Kesselyak KM 400
MEM Air Service · Hungary · first flew 1983 · glider
The Kesselyak KM 400 is a competition sailplane designed and built in Hungary in the 1980s. It is unusual in having no movable elevator, with pitch controlled by wing-mounted flaperons.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | High-mounted, tapered |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × none, embedded-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Pod-and-boom fuselage with a long, low, sideways-hinged canopy over a reclining pilot |
| T — Tail | T-tail |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Shoulder-mounted wings, straight tapered in plan with sweep on both edges
- No elevators: pitch is controlled by camber-changing flaperons in seven segments along each trailing edge
- Pod-and-boom fuselage with a long, low, sideways-hinged canopy over a reclining pilot
The wing is built around a single broad-chord spar with alloy sheet flanges, and each wing has Schempp-Hirth type spoilers on its upper surface only. Roll control is by differential flap operation.
Specifications
- The Kesselyak KM 400 has a length of 6.75 m (22 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 15 m (49 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 330 km/h (205 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
The spur for the design was an Australian Gliding magazine competition, though Mihaly Kesselyak found backing by 1975 and the KM 400 had been built by 1983 by MEM Air Service at Nyiregyhaza. It first flew in June 1983, piloted by Karoly Borosnyai.
Variants
Only one was completed. Early flights used an all-moving tailplane, and it was then modified so the pilot could switch between locked and unlocked elevator.
Where you'll see it
By December 1983 it was reported flying successfully entirely under flaperon control, and tests to optimise the tailplane were still in progress in 1988. The sole KM 400 is now on display in the Kozlekedesi Muzeum, Budapest.
Related aircraft
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