Two new all-metal twin-engine light aircraft are being produced by the nationalized industry of Czechoslovakia. These planes are built by the Kovo Aviation Works and both are powered by 105 hp. Walter Minor 4-111 engines manufactured by the Let-Aviation Works at Prague.
Although it is normally a 4-place plane, the Aero 45 can be arranged to seat five persons. It has two front seats and an oversize double-seat in the rear where three passengers can be squeezed in. The large single-piece curved windshield and windows to the side and above afford unusually good visibility to passengers and pilot. A large luggage compartment is located behind the rear seat.
Entrance is made on the left side by stepping onto the wing and then past a hinged section of the cabin enclosure which can be locked in the up position. Part of the canopy can be jettisoned in emergency by pulling out a pin in the roof. The cockpit has dual controls and a full range of instrumentation. However, brakes are provided on the left side only. Two-way radio is optional.
The semi-monocoque fuselage is built in three sections. Fuselage nose, housing landing light, is hinged and can be opened downward to permit access to the battery, control systems and instruments.
Wings have two spars and the center section is integral with the bottom of the fuselage. Center section houses two 23-gals. Aluminum alloy fuel tanks between the spars. Fuel capacity can be upped to 82 gal. By addition of an 18-gal. Auxiliary tank in each of the easily detachable outer wing panels. To improve low-speed landing characteristics leading edge slats are installed between the engines and fuselage. These automatically open when the undercarriage is lowered.
The fabric-covered ailerons do not have trim tabs. Metal split flaps extend between ailerons and engines. Flaps are two-position type, 15 deg. for take-off and 55 deg. for landing, and are electrically operated.
Tail is of all-metal construction with fabric-covered rudder and elevator having cable-controlled trim tabs.
The electrically-operated main landing gear with 20 by 8-in. tires retracts aft into the nacelles and in an emergency can be lowered by hand cranking. Struts are oleo-pneumatic; wheels have mechanical servo brakes. The non-retracting tail wheel is fully castoring, but can partly lock in the center position.
Second of these planes is the Hodek 101, which has a fuselage of oval cross-section and is flush-riveted throughout. Its seating arrangement is tandem. The cockpit has dual controls actuating conventional cable-and-rod system, but front-seat controls are removable. Luggage compartment is located aft of the rear seat.
The 105-hp. engines are attached to the center section by four easily removable bolts. The center section houses four small fuel tanks having a total capacity of 44 gal. Giving the HK 101 a 625-mi. range.
Other characteristics are: conventional oleo-type landing gear, operated by means of a hand-pump retracting aft into the nacelles leaving a portion of the wheels exposed; fully castoring fixed tail wheel; split flaps inboard and outboard of nacelles; and fabric-covered control surfaces.
Kovo offers the HK 101 with these optional modifications: reduced or increased wing area, more powerful engines, variable pitch propellers (these will become standard if orders are received in quantity), complete radio and other training aids.
The Czech-designed 105-hp. Walter Minor engines are four-cylinder inverted in-line units mounted on rubber. With accessories, including oil tank and cooler, they form complete interchangeable power units which can be removed from the engine nacelles by removing four retaining bolts.
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