Erla 5

Erla 5
The Erla 5 prototype, D-2378
Role Sport aircraft
National origin Germany
Manufacturer Erla
Designer Franz Mehr
First flight 18 July 1932

The Erla 5 (originally, Erla Me 5) was a light, single-seat sport aircraft built in small numbers in Germany in the early 1930s.[1][2][3] A trainer version was demonstrated on long-distance flights in 1939,[4] but failed to attract orders.[1][5]

Design

The Erla 5 was designed by Franz Mehr.[6] It was a low-wing, cantilever monoplane[1][2][3] of conventional configuration.[2][3] It had fixed, tailskid undercarriage,[1][2][3] and a conventional tail.[2][3] Power was supplied by a piston engine in the nose driving a tractor propeller.[2][3] The pilot sat in an open cockpit.[2][3] The wings were detachable and the aircraft was designed to be towed by road.[7][3] Construction was of wood throughout, and covered in plywood except for the fabric-covered control surfaces.[1][2][3] It was capable of aerobatics.[3]

Contemporary publications referred to it as a Volksflugzeug ("people's aircraft" in German).[8] The price in 1935 was 3,875 Reichsmarks[9] (about €20,150 in 2024[10]).

Operational history

The Erla 5 prototype first flew on 18 July 1932.[11]

Between 1 April and 20 May 1939, Friedrich Aufermann made a three-continent flight in an Erla 5, from Europe to Asia, Africa, and back again, covering around 20,000 kilometres (12,000 mi).[12] On 2 August, Heinz Gabler set a class distance record in an Erla 5, flying from Friedrichshafen to Vännäs, 1,915 kilometres (1,190 miles).[13]

As of 2020, one Erla 5 was still preserved in flying condition, a privately owned example in Switzerland, registered HB-SEX.[14]

Variants

  • Erla Me 5
  • Erla Me 5a
  • Erla Me 5b
  • Erla Me 5c
  • Erla 5D

Specifications (variant)

Data from Grey & Bridgman 1935, p.172

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in)
  • Wingspan: 11.00 m (36 ft 1 in)
  • Height: 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
  • Wing area: 13.7 m2 (147 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 220 kg (485 lb)
  • Gross weight: 340 kg (750 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × DKW liquid-cooled, two-cylinder, horizontally opposed engine, 15 kW (20 hp)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 125 km/h (78 mph, 67 kn)
  • Range: 400 km (250 mi, 220 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 3,500 m (11,500 ft)
  • Time to altitude: 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) in 9 minutes

Notes

References

  1. ^ a b c d e The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft 1983, p.1615.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Grey & Bridgman 1935, p.171
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j L'avion de sport et de tourisme D.K.W. Erla Me 5 a (Allemagne) 1933, p.277
  4. ^ Seifert 2011, p.106–12
  5. ^ Seifert 2011, p.112
  6. ^ Seifert 2011, p.28
  7. ^ Seifert 2011, p.36
  8. ^ Seifert 2011, p.31–33
  9. ^ Grey & Bridgman 1935, p.172
  10. ^ Kaufkraftäquivalente historischer Beträge in deutschen Währungen 2025
  11. ^ Seifert 2011, p.31
  12. ^ Seifert 2011, p.110
  13. ^ Seifert 2011, p.111
  14. ^ Die HB-SEX fliegt wieder 2020

Bibliography

  • "L'avion de sport et de tourisme D.K.W. Erla Me 5 a (Allemagne)" [The DKW Erla Me 5a sport and tourism aeroplane (Germany)]. L'Aérophile [The Aerophile] (in French). Vol. 41, no. 9. Paris: L'Aérophile. September 1933. p. 277.
  • Grey, C.G.; Bridgman, Leonard (1935). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1935. London: Sampson Low Marston.
  • "Die HB-SEX fliegt wieder" [The HB-SEX is flying again]. Cockpit (in German). Schinznach-Bad: SAMedia. 16 November 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing.
  • "Kaufkraftäquivalente historischer Beträge in deutschen Währungen" [Purchasing power equivalents of historical amounts in German currencies] (PDF) (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Deutsche Bundesbank. January 2025. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  • Seifert, Karl-Dieter (2011). DKW und die Erla Me-Flugzeug [DKW and the Erla Me(hr) Aeroplanes] (in German). Erfurt: Sutton Verlag.
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