Avia BH-7
# Avia BH-7

The Avia BH-7 was a prototype fighter aircraft built in Czechoslovakia in 1923. It was a parasol-wing monoplane developed in tandem with, and as an alternative to the BH-6, which shared its fuselage and tail design. Like the BH-6, the BH-7 was involved in a number of serious crashes during its test programme, which led to its abandonment as a fighter. Undaunted, however, Avia used the design as the basis for a racing aircraft, shortening the wingspan by 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in), fairing the wing directly onto the top of the fuselage and dispensing with the cabane struts. This revised version was designated BH-7B and the fighter (retrospectively) as the BH-7A. When the design proved no more successful as a racer, it was finally put to rest.

## Specifications

General characteristics

* Crew: one pilot
* Length: 6.84 m (22 ft 5 in)
* Wingspan: 10.40 m (34 ft 1 in)
* Height: 2.83 m (9 ft 3 in)
* Wing area: 18.2 $m^2$ (195 sq ft)
* Empty weight: 855 kg (1,885 lb)
* Gross weight: 1,150 kg (2,537 lb)
* Powerplant: 1 × Skoda licence-built Hispano-Suiza 8Fb Vee-8 , 310 kW (231 hp)

Performance

* Maximum speed: 240 km/h (149 mph, 129 kn)
* Range: 480 km (300 mi, 260 nmi)
* Service ceiling: 8,000 m (26,200 ft)
* Rate of climb: 6.7 m/s (1,312 ft/min)

Armament

* 2 × fixed, forward-firing .303 Vickers machine guns
