The Astra-Protopopescu or Astra-Proto was a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

reconnaissance aircraft A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using Aerial photography, photography), signals ...

flown and tested in 1925.

Design and development

The Astra-Proto, designed by Lieutenant-Colonel

Ștefan Protopopescu Ștefan Protopopescu (14 January 1886 – 10 October 1929) was a Romanian officer and aviation pioneer, he held the no. 1 pilot license in Romania, being the first licensed pilot in Romania and the first pilot of the Romanian Army. Military care ...

and built by the

Astra Aircraft Factory The Astra Aircraft Factory () in Arad was the second Romanian factory to build aircraft. Its activity took place between 1923 and 1925, producing four models of aircraft: '' Astra-Șeșefschi'', Proto 1, Proto 2 and Astra-Proto. History From ...

at Arad was intended as a reconnaissance aircraft. It was a biplane with constant chord wings, straight-edged and slightly swept at about 2°. Their tips were rounded. The lower wing was a little shorter and smaller in area, providing 47% of the total. The structure of the wings, like that of the rest of the aircraft, was entirely wood and they were each built around two spars. It was a single bay biplane with significant stagger; the wings were relatively displaced horizontally by and separated vertically by . The bay was formed by a parallel pair of

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 on each side, together with bracing wires; each pair of struts leaned forwards because of the stagger and also slightly outwards. The central upper wing was joined to the upper fuselage by

cabane 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. These leaned outwards at the front and rear of the wing, the latter supplemented with a central, transverse inverted V-pair. Only the upper wing carried the long

aileron An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement aroun ...

s which occupied about 60% of the span. Its engine was a

Hispano-Suiza 8F The Hispano-Suiza 8 is a water-cooled V8 SOHC aero engine introduced by Hispano-Suiza in 1914 that went on to become the most commonly used liquid-cooled engine in the aircraft of the Entente Powers during the First World War. The original Hisp ...

water-cooled V-8 with its

radiator A radiator is a heat exchanger used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics. A radiator is always a ...

in the nose. The fuselage was basically of rectangular cross-section, though the upper fuselage was formed by a curved decking. The pilot's open

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 ...

was under the upper wing

trailing edge The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge meets.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 521. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. ...

; both the upper and lower trailing edges had cut-outs to improve his view. The observer/gunner sat in a second cockpit immediately behind the pilot, equipped with dual controls as well as cameras and radio. Three machine guns could also be mounted there. The fuselage tapered aft to conventional, unbalanced tail surfaces with a continuously curved

tailplane A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabilizer, is a small lift (force), lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters ...

and

elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...

s positioned near the top of the fuselage. The

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. F ...

and

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

were also smoothly curved together; the latter extended to the keel and worked in a rounded elevator cut-out. The Astra-Protopopescu had a conventional, fixed tailskid

undercarriage Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include: *The landing gear of an aircraft. *The ch ...

. A short V-form

strut A strut is a structural component commonly found in engineering, aeronautics, architecture and anatomy. Struts generally work by resisting longitudinal compression, but they may also serve in tension. A stay is sometimes used as a synonym for ...

was attached to each lower fuselage longeron, joined by a cross-piece at their apexes, above which a single axle bearing the main wheels was rubber sprung. The wooden tailskid was also rubber sprung. The exact date of the first flight of the Astra-Protopopescu is not known but its tests had been concluded by June 1925. Though the results were satisfactory and although it met the requirements set by the Romanian Ministry for War, no orders for serial production were received.

Specifications

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite journal , last=Béjar , first=Auguste, date=11 June 1925 , title= L'Avion Astra-Protopopescu, journal=Les Ailes, issue=208 , pages= 2 , url= http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6568240r/f2 {{cite book , last=Gudju , first=Ion , location=Brasov , author2=Gheorghe Iacobescu , author3=Ovidiu Ionescu , url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Romanian_Aeronautical_Constructions_1905-1974.pdf, title=Romanian Aeronautical Constructions 1905-1974, page=102 1920s Romanian military aircraft Ștefan Protopopescu

Design and development

Specifications

See also

References