Friedrichshafen FF.2

FF.2
Role	Floatplane
National origin	Germany
Manufacturer	Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen
First flight	1913
Number built	1

The Friedrichshafen FF.2 was a floatplane built in Germany in 1913. It was derived from a design by the Swiss pilot and designer René Grandjean. Only one aircraft was built before the design was reworked into the Friedrichshafen FF.4 the following year.

Background and description

Grandjean licensed the design for one of his aircraft to Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen which modified it as the FF.2. One aircraft was commissioned for a customer and it first flew sometime in 1913. Its ultimate fate is unknown.

The FF.2 was a single-seat monoplane with a pair of large floats attached to the forward fuselage with struts and a small one under the tail structure. It was powered by a 50-metric-horsepower (37 kW) Oerlikon four-cylinder flat engine in a tractor configuration at the front of the fuselage. The engine was cooled by radiators positioned on the sides of the fuselage.

Specifications (FF.2)

Data from Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen GmbH: Diplom-Ingenieur Theodor Kober

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 9.8 m (32 ft 2 in)
• Wingspan: 11 m (36 ft 1 in)
• Wing area: 20 m² (220 sq ft)
• Gross weight: 972 kg (2,143 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Oerlikon 4-cylinder, water-cooled flat engine, 37 kW (50 hp)
• Propellers: 2-bladed

Performance

• Time to altitude: 560 m (1,840 ft) in 8 minutes

Bibliography

• Borzutzki, Siegfried (1993). Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen GmbH: Diplom-Ingenieur Theodor Kober [Friedrichshafen Aircraft Company: Diploma-Engineer Theodore Kober] (in German). Berlin: Burbach. ISBN 3-927513-60-1.
• Herris, Jack (2016). Friedrichshafen Aircraft of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes. Great War Aviation Centennial Series. Vol. 21. Charleston, South Carolina: Aeronaut Books. ISBN 978-1-935881-35-3.
• Vidal, Ricardo Miguel. "OERLIKON". www.aeroenginesaz.com. Retrieved 23 February 2023.