Bücker Bü 181 Bestmann

what is it?

The Bücker Bü 181 Bestmann is a twin-seat single-engine aerobatic monoplane trainer aircraft designed and built by the German aviation company Bücker Flugzeugbau. It was extensively operated by the Luftwaffe throughout the Second World War. The Bü 181 was named Bestmann after a German maritime term designating a member of the deck crew on coastal or fishing vessels.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 10.6 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 215 km/htop speed
• range 800 kmwithout refuelling
• size 750 kgmax take-off weight
• built 3,400made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 87 years ago, in 1939.
• 🏎️Top speed is 1.7× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 10.6 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1939-02

introduced

1940

number built

3,400

role

trainer

origin

Nazi Germany

makers

Bücker Flugzeugbau

engines

1× Hirth HM 500A or 500B

crew

2

length

7.9 m

wingspan

10.6 m

height

2.1 m

max take-off weight

750 kg

top speed

215 km/h

cruise speed

195 km/h

range

800 km

ceiling

5,000 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.