Tokyo Koku Aiba-Tsubame
Tokyo Koku · Japan · first flew 1936 · airliner
The Tokyo Koku Aiba-Tsubame (Aiba-Swallow) was a 1930s Japanese civil transport biplane with seats for three passengers. Two were built.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Mid-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Radial engine in the nose of a deep, flat-sided wooden fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Two-bay biplane with rectangular wings, rounded tips and two parallel pairs of interplane struts each side
- Radial engine in the nose of a deep, flat-sided wooden fuselage
- Cropped triangular fin carrying a full, rounded, balanced rudder
Look for an Avro 504-like biplane with a deep cabin fuselage, a pilot in an open cockpit under the upper wing leading edge and cabin windows over the wing.
Specifications
- The Tokyo Koku Aiba-Tsubame has a length of 8.43 m (28 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 11.165 m (37 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 153 km/h (95 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
It was the first design of Tokyo Aviation, formed in 1936, and was funded by the Imperial Flying Association. To keep costs low it combined a new fuselage and a Japanese engine with the wings, tail and undercarriage of the Yokosuka Navy Type 3 Primary Trainer. The first airframe was completed in September 1936.
Variants
The Aiba-Tsubame 6 was the first airframe. The Aiba-Tsubame 7 had a longer internal cabin with an extra window and was about 28 kg heavier.
Where you'll see it
Based at Haneda Airport, the two aircraft flew taxi services and sight-seeing flights. They proved reliable, stable and easy to control, and became the most familiar aircraft at Haneda.
Related aircraft
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