Walraven 2

The Walraven 2 was a colonial Indonesian, twin-engine cabin monoplane, commissioned by the Chinese-Indonesian aviation pioneer Khouw Khe Hien, designed by Laurens Walraven, and built by personnel of the Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force during the 1930s.[1]

Walraven 2
Role Twin-engined cabin monoplane
National origin Dutch East Indies (present Indonesia)
Designer L W Walraven
First flight 4 January 1935
Status Destroyed
Number built 1

Design and development

The Walraven 2 was a two-seat low-wing cabin monoplane powered by two Pobjoy Niagara radial engines.[2] Utilising a Göttingen 681 airfoil,[3] the aircraft was designed by Laurens Walraven, who was Chief Engineer of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force, to the specification of Khouw Khe Hien, son of the millionaire Khouw Kim Goan.[4][5]

Operational history

The aircraft first flew on 4 January 1935.[2] Finding the aircraft to be satisfactory, the younger Khouw intended to start an aircraft company in the Netherlands East Indies, to build aircraft designed by Walraven.[6] To promote this venture, the Walraven 2 was flown from Indonesia to the Netherlands and back at the end of 1935.[2] His sister, Khouw Keng Nio, also made a name for herself by becoming the first woman of Chinese or colonial Indonesian nationality to become a certified pilot in March 1936.[5]

Despite this promising start to the venture, Khouw Khe Hien was killed in an air crash in February 1938, and the factory plan came to naught. The aircraft was placed in storage shortly thereafter, and was destroyed on 19 February 1942 in a Japanese air attack.[2]

Specifications

Data from [2]1000aircraftphotos.com

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2
  • Length: 7.8 m (25 ft 7 in)
  • Wingspan: 11 m (36 ft 1 in)
  • Height: 2.15 m (7 ft 1 in)
  • Wing area: 17.7 m2 (191 sq ft)
  • Airfoil: Göttingen 681
  • Empty weight: 626 kg (1,380 lb)
  • Gross weight: 1,100 kg (2,425 lb)
  • Powerplant: 2 × Pobjoy Niagara III seven-cylinder radial piston engine 7-cyl. air-cooled radial piston engine, 66 kW (88 hp) each

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 250 km/h (160 mph, 130 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 200 km/h (120 mph, 110 kn)
  • Range: 1,800 km (1,100 mi, 970 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 6,000 m (20,000 ft)

References
Notes
  1. Orbis 1985, p. 3078
  2. "JOHAN VISSCHEDIJK COLLECTION No. 7021. Walraven 2 Seletar (PK-KKH)". 31 October 2007. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
  3. Lednicer 2010
  4. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1936
  5. Mukthi, M. F. (February 10, 2014). "Historia". Burung Besi Pertama Buatan Hindia Belanda (in Indonesian). Historia. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  6. AAHS Journal, Volume 28, p.146
Bibliography
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