Shirato Iwao-go
Shirato Aeroplane Research Studio · Japan · first flew 1916 · light aircraft
The Shirato Iwao-go was Japan's first civil seaplane, a single-engine biplane floatplane.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Mid-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 7.5 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Wood-framed biplane with more than two bays and tall parallel interplane struts
- Two floats, each carried on a pair of V-struts to the wing
- Rotary engine shrouded above and at the sides but open below
A straight-edged, fabric-covered biplane on twin floats, with a flat-sided fuselage and the open cockpit behind the wing trailing edge.
Specifications
- The Shirato Iwao-go has a length of 7.5 m (25 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 11 m (36 ft).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
It was designed soon after Otogiiro Itoh's Shirato Asahi-go landplane and shared some of its characteristics. Construction began in January 1916 and it first flew in March 1916 with Einosuke Shirato at the controls.
Variants
Only one was built, powered by a 60 hp nine-cylinder Hendee Indian rotary engine.
Where you'll see it
It performed well enough to give a number of exhibition flights, starting with a flight from Lake Suwa. After it hit a log on Lake Biwa a sponsoring newspaper took Shirato to court, and ownership then passed to one of his assistants who lost interest in it.
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