Kawanishi K-10 Transport
# Kawanishi K-10 Transport

The Kawanishi K-10 Transport was a 1920s Japanese passenger and mail transport. Two were built, one briefly serving a route between cities in Japan, Korea and China.

## Design and development

The K-10 was designed by Eiji Sekiguchi to carry passengers and mail on the challenging, over-water Osaka- Seoul - Dalian (Derien) route. In the 1920s these cities were Japanese possessions.

It was a single bay biplane with a fabric-covered wooden structure. The wings were rectangular in plan out to rounded tips and braced together with a pair of parallel interplane struts on each side. The wing centre-section and fuselage were joined by two N--form cabane struts.

Originally the K-10 was powered by a 400 hp (300 kW) V12 Lorraine 12D engine driving a four-bladed propeller. Its two passengers sat side-by-side in an open cockpit ahead of the pilot. This engine was soon replaced by a 260–305 hp (194–227 kW), six cylinder Maybach Mb.IVa, its rectangular radiator beneath it and with a two-bladed propeller. Room was found for four passenger seats in an enclosed cabin between the wings. The fuselage was flat-sided, with rounded decking, and the tail was conventional, with a blunted rectangular fin and narrow, rectangular rudder.

It had fixed, conventional landing gear with wheels on a single axle. Both faired drag struts and slender legs, fitted with conspicuous, square shock absorbers, were mounted on the lower fuselage.

## Operational history

The first of two K-10s was completed in August 1926 and made its first flight soon after. In September it joined the sole Kawanishi K-7B carrying mail on the Osaka - Seoul - Dalian (Derien) route, completing six of these tours before retirement.

Soon after, on 2 October 1926, it appeared at the Kansai Aviation Day display, carrying passengers to enhance Japanese aviation awareness.

## Operators

* Nippon Koku KK

## Specifications (Maybach engine)

Data from Japanese Aircraft 1910-1941

General characteristics

* Crew: one
* Capacity: four passengers
* Length: 8.90 m (29 ft 2 in)
* Wingspan: 13 m (42 ft 8 in)
* Height: 3.55 m (11 ft 8 in)
* Wing area: 44.85 $m^2$ (482.8 sq ft)
* Empty weight: 1,057 kg (2,330 lb)
* Gross weight: 1,762 kg (3,885 lb)
* Powerplant: 1 × Maybach Mb.IVa six cylinder water-cooled, upright inline, 194–227 kW (260–305 hp)
* Propellers: 2-bladed wooden

Performance

* Maximum speed: 172 km/h (107 mph, 93 kn) at sea level
* Landing speed: 79 km/h (49 mph; 43 kn)
* Endurance: 7 hr
* Service ceiling: 6,000 m (20,000 ft)
