The 1910 Penkala Biplane also called the Leptir () was the first aircraft to fly in Croatia.

Design and development

The Leptir was a single engine, sesquiplane aircraft with conventional landing gear. The open girder fuselage provides an unusually long distance to the tail surfaces, compared to modern aircraft. The flat bottom surface of the fuselage was covered, forming a long thin triangular surface intended to provide lift, which was not functional in level flight. The aircraft was tail heavy with a center of gravity at 70 percent of wing chord.

Penkala 1910 Biplane

Operational history

The first flight occurred on 22 June 1910 with pilot Dragutin Novak. The aircraft was crashed several months later.

Penkala 1910 Biplane

Variants

1910 Biplane

Original design

1910 Leptir II

Modifications to include skids

2010 CA-10 Replica

Replica aircraft - Powered by Rotax 912 with the center of gravity moved forward for safety.

Penkala 1910 Biplane

Specifications (Penkala Biplane)

References

External links

YouTube Video about the flight of the replica

Article about the aircraft

Image of Leptir I DEAD LINK

Single-engined tractor aircraft

Sesquiplanes

1910 in Croatia

Aircraft first flown in 1910

Conventional landing gear