Aero A.14
# Aero A.14

The Aero A.14 was a Czechoslovakian biplane military reconnaissance aircraft built in the 1920s. It was essentially a slightly modified version of the Hansa-Brandenburg C.I aircraft that Aero had built during World War I as the Ae.10, and for this reason, the aircraft is sometimes referred to as the A.14 Brandenburg. When equipped with a slightly different engine (the Hiero L in place of the standard Hiero N), the aircraft was designated A.15 instead. The two versions were otherwise almost identical.

Even though it was obsolete by the time it entered production in 1922, the A.14 is nevertheless noteworthy for its role in the establishment of Czech airline CSA. A.14s provided by the Czech Air Force served to survey routes that CSA airliners would soon fly, and at least 17 were put into service as mail planes between Prague and Bratislava. They could also carry a single passenger when required.

## Specifications (A.14)

Data from

General characteristics

* Crew: 2
* Length: 8.4 m (27 ft 7 in)
* Wingspan: 12.3 m (40 ft 4 in)
* Height: 3.2 m (10 ft 6 in)
* Wing area: 37.5 $m^2$ (404 sq ft)
* Empty weight: 933 kg (2,057 lb)
* Gross weight: 1,275 kg (2,811 lb)
* Fuel capacity: 250 L (66 US gal; 55 imp gal) main tank plus 50 L (13 US gal; 11 imp gal) in a jettisonable tank
* Powerplant: 1 × Breitfeld & Daněk Hiero N 6-cyl water-cooled in-line piston engine, 170 kW (230 hp)
* Propellers: 2-bladed fixed pitch propeller

Performance

* Maximum speed: 179 km/h (111 mph, 97 kn)
* Cruise speed: 150 km/h (93 mph, 81 kn)
* Range: 450 km (280 mi, 240 nmi)
* Service ceiling: 4,900 m (16,100 ft)
* Rate of climb: 1.85 m/s (364 ft/min)
* Time to altitude: 36 minutes to 4,000 m (13,000 ft)
* Wing loading: 34 $kg/m^2$ (7.0 lb/sq ft)
* Power/mass: 0.130 kW/kg (0.08 hp/lb)

## Operators

* Czechoslovakia
* CSA
