel. The horizontal tail was mounted at mid-fuselage, with a straight-edged, unswept tailplane bearing overhung, balanced elevators with outward increasing chord. Both prototypes had conventional undercarriages with a rigid axle mounted to the lower fuselage by V-form struts.
The main difference between the two prototypes was in the engines, both fully cowled rotaries. One had a 9-cylinder, {{convert|160|hp|kW|abbr=on|0}} Goebel Goe.III, the other an 11-cylinder Siemens-Halske Sh.III of about the same power. Both two and four blade propellers were used.
The Idflieg allowed the Sh.III engined version to take part in the third D-type competition for fighters even though that engine was not on its approved list. It was faster than either the Fokker D.VII or the Siemens-Schuckert D.IV below {{convert|4000|m|ft|abbr=on|0}} but slower at higher altitude.
Specifications (Siemens-Halske engine)
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=Green & Swanborough p.339-40
|prime units?=met
|genhide=
|crew=One
|length m=5.90
|length note=
|span m=9.46
|span note=
|width note=
|height m=
|height ft=
|height in=
|height note=
|wing area sqm=
|wing area sqft=
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=
|airfoil=
|empty weight kg=
|empty weight lb=
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=
|gross weight lb=
|gross weight note=
|max takeoff weight kg=
|max takeoff weight lb=
|max takeoff weight note=
|fuel capacity=
|more general=
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Siemens-Halske Sh.III
|eng1 type=geared rotary
|eng1 hp=160
|eng1 note=
|power original=
|more power=
|prop blade number=4
|prop name=
|prop dia m=
|prop dia ft=
|prop dia in=
|prop dia note=
|perfhide=Y
|max speed kmh=
|max speed mph=
|max speed kts=
|max speed note=
|cruise speed kmh=
|cruise speed mph=
|cruise speed kts=
|cruise speed note=
|stall speed kmh=
|stall speed mph=
|stall speed kts=
|stall speed note=
|never exceed speed kmh=
|never exceed speed mph=
|never exceed speed kts=
|never exceed speed note=
|minimum control speed kmh=
|minimum control speed mph=
|minimum control speed kts=
|minimum control speed note=
|range km=
|range miles=
|range nmi=
|range note=
|combat range km=
|combat range miles=
|combat range nmi=
|combat range note=
|ferry range km=
|ferry range miles=
|ferry range nmi=
|ferry range note=
|endurance=
|ceiling m=
|ceiling ft=
|ceiling note=
|g limits=
|roll rate=
|glide ratio=
|climb rate ms=
|climb rate ftmin=
|climb rate note=
|time to altitude=
|sink rate ms=
|sink rate ftmin=
|sink rate note=
|lift to drag=
|wing loading kg/m2=
|wing loading lb/sqft=
|wing loading note=
|power/mass=
|thrust/weight=
|more performance=
|guns=2 × synchronised {{convert|7.9|mm|in|abbr=on|2}} LMG 08/15 (Spandau) machine guns
}}
{{aircontent
|see also=
|related=
|similar aircraft=
|lists=
}}
See also
Notes
References
{{commons category|LFG Roland D.XVI}}
{{reflist|refs=
}}
{{LFG aircraft}}
{{Idflieg D-class designations}}
{{Idflieg E-class designations}}
Category:Parasol-wing aircraft
Category:1910s German fighter aircraft