__NOTOC__ The Arado SD I was a fighter

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

, developed in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in the 1920s. It was intended to equip the clandestine air force that Germany was assembling at

Lipetsk Lipetsk (, ), also Romanization of Russian, romanized as Lipeck, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Lipetsk Oblast, Russia, located on the banks of the Voronezh (river), Voronezh River in the Do ...

. The layout owed something to designer Walter Rethel's time with

Fokker Fokker (; ) was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer that operated from 1912 to 1996. The company was founded by the Dutch aviator Anthony Fokker and became famous during World War I for its fighter aircraft. During its most successful period in the 19 ...

. Of conventional configuration, the SD I featured a welded steel tube frame, metal-covered ahead of the

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, on the front part of an aircraft, spacecraft, or submersible, from which a pilot controls the vehicle. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the controls th ...

, and fabric-covered aft of it. The wooden

sesquiplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a ...

wings were braced with N-type

interplane strut In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of struts, which act in ...

s, without any wires - a typical Fokker feature. In flight, performance and handling proved disappointing at anything but very low speeds. Questions also arose as to the structural soundness of the design, and development was terminated very soon thereafter.

Specifications

References

* * ''World Aircraft Information Files.'' Brightstar Publishing, London. File 889 Sheet 73
German Aircraft between 1919 - 1945
{{Arado aircraft SD I Biplanes Single-engined tractor aircraft 1920s German fighter aircraft de:Arado Ar 64#Arado SD I