The Arado Ar 77, a German twin-engine monoplane, was developed as an advanced training aircraft starting in 1934. Featuring a thick cantilevered wooden wing, the Ar 77 had plywood skin on the under surfaces and fabric covering on the upper surfaces. The fuselage was constructed from welded steel tubing covered with fabric, while the tail surfaces were made from steel tubing and fabric covering. Unlike Arado’s typical design, the tailplane was high-mounted on the fin and supported by steel tube ‘N’ struts. The elevators and rudder were fabric-covered, aerodynamically balanced in the Ar 77A and lacking aerodynamic balance horns in the Ar 77B. Equipped with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage, the Ar 77 had cantilevered oleo pneumatic main leg struts with brakes and a tail wheel under the rear fuselage.
Variants Ar 77a The first prototype crew trainer constructed using Duralumin and wood. Ar 77b The second prototype constructed largely of wood Ar 77A The proposed production version of the Ar 77a Ar 77B A proposed version with tail surfaces that were not aerodynamically balanced, based on the Ar 77b.
Specifications
Crew
2
Capacity
2 students
Length
12.6 m (41 ft 4 in)
Wingspan
19.2 m (63 ft 0 in)
Height
3.25 m (10 ft 8 in)
Wing area
50.5 m2 (544 sq ft)
Aspect ratio
7.3
Empty weight
1,930 kg (4,255 lb)
Max take-off weight
2,940 kg (6,482 lb)
Fuel capacity
Fuel 340 l (74.79 imp gal) + oil 25 l (5.50 imp gal)
Powerplant
2 × Argus As 10C, 8-cylinder inverted V air cooled,
176.5 kW (236.7 hp) each
Propellers
2-bladed wooden propeller, 2.3 m (7 ft 7 in) diameter
Performance
Maximum speed
240 km/h (150 mph, 130 kn) at sea level
Cruise speed
200 km/h (120 mph, 110 kn)
Stall speed
84 km/h (52 mph, 45 kn)
Range
720 km (450 mi, 390 nmi)
Endurance
3 hours 36 minutes
Service ceiling
5,000 m (16,000 ft) on 2 engines
1,800 m (5,906 ft) on one engine
G limits
+7
Rate of climb
4.76 m/s (937 ft/min)
Time to altitude
1,000 m (3,281 ft) in 3 minutes 30 seconds
Wing loading
57.2 kg/m2 (11.7 lb/sq ft)
Power/mass
0.166 PS/kg (0.122 kW/kg; 0.074 hp/lb)
Fuel consumption.
59 l/km (25 US gal/mi; 21 imp gal/mi).
Sources Arado Geschichte Eines Flugzeugwerks-Jorg Armin Kranzhoff. Aircraft of the Luftwaffe 1935-1945, An Illustrated Guide-Jean-Denis GG LaPage. The Official Monogram Painting Guide to German Aircraft, 1935–1945—Kenneth A Merrick & Thomas H Hitchcock.
