The Ago Ao 192 Kurier (Courier) was a small German twin-engined aircraft designed and built by AGO Flugzeugwerke in the 1930s. A small production run of six aircraft followed three prototypes, these being used as transports.
The AGO Flugzeugwerke was re-established at Oschersleben in 1934,[1] with its first design a multi-purpose light-twin-engined aircraft offered against the same requirement for a light aircraft that produced the Gotha Go 146 and Siebel Fh 104.[2]
AGO's design, the Ao 192, was a low-winged cantilevermonoplane of all-metal construction. Its monocoque fuselage accommodated a crew of two pilots who sat side by side in an enclosed flight deck, while there were seats for five passengers in a separate cabin. It was powered by two 179 kW (240 hp) Argus As 10 and had a retractable tailwheel undercarriage.[1]
The first prototype made its maiden flight in mid-1935, soon being followed by a second aircraft, similar to the first. A third prototype, with a deeper fuselage allowing an additional passenger to be carried, more powerful engines and a revised undercarriage, formed the basis for the planned Ao 192B civil transport, with versions planned to serve as light transports, ambulance aircraft and survey aircraft. In addition, a number of military variants were proposed, including a light reconnaissance aircraft and a light bomber.[1]
AGO had large orders for licence-built aircraft for the Luftwaffe however, with much of their wartime work involved with Focke-Wulf, and only six AGO production aircraft could be built.[1]
Operational historyedit
The six production aircraft were acquired by the German state, with one being used as the personal transport of Dr Robert Ley, the head of the Reichsarbeitdienst (RAD/Reich Labour Service), while others were used as transports by the Waffen-SS and at the Luftwaffe test-centre at Rechlin.[1]
Variantsedit
Ao 192V1
First prototype. Argus As 10 C engines.
Ao 192V2
Second prototype, revised, braced, tailplane.
Ao 192V3
Third prototype. Argus As 10E engines, revised fuselage and undercarriage.
Ao 192B
Production series based on V3. Six built.
Specifications (Ao 192B)edit
Data fromAir International June 1977,[1]Flugzeug-Typenbuch 1941[3]
General characteristics
Crew: 1 pilot + 1 radio operator
Capacity: 6 passengers
Length: 10.98 m (36 ft 0 in)
Wingspan: 13.54 m (44 ft 5 in)
Height: 3.64 m (11 ft 11 in)
Wing area: 25.04 m2 (269.5 sq ft)
Empty weight: 1,640 kg (3,616 lb)
Gross weight: 2,860 kg (6,305 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 2,950 kg (6,504 lb)
Fuel capacity: main tank:410 L (110 US gal; 90 imp gal); oil tank:38 L (10 US gal; 8.4 imp gal)
^Schneider, Helmut (1941). Flugzeug-Typenbuch 1941 (in German) (1941 ed.). Leipzig: Herm. Beyer Verlag. p. 10.
Referencesedit
Munson, K. G. (1960). Enemy Aircraft (German and Italian) of World War II. London: Ian Allen. p. 64.
Lucchini, Carlo (April 1999). "Le meeting saharien de 1938" [The 1938 Sahara Air Meeting]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (73): 53–57. ISSN 1243-8650.