VEF I-15

The VEF I-15 was a Latvian advanced trainer aircraft of the 1930s. Two examples of the I-15, a small, single-engined monoplane were built by the VEF to the designs of Kārlis Irbītis and were used by the Latvian Air Force

VEF I-15
Role Advanced trainer
National origin Latvia
Manufacturer VEF
Designer Kārlis Irbītis
First flight 1939
Primary user Latvian Air Force
Number built 2

Development and design

In 1938, the Latvian aircraft designer Kārlis Irbītis, working at the Valsts Elektrotehniskā Fabrika (VEF) at Riga commenced design of a single-seat advanced trainer as a follow on to his earlier, similar VEF I-14 aircraft. The I-15 was a low-winged monoplane of all-wooden construction, powered by a single de Havilland Gipsy Six air-cooled engine, and fitted with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage.[1]

In April 1939,[2] the first prototype, the I-15a, powered by a 200 hp (149 kW) Gypsy Six I driving a two-bladed fixed-pitch wooden propeller, made its maiden flight, while a second prototype, the I-15b, was powered by a 220 hp (167 kW) Gypsy Six II engine driving a variable-pitch propeller, and armed with a single synchronised machine gun followed, this demonstrating improved performance.[1]

The two I-15 prototypes were transferred to the Latvian Air Force for use as advanced trainers,[1] while a further two aircraft, to be designated I-15bis and powered by Hispano-Suiza 6 Mb engines were ordered by the Air Force, but on 17 June 1940, the Soviet Union occupied Latvia, ordering all aviation related work to be stopped.[3]

Specifications (I-15b)

Data from Air International, January 1979 [1]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 7.10 m (23 ft 4 in)
  • Wingspan: 8.00 m (26 ft 3 in)
  • Height: 2.10 m (6 ft 11 in) [4]
  • Wing area: 10.77 m2 (115.9 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 750 kg (1,653 lb)
  • Gross weight: 960 kg (2,116 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × de Havilland Gipsy Six Series II six-cylinder inverted air-cooled inline engine, 160 kW (220 hp)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 331 km/h (206 mph, 179 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 300 km/h (190 mph, 160 kn) (max continuous cruise)
  • Range: 610 km (380 mi, 330 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 7,000 m (23,000 ft)

Armament

Notes
  1. Air International January 1979, pp. 45–46
  2. Vercamer,Arvo. VEF IRBITIS I-15 (I-15a and I-15b) Archived 2005-12-17 at the Wayback Machine. latvianaviation.com. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
  3. Davis 1992, p.62.
  4. VEF I-15. SAMOLOTY WOJSKOWE ŚWIATA 1935-1945. (In Polish). Retrieved 13 December 2009.

References
  • Davis, Chuck. "Latvia's Little Hawk". Air Enthusiast, Forty-eight, December 1992 to February 1993. ISSN 0143-5450. pp. 58–64.
  • "Plane Facts:Latvian lightweight". Air International, January 1979, Vol. 16 No. 1. pp. 45–46.
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