Ku-2
Role Research glider
National origin Japan
Manufacturer Kayaba Industry
Designer Hidemasa Kimura
First flight October 1940
Number built 1

The Kayaba Ku-2 (萱場 2型無尾翼滑空機) was a glider built in Japan in 1940 to investigate the possibilities of tailless aircraft.[1] It was developed as part of an Imperial Japanese Army contract that had been offered to designer Hidemasa Kimura following the successful flights of his HK-1 tailless glider over the previous years.

Developed with the help of the Kayaba Industry's chief designer Shigeki Naito, the Ku-2 had a swept wing with two vertical fins at the end of the wings. The Ku-2 flew 262 test flights between October 1940 and May 1941 before being damaged beyond repair in a crash.


Specifications

General characteristics

  • Crew: One pilot
  • Length: 3.04 m (10 ft 0 in)
  • Wingspan: 9.80 m (32 ft 2 in)
  • Wing area: 14.5 m2 (156 sq ft)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 75 km/h (47 mph, 41 kn)

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kayaba Ku-2.
  1. ↑ Wooldridge, E. T.; National Air and Space Museum (1983). Winged wonders: the story of the flying wings. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 85. ISBN 978-0874749663.
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