Dittmar HD 153 Motor-Möwe
# Dittmar HD 153 Motor-Möwe

The Dittmar HD 153 Motor-Möwe was a West German light aircraft that was first flown in November 1953.

## Design and development

The Motor-Möwe, designed by Heini Dittmar who had designed the Dittmar HD 53 Möwe sailplane, was a motorized development of this sailplane and was initially designed to be powered by engines of 48–63 kW (65–85 hp). The HD 153 prototype was a two-seat side-by-side high wing monoplane powered by a 48 kW (65 hp) Continental A65 engine and was of wooden construction with detachable wing and tail assemblies to facilitate road transportation when needed. A second prototype aircraft was fitted with a 45 kW (60 hp) Hirth engine.

## Operational history

The aircraft was designed for private and club use and served as a trainer and glider tug. Heini Dittmar, the aircraft’s designer, was killed in 1960 when his Motor-Möwe crashed near Essen/Mulheim airport. Small numbers of the type were completed by the end of 1960 and on 1 January 1961 four HD 153 and four HD 156 Motor–Möwen appeared in the West German civil aircraft register. I 1965 four HD 153 and five HD 156 Motor-Möwen were registered in West Germany. By 2007, no examples were known to be active.

## Variants

### HD 153

    two-seat aircraft
   ### HD 153A-1
       production two-seaters

### HD 156

    three-seat aircraft fitted with additional side windows

## Specifications (HD 153 with C90 engine)

Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1958-59

General characteristics

* Crew: one
* Capacity: one passenger (334 kg (736 lb) payload)
* Length: 6.5 m (21 ft 4 in)
* Wingspan: 12 m (39 ft 4 in)
* Height: 2.1 m (6 ft 11 in)
* Wing area: 18.3 $m^2$ (197 sq ft)
* Aspect ratio: 8.5
* Airfoil: Göttingen 367 modified
* Empty weight: 465 kg (1,025 lb) equipped
* Gross weight: 760 kg (1,676 lb)
* Fuel capacity: 140 L (36.98 US gal; 30.80 imp gal) in two wing tanks + optional 200 L (52.83 US gal; 43.99 imp gal) overload tank
* Powerplant: 1 × Continental C90-12F 4-cylinder air-cooled horizontally-opposed piston engine, 67 kW (90 hp)
* Propellers: 2-bladed Hoffman "HoCo" fixed pitch wooden propeller

Performance

* Maximum speed: 170 km/h (110 mph, 92 kn)
* Cruise speed: 150 km/h (93 mph, 81 kn)
* Landing speed: 65 km/h (40 mph; 35 kn)
* Range: 1,000 km (620 mi, 540 nmi)
* Ferry range: 1,872 km (1,163 mi, 1,011 nmi)
* Endurance: 4.5 hours (13 hours with overload tank)
* Service ceiling: 4,500 m (14,800 ft)
* Time to altitude: 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in 6 minutes
* Take-off run: 150 m (492 ft)
* Landing run: 130 m (427 ft)
