The Japanese Army Air Force emerged as the most significant foreign operator of the German Bücker Bü 131, a courier and training aircraft.
It was not until 1944 that these aircraft were incorporated into their arsenal.
They were intended to succeed the obsolete Tachikawa Ki-17 in flight schools.
The Army Air Force constructed over 1,000 of these planes, and in early 1945, they tested an all-wood variant of the Ki-86-Ib equipped with a stronger engine to compensate for the increased weight of the design.
Specifications
Crew
2
Length
6.62 m (21 ft 9 in)
Wingspan
7.4 m (24 ft 3 in)
Height
2.25 m (7 ft 5 in)
Wing area
13.5 m2 (145 sq ft)
Airfoil
NACA 3410.5
Empty weight
380 kg (838 lb)
Gross weight
670 kg (1,477 lb)
Powerplant
Hitachi Ha47-11
82 kW (110 hp)
Propellers
2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller
Performance
Maximum speed
183 km/h (114 mph, 99 kn)
Cruise speed
170 km/h (110 mph, 92 kn)
Landing speed
82 km/h (51 mph; 44 kn)
Range
650 km (400 mi, 350 nmi)
Service ceiling
4,300 m (14,100 ft)
Time to altitude
1,000 m (3,300 ft) in five minutes and12 seconds
2,000 m (6,600 ft) in 12 minutes
3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 23 minutes
4,000 m (13,000 ft) in 45 minutes
Wing loading
46.3 kg/m2 (9.5 lb/sq ft)
Power/mass
0.120 kW/kg (0.073 hp/lb)
Sources
Luftwaffe Fledglings, 1935-1945, Luftwaffe Training Units & Their Aircraft-Barry Ketley & Mark Rolfe.
Bücker Flugzeugbau-S Wietstruk.
Die Deutsche Luftrüstung 1933-1945-H J Nowarra.
Die Bückers, Die Geschichte der ehemaligen Bücker-Flugzeugbau-GmbH und ihrer Flugzeuge-E König.
