The Klemm L 26, later Klemm Kl 26, was a low-wing

trainer aircraft A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristic ...

built by

Klemm The Klemm Leichtflugzeugbau GmbH ("Klemm Light Aircraft Company") was a German aircraft manufacturer noteworthy for sports and touring planes of the 1930s. The company was founded in Böblingen in 1926 by Dr. Hanns Klemm, who had previously work ...

Design and development

The L 26 was a larger, reinforced development of the Klemm L 25. Like the L 25, the L 26 was a single engined low-wing

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

with fixed

conventional landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft Landing gear, undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the Center of gravity of an aircraft, center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail ...

. Most variants were two-seaters with tandem open cockpits.

Operational history

The L 26 was first flown in 1928 and entered production the following year and was produced until 1936. The L 26 was also produced in the United States by Aeromarine-Klemm as the AKL-26. In 1931, Oskar Dinort won the ' in an L 26 Va. Other notable pilots of the L 26 included

Ernst Udet Ernst Udet (26 April 1896 – 17 November 1941) was a German pilot during World War I and a ''Luftwaffe'' Colonel-General (''Generaloberst'') during World War II. Udet joined the Imperial German Air Service in April 1915 at the age of 19 ...

and

Elly Beinhorn Elly Beinhorn (30 May 1907 – 28 November 2007) was a pioneering German female aircraft pilot. Life Early life She was born in Hannover, Germany on 30 May 1907. In 1928, she attended a lecture by famed aviator Hermann Köhl, who had rece ...

Variants

Klemm

''This is an incomplete list.'' ;L 26 II :Two-seat trainer,

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating engine, reciprocating type internal combustion engine, internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinder (engine), cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. ...

:*L 26 IIc, cowl ring ;L 26 III :Enclosed cockpit ;L 26 V :Two-seat trainer :*L 26 Va, 95 hp Argus As 8A-2 engine :*L 26 Vc, 120 hp Argus As 8 engine; most produced variant :*L 26 Ve, 120 hp Argus As 8A-3 engine ;VL 26 :Three-seat touring aircraft ;L 27 :Enlarged front cockpit ;L 28 :Aerobatics aircraft, 150 hp

Siemens-Halske Sh 14A The Siemens-Halske Sh 14 was a seven-cylinder air-cooled radial engine for aircraft produced in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s. First run in 1928, it was rated at 93 kW (125 hp). It was briefly distributed in the United States by Ryan A ...

engine ;L 30 :

Homebuilt aircraft Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...

based on the L 25/26

Aeromarine-Klemm

;AKL-60 :Prototypes of the AKL-26, 3 built ;AKL-26 :70 hp LeBlond engine, 7 built ;AKL-26 Special :

Floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...

conversion of the AKL-26 with

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

floats and a 65 hp

Velie Velie was a brass era United States, American automobile brand produced by the Velie Motors Corporation in Moline, Illinois from 1908 to 1928. The company was founded by and named for Willard Lamb Velie, Willard Velie, a maternal grandson of Joh ...

M-5 engine, one converted ;AKL-26A :Extra fuel tank, one AKL-26 converted ;L-26A :Floatplane version of the AKL-26A, at least 14 built ;L-26B :Also AKL-26B or AKL-85, 85 hp LeBlond 85-5DF engine, floats optional ;L-26X :65 hp Velie M-5 engine ;L-27 :Also AKL-27, L-26B with 110 hp LeBlond 110-7DF engine

Survivors

Klemm Aeromarine AKL-26A NC320N Rhinebeck 10

Of the 170 aircraft built in Germany, only one survived

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and that aircraft no longer exists. However, an American-built AKL-26 is on display in a dismantled state at

Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome The Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome is a living museum in Red Hook, New York, Red Hook, New York, adjacent to the town of Rhinebeck (town), New York, Rhinebeck. Founded in 1958, it owns many examples of airworthy aircraft from the Aviation in the pioneer ...

in Red Hook,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Specifications (AKL-26A)

References

{{RLM aircraft designations Klemm aircraft 1920s German civil trainer aircraft 1920s German sport aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1928