Aichi Experimental Type 15-Ko Reconnaissance Seaplane (Mi-go)

The Aichi Experimental Type 15-Ko Reconnaissance Seaplane (Mi-go) was a prototype reconnaissance seaplane built by Aichi in the mid-1920s.

Aichi Experimental Type 15-Ko Reconnaissance Seaplane (Mi-go)
Role Reconnaissance seaplane
Manufacturer Aichi Kokuki
First flight 1925
Primary user Imperial Japanese Navy
Number built 4~

Design and development

The Mi-Go was built in response to an Imperial Japanese Navy requirement for a reconnaissance seaplane to replace the Hansa-Brandenburg W.33 in IJN service. The W.33 had been acquired by the IJN in 1922, but wasn't popular with crews due to poor handling and limited visibility afloat. The Mi-Go differed from the W.33 in having floats connected to the wings, a wooden airframe, fabric covered wings, and much lighter weight. Four prototypes of the Mi-Go were built; tests of which showed it to be longitudinally unstable in flight, although the first prototype used Dornier bench-type aileron balances, and the IJN selected the rival Nakajima Type 15 Reconnaissance Seaplane (E2N) for production instead.[1]

Operators
 Japan

Specifications

Data from Japanese Aircraft, 1910-1941,[2] airwar.ru[3]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2
  • Length: 9.485 m (31 ft 1 in)
  • Wingspan: 13.63 m (44 ft 9 in)
  • Height: 3.28 m (10 ft 9 in)
  • Empty weight: 1,200 kg (2,646 lb)
  • Gross weight: 1,700 kg (3,748 lb)
  • Max takeoff weight: 1,700 kg (3,748 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Mitsubishi Type Hi (Hispano ) V-8 water-cooled piston engine, 220 kW (300 hp)
  • Propellers: 2-bladed wooden fixed-pitch propeller

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 180.57 km/h (112.20 mph, 97.50 kn) at sea level
  • Cruise speed: 160 km/h (99 mph, 86 kn)
  • Stall speed: 96.3 km/h (59.8 mph, 52.0 kn)
  • Service ceiling: 4,800 m (15,700 ft)
  • Time to altitude: 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 18 minutes 19 seconds
  • Wing loading: 25.4 kg/m2 (5.2 lb/sq ft)
  • Power/mass: 7.6 kg/kW (12.5 lb/hp)

Armament

References
  1. "Aichi Experimental Type 15-Ko Reconnaissance Seaplane (Mi-go)". www.historyofwar.org.
  2. Mikesh, Robert C.; Shorzoe Abe (1990). Japanese Aircraft, 1910-1941. London: Putnam & Company Ltd. ISBN 0-85177-840-2.
  3. "Aichi Mi-go". www.airwar.ru.
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