The unusual

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Budig glider participated in the second (1921) Rhön competition, though without distinction. It was later fitted with a low power engine, making it probably the first powered glider. Budig in powered flight

Design and development

The Budig glider was a single seat

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 ...

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 ...

of unequal span and chord with three forward surfaces supported on a pair of box section booms. The upper foreplane was claimed to provide automatic stability and carried an

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 ...

behind it, though Flight remarked that "It is difficult, from the illustration, to make out exactly what this arrangement is supposed to do." The pilot sat at 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. ...

, completely exposed at the front of a short central

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

which supported a rectangular

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 ...

By 1923 a small,

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

horizontally opposed A flat engine is a piston engine where the cylinders are located on either side of a central crankshaft. Flat engines are also known as horizontally opposed engines, however this is distinct from the less common opposed-piston engine design, ...

motorcycle engine A motorcycle engine is an engine that powers a motorcycle. Motorcycle engines are typically two-stroke or four-stroke internal combustion engines, but other engine types, such as Wankel engine, Wankels and electric motors, have been used. Altho ...

had been added, mounted in

pusher configuration In aeronautical and naval engineering, pusher configuration is the term used to describe a drivetrain of air- or watercraft with propulsion device(s) after the engine(s). This is in contrast to the more conventional tractor configuration, wh ...

behind the pilot who now sat at the

leading edge The leading edge is the part of the wing that first contacts the air;Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 305. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. alternatively it is the foremost edge of an airfoil sectio ...

of the upper wing behind a more substantial nose. It drove a very small diameter

propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

. To accommodate the powerplant the central rear fuselage was replaced by rearward extensions of the booms, assisted by another, finer pair from the upper wings, which carried twin rectangular fins with a second elevator surface between them. Budig engine

The little engine probably did not have enough power to get the Budig airborne but was used to maintain altitude or decrease the sink rate; launches were made with the usual

bungee cord file:Bungee Cord PICT6882a.jpg, Bungee cords equipped with metal hooks A bungee cord (sometimes spelled bungie; also known as a shock cord or an ocky strap) is an elastomer, elastic cord composed of one or more elastic strands forming a core, usua ...

catapult. Nonetheless, Flight noted it as " probably the first glider with an auxiliary engine to fly".

Specifications

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite magazine , date=8 September 1921 , title=Soaring Flight in Germany, magazine=

Flight Flight or flying is the motion (physics), motion of an Physical object, object through an atmosphere, or through the vacuum of Outer space, space, without contacting any planetary surface. This can be achieved by generating aerodynamic lift ass ...

, volume=XIII , issue=36 , pages=601, 603 , url= http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1921/1921%20-%200601.html {{cite magazine , date=4 January 1923 , title= Gliding, Soaring and Air-sailing, magazine=

, volume=XV , issue=1 , pages=9–11 , url= http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1923/1923%20-%200009.html 1920s German sailplanes Motor gliders Aircraft first flown in 1921 Biplanes