HFB 320 Hansa Jet
The HFB 320 Hansa Jet is a twin-engine, ten-seat business jet that was designed and produced by German aircraft manufacturer Hamburger Flugzeugbau between 1964 and 1973. The most recognisable and unconventional feature of the aircraft is its forward-swept wing.
The Hansa Jet begun development during the 1960s, the selection of the forward-swept wing can be largely attributed to head engineer Hans Wocke, who had previously worked on the experimental Junkers Ju 287. It possessed a spacious cabin, which was achieved due to its wing design, but was a relatively heavy aircraft, posing some issues during both take-off and landing. On 21 April 1964, the prototype conducted its maiden flight. On 12 May 1965, the first prototype was lost during a test flight, killing Hamburger Flugzeugbau’s chief test pilot; several design changes were made to change the Hansa Jet’s stall characteristics.
Type certification of the Hansa Jet was received during early 1967 and the first deliveries commenced during the following year. The largest customer of the type was the German Air Force, who tasked it with both training and VIP transport duties. During 1973, it was decided to end production of the Hansa Jet. Reasons for the programme’s termination include increased competition from newer executive jets, a decline in the value of the US dollar, and the limited sales of the type. The German Air Force continued to operate their Hansa Jets into the early 1990s. A limited number continued to be used amongst civilian operators into the 21st century.
Design
The HFB 320 Hansa Jet is a mid-wing monoplane of a somewhat conventional layout, being powered by a rear-mounted twin jet engines beneath a T-tail. Constructed entirely of metal, it has a 10-seat passenger cabin and retractable undercarriage. As certified, the Hansa Jet can carry up to 12 passengers. Its General Electric CJ610 turbojet engines enabled the aircraft to achieve a maximum speed of 900 km/h (486 kn) along with a maximum endurance in excess of 2,200 km (1,200 nmi). The decision to mount these engines far aft contributed to the relatively quiet cabin.
An unusual feature of the Hansa Jet is its forward-swept wing, which is mid-mounted in the fuselage. This arrangement provided multiple benefits, not least maximising the aircraft’s speed capabilities. It also allowed the main wing spar to pass through the fuselage behind the passenger cabin, thus leaving it unencumbered by carry-through spars or similar structural elements; this choice facilitated the adoption of a longer cabin with more seats while maintaining adequate headroom in the small-diameter fuselage. As of 2019, the HFB 320 remains the only civilian jet ever to have a forward-swept wing.
For added safety, the Hansa Jet was furnished with triple-redundant systems. It was also provisioned with a fully automated fuel system, having a 4,070 L (1,075 US gal) capacity distributed across multiple fuel tanks located in the fuselage, wing, and wing tips. Early aircraft were known to wear out their brakes at a high rate during landings; while a drogue parachute was made available as an optional. The brake issue was later effectively addressed via the availability of more substantial brake units and the introduction of thrust reversers.
Operational history
The first customer for the Hansa Jet was the Italian construction materials manufacturer Italcementi, which received the first delivery on 26 September 1967. Other corporate purchasers of the HFB 320 included the Argentinian state-owned Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales oil company.
During 1963, the German Air Force placed an order for 13 HFB 320s. As part of the evaluation of the type, two preproduction aircraft were delivered to the ErpSt 61 test wing at Oberpfaffenhoffen in 1966. As a consequence of this evaluation, a total of six aircraft were ordered for VIP transport duties by the German Air Force; deliveries of these aircraft commenced during 1969.
Additionally, a further eight Hansa jets were purchased by the German Air Force for providing electronic countermeasure (ECM) training to air crews; these aircraft were delivered between August 1976 and April 1982. During 1985, the German Air Force decided to replace its Hansas with newer Canadair Challengers in the VIP role; the service’s ECM aircraft remained operational until their withdrawal in 1994.
The Aviation Safety Network lists a total of nine accidents (six fatal) for the type, a 20 percent hull-loss rate, but only the crash of the prototype was directly attributable to the aircraft’s design; pilot error was blamed in a majority of the accidents. According to aviation publication AIN Online, perhaps the last flying Hansa in the U.S. crashed on 30 November 2004. Because of the low number of airframes remaining, it became economically impractical to re-engine or install hush kits on the Hansa Jet’s relatively-noisy CJ610 engines.
Manufacturer: Hamburger Flugzeugbau (Germany)
First flight: 21 April 1964
Years of production: 1964—1973
Production: 47 units
Length: 16.61 m (54 ft 6 in)
Wingspan: 14.49 m (47 ft 6 in)
Height: 4.94 m (16 ft 2 in)
Crew: 2
Capacity: 15 passengers/1,814 kg (3,999 lb) payload in freighter versions
Powerplant: 2× General Electric CJ610-9 turbojet
Max speed: 850 km/h (528 mph, 459 kn)
Range: 2,370 km (1,470 mi, 1,280 nmi)
Ceiling: 12,000 m (40,000 ft)
Weight: 5,425 kg (11,960 lb)
Rahmi M. Koç museum (Istanbul, Turkey)
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