HFB 320 Hansa Jet

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HFB 320 Hansa Jet
The HFB-320 is a business aircraft with twin aft-mounted turbojets
Role Business jet
National origin Germany
Manufacturer Hamburger Flugzeugbau
First flight 21 April 1964
Retired Military: 24 June 1994

Civilian: 30 November 2004

Status Retired
Primary user West German Air Force
Number built 47[1]

The HFB 320 Hansa Jet is a twin-engine, ten-seat business jet that was designed and produced by German aircraft manufacturer Hamburger Flugzeugbau between 1964 and 1973. The most recognisable and unconventional feature of the aircraft is its forward-swept wing.

The Hansa Jet begun development during the 1960s, the selection of the forward-swept wing can be largely attributed to head engineer

stall
characteristics.

VIP
transport duties. During 1973, it was decided to end production of the Hansa Jet. Reasons for the programme's termination include increased competition from newer executive jets, a decline in the value of the US dollar, and the limited sales of the type. The German Air Force continued to operate their Hansa Jets into the early 1990s. A limited number continued to be used amongst civilian operators into the 21st century.

Development

Origins

The selected General Electric CJ610 turbojet is derived from the military J85, pictured

During the early 1960s, American businessman and inventor Bill Lear successfully launched the Learjet 23, one of the first light business jets.[2] Several other manufacturers paid heed to this newly-found niche in the global aircraft market, one of these being the German aircraft manufacturer Hamburger Flugzeugbau. At this time, the company was reportedly keen to reassert its authority as a design agency and looking for a suitable commercially viable project in light of limited funding available from the West German government.[3] Having identified the development of its own business jet as a suitable venture, Hamburger Flugzeugbau tasked its design team with producing an innovative small jet aircraft of its own.[2]

The head of Hamburger Flugzeugbau's engineering team, German

Aerodynamische Versuchsanstalt in Göttingen, the Nationaal Lucht- en Ruimtevaartlaboratorium in Amsterdam, and Modane in France.[3]

The selection of the American General Electric CJ610 turbojet engine to power the design was a straightforward choice; at the time, there was no other compact turbojets that had reached quantity manufacture yet.[2] It provided some benefits, such as a relatively high thrust output, but was both noisy and fuel-hungry. Despite this power, the Hansa Jet required a runway length of roughly 5,900 feet, preventing it from using most smaller airports thus limiting its practicality.[2] Possessing a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 20,280-pounds, it was a relatively heavy aircraft compared with several competing business jets, such as the pre-existing Learjet 23 that had motivated the Hansa Jet's development.[6][2]

While the German manufacturer would construct the majority of the airframe, including the fuselage, engine pods and control system within its own factory, Hamburger Flugzeugbau formed partnerships with multiple other aircraft manufactures, including

CASA, Dutch Fokker and American Lockheed Corporation, which produced several other elements of the airframe abroad at their own facilities.[6] On 18 March 1964, assembly of the first prototype Hansa Jet was completed; its use in a round of ground-based testing commenced immediately thereafter.[3]

Into flight

The prototype HFB 320 Hansa Jet displayed at the May 1964 Hanover Air Show

On 21 April 1964, the prototype conducted its

stall characteristics, including the installation of a stick pusher.[2]

Assembly of the first ten production aircraft commenced during May 1965, the first of these reportedly flew on 2 February 1966. The granting of

type certification by German authorities was achieved on 23 February 1967, certification from the American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) followed on 7 April 1967. Deliveries commenced during the following year.[2] According to aviation journalist Richard Collins, Hamburger Flugzeugbau's sales and service teams appeared to make only half-hearted efforts, which led to little customer interest in comparison to other business jets. In the long run, this inability to generated sales soon brought about the end of the programme.[2]

Factors such as increased competition from newer executive jets and a comparatively poor safety record had contributed to dwindling orders during the late 1960s; during 1973, production of the type was ceased. According to EADS, the multinational successor company to Hamburger Flugzeugbau, the decision to terminate further development efforts involving the Hansa Jet had been attributed to the intense international competition from rival manufacturers, as well as a decline in value of the U.S. dollar during this period.[6]

In 1969, the $840,000 HFB 320 was to be developed into the $1.7 million, Mach 0.76 HFB 330: flight-testing was to start in 1971 for FAR 25 certification by late 1972. It would have been stretched by 27.5 in (70 cm) and powered by

thrust reversers
for short-field operation. A 7,300 lb (3,300 kg) fuel capacity would have gave it a maximum endurance over seven hours and a transcontinental range of 2,000 mi (1,700 nmi; 3,200 km) with five people.[9]

Design

HFB 320 schematic

The HFB 320 Hansa Jet is a mid-wing monoplane of a somewhat conventional layout, being powered by a rear-mounted twin jet engines beneath a T-tail. Constructed entirely of metal, it has a 10-seat passenger cabin and retractable undercarriage. As certified, the Hansa Jet can carry up to 12 passengers. Its General Electric CJ610 turbojet engines enabled the aircraft to achieve a maximum speed of 900 km/h (486 kn) along with a maximum endurance in excess of 2,200 km (1,200 nmi).[6] The decision to mount these engines far aft contributed to the relatively quiet cabin.[2]

An unusual feature of the Hansa Jet is its

wing spar to pass through the fuselage behind the passenger cabin, thus leaving it unencumbered by carry-through spars or similar structural elements; this choice facilitated the adoption of a longer cabin with more seats while maintaining adequate headroom in the small-diameter fuselage.[2] As of 2019
, the HFB 320 remains the only civilian jet ever to have a forward-swept wing.

For added safety, the Hansa Jet was furnished with triple-redundant systems. It was also provisioned with a fully automated fuel system, having a 4,070 L (1,075 US gal) capacity distributed across multiple fuel tanks located in the fuselage, wing, and wing tips.

thrust reversers.[2]

Operational history

German Air Force HFB 320 ECM with nose radome and additional aerials

The first customer for the Hansa Jet was the Italian construction materials manufacturer

Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales oil company.[citation needed
]

During 1963, the German Air Force placed an order for 13 HFB 320s.[citation needed] As part of the evaluation of the type, two preproduction aircraft were delivered to the ErpSt 61 test wing at Oberpfaffenhoffen in 1966.[1][11] As a consequence of this evaluation, a total of six aircraft were ordered for VIP transport duties by the German Air Force; deliveries of these aircraft commenced during 1969.[1]

Additionally, a further eight Hansa jets were purchased by the German Air Force for providing

Canadair Challengers in the VIP role; the service's ECM aircraft remained operational until their withdrawal in 1994.[1]

The

Aviation Safety Network lists a total of nine accidents (six fatal) for the type,[12] a 20 percent hull-loss rate, but only the crash of the prototype was directly attributable to the aircraft's design; pilot error was blamed in a majority of the accidents. According to aviation publication AIN Online, perhaps the last flying Hansa in the U.S. crashed on 30 November 2004.[6] Because of the low number of airframes remaining, it became economically impractical to re-engine or install hush kits on the Hansa Jet's relatively-noisy CJ610 engines.[2]

Operators

Golden West Airlines HFB-320

Civilian operators

 Canada
 Libya
  • Libyan Arab Airlines
 United States

Military operators

 West Germany

Specifications (HFB 320)

Data from Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1973–74 [14]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2
  • Capacity: 7, 11 or 15 passenger configurations / 1,814 kg (3,999 lb) payload in freighter versions
  • Length: 16.61 m (54 ft 6 in)
  • Wingspan: 14.49 m (47 ft 6 in) inc. tip-tanks
  • Height: 4.94 m (16 ft 2 in)
  • Wing area: 30.14 m2 (324.4 sq ft)
  • Aspect ratio: 6
  • Airfoil: root: NACA 65A(1.5)13; tip: NACA 63A(1.8)11[15]
  • Empty weight: 5,425 kg (11,960 lb)
  • Max takeoff weight: 9,218 kg (20,322 lb)
  • Fuel capacity: 4,140 L (1,094 US gal; 911 imp gal) usable fuel
  • Powerplant: 2 ×
    General Electric CJ610-9 turbojet aircraft, 14 kN (3,100 lbf) thrust each [a]

Performance

  1. ^ The first 15 production units used General Electric CJ610-1 engines; the next 20 units used the more powerful CJ610-5; subsequent units used the CJ610-9.

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

References

  1. ^ a b c d Sloot, Emiel. "Hansa Jet Retirement". Air International, October 1994, Vol 47 No 4. pp. 234–235. ISSN 0306-5634, p. 234-235.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Bedell, Peter A. "Quick Look: Hansa Jet: The ‘German LearJet’ was forward thinking, yet doomed." aopa.org, 1 February 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d "Sweptforward Wings for the HFB 320 Hansa." Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 36, No. 8, 1 August 1964. pp. 248–251. ISSN 0002-2667.
  4. ^ Heppenheimer, T.A. (1 March 2003). "Wrong Turns". Air & Space/Smithsonian. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  5. ^ Sweetman, Bill. "Junkers Ju287 Technology Surprise, 1945-Style." Archived 2018-09-19 at the Wayback Machine Aviation Week, 1 September 1914.
  6. ^ a b c d e Thurber, Mark. "AD places limit on rare Hansa jet." AIN Online, 21 September 2006.
  7. ^ Taylor, John W. R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1965–66. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, 1965, p. 74.
  8. ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident MBB HFB-320 Hansa Jet D-CHFB Madrid-Torrejon AFB (TOJ)". aviation-safety.net.
  9. ^ "At the NBAA convention". Flight International. 9 October 1969.
  10. ISBN 0-354-00051-9
    , p. 97.
  11. ^ "HFB 320 HANSA JET" Archived 2012-03-26 at the Wayback Machine. hansajet.de. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
  12. ^ [1] HFB 320 Hansa Accident Summary
  13. ^ "Jet Hansa Corporation". Airline History. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  14. ISBN 9780354001175
    .
  15. ^ Lednicer, David. "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". m-selig.ae.illinois.edu. Retrieved 16 April 2019.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to HFB-320 Hansa Jet.
  • Mondey, David (1982). Encyclopedia of the World's Commercial and Private Aircraft. New York City: Crescent Books. p. 201.
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