First flight

[Konigstiger205]

The Heinkel He 178 was the world's first aircraft to fly under turbojet power, and the first practical jet plane, the pioneering example of this type of aircraft. It was a private venture by the German Heinkel company in accordance with director Ernst Heinkel's emphasis on developing technology for high-speed flight and first flew on August 27, 1939 piloted by Erich Warsitz. This had been preceded by a short hop three days earlier.

[ccheese]

WOW ! Wonder what top speed was ?

Charles

[FLYBOYJ]

400 mph...

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

It actually attained a top speed of 435 mph.

Just a bit of trivia but it was placed in the Berlin Air Museum and was destroyed when the museum was bombed.

[Konigstiger205]

General characteristics

* Crew: One
* Length: 7.48 m (24 ft 6 in)
* Wingspan: 7.20 m (23 ft 3 in)
* Height: 2.10 m (6 ft 10 in)
* Wing area: 9.1 m² (98 ft²)
* Empty weight: 1,620 kg (3,572 lb)
* Max takeoff weight: 1,998 kg (4,405 lb)
* Powerplant: 1× HeS 3 turbojet, 4.4 kN (992 lbf)

Performance

* Maximum speed: 700 km/h (435 mph)
* Range: 200 km (125 mi)