Leonard Motorless Aircraft Glider

Billed as the first two seat glider to enter production, the 1930 Leonard Motorless Aircraft Company glider of 1930 was designed by graduate aeronautical engineers to meet the requirements of the US Dept of Conmmerce.

The entire fuselage is constructed of steel tubing, welded at all joints and with bals wood inside. The wings are cloth covered and braced with spruce ribs.

Able to be flown from either seat with dual controls fitted, the glider was for sale in 1930 for $550.

Wingspan: 34 ft
Wing chord: 5 ft
Aspect ratio: 6.8
Empty weight: 210 lb
Landing speed: 19 mph
Auto tow ROC: 800 fpm
Glide ratio: 15-1

Lennert 1911 Biplane

In 1911 a biplane with an 18-foot wingspan was designed and built by Lennert in the USA.

Willie Lennert flew in his 18 ft. wing span Lennert Biplane (similar to a Demoiselle-type monoplane but with a second wing added below) powered by a Lennert 20 h.p. engine.

The first non-fatal accident at Cicero occurred in June 1911, to Willie Lennert while he was attempting to fly his small self-built Lennert Biplane.

Lendner 1912 Monoplane

Leo Lendner (Würzburg) built several flying machines in Germany during 1911-1913. This photograph was taken during a visit of k.u.k. military cadets at Würzburg in September 1912. It was sent as postcard to a girl of the family by that boy sitting in the 2nd cockpit – Max Graf von Tauffkirchen zu Guttenburg auf Ybm. Max was the lucky one to fly with Lendner on that machine, as he told.

Lemberger LD20b

The Karl Lemberger designed Lemberger LD20b cantilever biplane was one of this kind, designed with readily detachable wings and tailplane so that it could be towed by a car. Whilst towing, the wings were stowed alongside the fuselage. The tailskid was linked to the car via a luggage rack-like frame.

The upper and lower wings of the LD20b were very similar, with the same span, area and straight, near-constant chord, plan. The lower wings were attached to the lower fuselage longerons and the upper ones to cabane struts above the front of the cabin. They were arranged with considerable stagger. The wings were built around two closely spaced spars, with plywood skin from the rear spar forward forming a torsion box and fabric covering behind. Differential ailerons were mounted only on the lower wings.

The wooden, rectangular fuselage was plywood-covered to just behind the pilot’s seat and fabric-covered further aft apart from a curved plywood decking behind the cabin. The fin was integral with the fuselage and unusually shallow with the variable incidence tailplane mounted on top of it, a little above the fuselage and bearing damped elevators. The balanced rudder was much taller than the fin. The enclosed cabin seated two in tandem with the front seat under the upper wing and over the centre of gravity. Dual control was fitted. In front, a Walter Mikron inverted 4-cylinder engine drove a two-bladed propeller.

The LD20b was completed in 1971. Its first flights were made from EDSZ Rottweil-Zepfenhahn,(Germany), piloted by a Me 109 pilot. The next flight from Friedrichshafen, Germany, piloted by Arnold Wagner, an airline pilot, the Swiss aerobatic champion and designer of the Hirth Acrostar.

After its presentation at Friedrichshafen, Leonhard Kurt Kienlein took over ownership and the task of making the structural changes in order to make sure the plane did reach stable flight characteristics. He also maintained the aircraft. An enclosed, all-weather trailer was built to house the LD20. The last flight after a total of 368 hours was in 1998.

Engine: 1 × Walter Mikron 4-cylinder inverted air cooled, 46 kW (62 hp)
Propeller: 2-bladed
Length: 6.67 m (21 ft 11 in)
Wingspan: 7.28 m (23 ft 11 in)
Height: 2.20 m (7 ft 3 in)
Wing area: 14.00 m2 (150.7 sq ft) gross
Empty weight: 300 kg (661 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 538 kg (1,186 lb)
Maximum speed Est: 178 km/h (111 mph; 96 kn) at maximum take-off weight.
Cruising speed: 160 km/h (99 mph; 86 kn)
Time to altitude: 1,000 m (3275 ft) in 7 mins
Capacity: 2