Arado Ar 66

The Arado Ar 66 was a German single engine, two seat training biplane, developed in 1933.

It was also used for night ground attack missions on the Eastern Front.

The Ar 66 had an Argus As 10 air cooled inverted V8 engine producing about 179 kW (240 hp), which drove a 2.5 m (8.2 ft) two blade propeller.

It carried 205 L (54 US gal) of fuel, and 17 L (4 US gal) of oil.

The fuselage had an oval cross section and was made of welded steel tubes, covered with fabric.

The double wings provided very high lift, even at low speeds.

Both wings had the same span and an 8° sweep.

Construction consisted of a double pine wing spar structure, with lime tree ribs, and fabric covering.

There were ailerons in both the upper and lower wings.

The tail had a conventional design, with the horizontal stabilizers mounted on the fuselage upper edge. The rudder was placed behind the elevators.

Both the rudder and the elevators were of steel tube covered in fabric, and had a bigger surface than the first version to correct balance problems.

The steel tube undercarriage was attached to the fuselage in a “V” shape and used high-pressure rubber suspension.

The crew consisted of two, instructor pilot and trainee, seated in open tandem cockpits, equipped with dual controls.

The aircraft was equipped with instrument flight systems with photographic cameras were mounted as optional equipment.

Specifications

Crew

Two

Length

8.3 m (27 ft 3 in)

Wingspan

10 m (32 ft 10 in)

Height

2.93 m (9 ft 7 in)

Wing area

29.63 m2 (318.9 sq ft)

Aspect ratio

6.2

Empty weight

905 kg (1,995 lb)

Max take-off weight

1,330 kg (2,932 lb)

Fuel capacity

Main tank

172 l (45 US gal; 38 imp gal);

Reserve tank

33 l (8.7 US gal; 7.3 imp gal);

Oil tank

17 l (4.5 US gal; 3.7 imp gal)

Powerplant

1 × Argus As 10C, inverted V-8 air-cooled piston engine,

179 kW (240 hp)

Propellers

2 bladed wooden fixed pitch propeller,

2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) diameter

Performance

Maximum speed

210 km/h (130 mph, 110 kn) at sea level

Cruise speed

175 km/h (109 mph, 94 kn) at optimum altitude

Landing Speed

80 km/h (50 mph; 43 kn)

Range

716 km (445 mi, 387 nmi)

Endurance

4.1 hours

Service ceiling

4,500 m (14,800 ft)

Rate of climb

4.333 m/s (853.0 ft/min)

Time to altitude

1,000 m (3,300 ft) in 4.1 minutes

Wing loading

45 kg/m2 (9.2 lb/sq ft)

Power/mass

7.44 kg/kW (12.24 lb/hp)

Fuel consumption

26.7 l (7.1 US gal; 5.9 imp gal) / 100 km (62 mi)

Oil consumption

0.86 l (0.23 US gal; 0.19 imp gal) / 100 km (62 mi)

Armament

2 kg (4.4 lb)

&

4 kg (8.8 lb) anti personnel bombs.