Ö 8 Svenska Aero Övningsfalken


Ö 8 - Svenska Aero SA-13 Övningsfalken (1930-1931)
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As earlier mentioned, Skolfalken, the first aircraft in Bücker’s and Svenska Aero’s Falk-series was ready for trials in August 1929. This was half a year before the Air Force was due to take its final decision regarding to its standard engine. Skolfalken was fitted with an Armstrong Siddeley Mongoose engine of 135 hp. On the request of Bücker, the prototype was transferred to Barkarby near Stockholm for flying tests. The tests were successful and the Air Force made an initial purchase of one Skolfalk. Further flying tests at F 5 at Ljungbyhed led to some minor changes in the design of the Skolfalken. The aircraft now was regarded to have very good flying characteristics .. However, the weakness of the surplus old engines of the J 6 Jaktfalken aircrafts became more and more unreliable. All J 6 aircraft at F 5 had to be grounded and the eduquation programme had to cancelled. The new Sk 8 Skolfalken’s could not be delivered earlier that the contracted dates. So the Air Force had to buy planes already finished for delivery. After the purchase of ten DH60T Moth Trainers (Sk 9), the training of new pilots started again. But the Air Force had lost most of its confidence for the Svenska Aero. Shortly after the Air Force purchased Skolfalken (Sk 8) they also ordered a sample of the engine stronger Övningsfalken (Ö 8). Övningsfalken was identical to the Skolfalken except for the stronger Lynx engine. The powerful seven-cylinder engine gave the front of the Ö 8 a slimmer and sharper look. Summer and autumn of 1930 was the test, with Z 8 in Barkarby, after which the plane in November officially awarded flygstabens flight department, which was on the same site. E 8: ans subsequent history of the Air Force came to be very short. The plane was already at the testing has shown a tendency to not want to go out of the spin. This peculiarity was found in a very real way a few months later when the pilot, Bjorn Bjuggren, failed to cancel such an operation without forced jump (24 April 1931). The aircraft had a running time of 30.5 hours. As mentioned in the page about Sk 8 Skolfalken, Svenska Aero AB designed three aircraft in their Falken (Falcon) series - the SA-11 Jaktfalken (”Fighter Falcon”), the SA-12 Skolfalken (”Trainer Falcon”) and the SA-13 Övningsfalken (”Advanced Trainer Falcon”). First out was a SA-12 Skolfalken, built in 1929. Carl Clemens Bücker, managing director and main owner of Svenska Aero AB, managed to sell the aircraft to the Air Force. He also got an order of one SA-13 Övningsfalken, mainly the same design, but fitted with a stronger engine than the Sk 8. This advanced trainer (trainer type II) got the designation Ö 8. Like the Sk 8, only one single Ö 8 was built. The aircraft was delivered and tested in the summer of 1930. It was based at Barkarby (later Wing F 8) near Stockholm and got the Air Force number 6301. The aircraft showed a bad point - it was hard to take out of spin. In April, 1931, the pilot, Björn Bjuggren, had to bale out when the Ö 8 commenced into spin and the aircraft became completely destroyed after only 30,5 running hours. Björn Bjuggren became later the promoter of developing the dive bombing technique in the Swedish Air Force, starting with the B 4 Hawker Hart. He was a without doubt a daring and skilled aviator, but perhaps not a very timid personality. Many Air Force officers became during the years subjected to the bad temper of the later General Bjuggren. The Ö 8 was powered by a 7-cylinder air-cooled radial Armstrong Siddeley Lynx engine of 200 hp. The similar Sk 8 had an AS Mongoose engine of only 135 hp. However, many parts of the two engine types were identical. See also the pages Sk 8 Skolfalken and J 5 and J 6 Jaktfalken (the latter in the Fighter chapter). The aircraft got the Air Force Code 6301 and had the manufacturer's C/N 69. The photo above is taken at Barkarby. The designer Sven Blomberg on the ground is speaking to the famous test engineer Edmund Sparmann in the cockpit. Length: 7,50 m. Span: 9,35. MTOW: 1.120 kg. Max. speed: 215 km/h. The aircraft got the Air Force Code 6301 and had the manufacturer's C/N 69.






© Lars Henriksson		Updated 2011-10-03