Praga E-114 Air Baby
| Praga E.114 | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Praga E.114M Air Baby OK-BGL on display at the Prague Aviation Museum, Kbely in May 2008 | |
| Role | light private owner aircraft |
| Manufacturer | ČKD-Praga |
| Designer | Jaroslav Šlechta |
| First flight | September 1934 |
| Primary user | private owners |
| Number built | Approximately 275 |
The Praga E.114 was a single-engine sport airplane, designed and manufactured by the Czechoslovakian company ČKD-Praga. Due to its light weight it was also called Air Baby.
The Praga E.114, first flown in 1934 and designed by Jaroslav Šlechta, was a high wing, cantilever monoplane seating two in a side-by-side cabin. It was an all wood aircraft with a two spar single piece wing; the spars and ribs were built from pine and plywood and the wing plywood covered. The wing section was reflexed at the trailing edge. The wing had a constant chord centre section with taper on the trailing edge outboard and rounded tips. The ailerons were plywood covered and unbalanced.
Its fuselage was a pine framed, plywood covered hexagonal box, with the straight edged fin an integral part. The rudder was rounded and horn balanced. Though the rudder was wood framed and covered, the tailplane, mounted just above the fuselage and externally braced from below, had a tube steel structure and was fabric covered. The elevators were balanced by an elastic rope to the control column.
Early in the design process the E.114 had been envisaged as an open cockpit aircraft but by the time of construction there was an enclosed cabin. The first prototype had rather crude glazing constructed from plane panes. The absence of doors made entry somewhat challenging, with the side panels hinged down and the upper pane, together with part of the wing leading edge hinged upwards. The second prototype added a lower fuselage foothold to ease the process, as well as fitting less angular glazing. The undercarriage, which was also used as a first step into the cabin, was of the divided type with faired legs hinged on the lower fuselage, assisted by struts from the centre line to the wheels. The wheels contained rubber shock absorbers and were optionally spatted
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