Dornier Do K

Dornier Do K
	Do K3
Role	Airliner
National origin	Germany
Manufacturer	Dornier
Designer	Claude Dornier
First flight	7 May 1929 (Do K1)
Number built	3

The Dornier Do K was a German commercial passenger and freight monoplane, designed by Claude Dornier and built by Dornier Flugzeugwerke.^[1] Only three prototypes of different designs were built and the type was not a commercial success.^[1]

Design and development

Do K1

The first Dornier Do K was the K1 which first flew on 7 May 1929.^[1] The K1 was a conventionally-braced high-wing monoplane, powered by a single nose-mounted 510 hp (380 kW) licence-built Bristol Jupiter VI radial engine, and had a conventional landing gear with a tailskid.^[1] The square-section fuselage had an enclosed cockpit for two with a cabin behind for freight or eight passengers.^[1] Test flights showed that performance was poor and the aircraft was redesigned.^[1]

Do K2

The Do K2 flew in December 1929 with similar wings and fuselage but had a changed landing gear and four 240 hp (179 kW) Gnome-Rhone Titan radial engines.^[1] The four engines were strut mounted on each side of the fuselage in tandem pairs, one in tractor configuration and the other as a pusher.^[1] Although the aircraft had an increase in available power, the performance was little improved on the K1.^[1]

Do K3

The K3 was a complete rethink of the design. The braced wing was replaced with a cantilever wing of larger span.^[1] The fuselage was changed to oval and stretched for two extra passengers and the tailskid was replaced with a tailwheel and the main units were enclosed in fairings.^[1] The four engines were in the same tandem arrangement as the K2, but located lower on the fuselage and changed to 305 hp (227 kW) Walter Castor radial engines.^[1] The performance was greatly improved but still provoked little interest and no others were built.^[1]

Specifications (Do K3)

Data from ^[1] The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft

General characteristics

Crew: two
Capacity: ten
Length: 16.65 m (54 ft 7.5 in)
Wingspan: 25 m (82 ft 0.25 in)
Height: 4.55 m (14 ft 11.25 in)
Wing area: 89 m² (958.02 sq ft)
Empty weight: 4,265 kg (9,403 lb)
Gross weight: 6,200 kg (13,669 lb)
Powerplant: 4 × Walter Castor radial piston engine , 227 kW (305 hp) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 230 km/h (143 mph, 124 kn)
Range: 800 km (497 mi, 432 nmi)
Service ceiling: 6,000 m (19,685 ft)

References

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ Orbis 1985, p. 1494

Bibliography

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing.

External links

"Do-K Shows Speed In Test Flights", May 1932, Popular Mechanics

[orbis-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ Orbis 1985, p. 1494

[1]

v t e Dornier and Zeppelin-Lindau aircraft
Zeppelin-Lindau 1914-1919	Rs.I Rs.II Rs.III Rs.IV CL.I CL.II CS.I D.I Gs.I Gs.II V 1
Dornier designations 1919-1933	Do A Do B Do C Do D Do E Do F Do G (project) Do H Do J Do K Do L Do N Do O Do P Do Q Do R Do S Do T Do U Do V Do X Do Y Delphin Falke Komet Libelle Merkur Spatz Wal
RLM designations 1933-1945	Do 10 Do 11 Do 12 Do 13 Do 14 Do 15 Do 16 Do 17 (Operational history) Do 18 Do 19 Do 20 Do 22 Do 23 Do 24 Do 25 Do 26 Do 29 Do 212 Do 214 Do 215 Do 216 Do 217 Do 317 Do 318 Do 335 Do 417 Do 435 Do 635 P.59 P.85 P.174 P.184 P.192 P.231 P.232 P.238 P.247 P.252 P.254 P.256 P.273 P.1075
Dornier designations post-1945	Do 24 Do 25 Do 27 Do 28 Do 29 Do 31 Do 32 Do 32K Do 34 128 Do 131 Do 132 228 Do 231 328 328JET 428 528 728JET 928JET Aerodyne Alpha Jet Projekt 621 Seastar S-Ray 007
See also Claude Dornier and Dornier Museum Friedrichshafen