Letov Š-39

what is it?

The Letov Š-39 was a sport aircraft produced in Czechoslovakia during the 1930s. It was a conventional, parasol-wing monoplane with fixed tailskid undercarriage, and seating for the pilot and passenger in tandem, open cockpits. Because the cabane struts were very short, and the wing therefore placed very close to the top of the fuselage, the cockpits had the unusual arrangement of the passenger's being in front of the wing while the pilot's was behind it.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · high wing · 10.4 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 153 km/htop speed
• range 408 kmwithout refuelling
• seats 1passengers
• size 522 kgmax take-off weight
• built 37made 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 95 years ago, in 1931.
• 🚗Wingspan of 10.4 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

1931

number built

37

role

sport aircraft

origin

🇨🇿 Czechoslovakia

makers

Letov

engines

1× Walter Polaris

passengers

1

length

6.5 m

wingspan

10.4 m

height

2.3 m

max take-off weight

522 kg

top speed

153 km/h

cruise speed

130 km/h

range

408 km

ceiling

3,500 m

wings

high wing

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