[About Heinkel He-162 A-2"Salamander"]



Wikipedia
The Heinkel He-162 A-2 is a jet fighter developed in Germany during World War II. It was operated by the German Luftwaffe.
In 1944, Germany was exhausted by Allied bombing. The fighter squadrons responsible for air defense were heavily worn out and weakened with the loss of valuable veteran pilots.
To overcome this situation, two proposals were made within the Luftwaffe. Proposal 1 was to increase production of the Me-262 jet fighter, and proposal 2 was to mass produce a lightweight jet fighter that was highly productive and easy to handle.
With the encouragement of Luftwaffe Commander Goering, Draft 2 is adopted within the Luftwaffe.
On September 8, 1944, specifications are presented to aircraft manufacturers. It was to be powered by a single BMW 003 jet engine, weigh 2,000 kg, have a maximum speed of 750 km/h, be armed with two 20 mm machine guns, and be easy to operate. A proposal to meet these stringent requirements had to be submitted within 10 days, and mass production of the aircraft was to begin in three months.
Aircraft manufacturers expressed interest in this requirement, but Heinkel's proposal was ultimately adopted.
Heinkel's design called for a single BMW003 engine to be carried on the back of the aircraft on top of the high wing configuration. The vertical tail fins were placed at the tips of the left and right horizontal tail fins to avoid exhaust from the engine. The aircraft was initially armed with two 30mm caliber MK108 machine guns. However, the aircraft could not withstand the recoil from the firing, so they were replaced by two 20mm caliber MG151/20 machine guns. The modified version was the He-162 A-2.
The prototype was completed with amazing speed, and the first aircraft made its maiden flight on December 6, 1944. It immediately flew at a high speed of 840 km/h, but various problems were also exposed. These included the aforementioned problems with the machine gun, and defects in the adhesive bonding. Especially serious was the stability problem. Dutch rolls that lost stability on both sides occurred. However, there was no time to make major design changes before the delivery date. Mass production was started with only ad hoc measures such as bending the wingtips down, increasing the area of the vertical tail fin, and adding weight to the nose.
Even so, it was fast, reaching a maximum speed of 904 km/h at an altitude of 6,000 m. This was the fastest speed for an aircraft at the time. It also excelled in mass production, and by the time of the German surrender on May 8, 1945, 120 aircraft had been delivered, 200 were in the completion stage, and another 600 were in the process of production. Although the war ended without any major combat success, the He-162 could have posed a threat to the Allied forces if it had been deployed earlier and if it had been piloted by trained pilots.
Today, seven He-162s are still in existence, resting on their wings in museums around the world.

[About the work]
·The engine and armament bay can be opened and closed with AG6 and AG7.
·The variable nozzle moves back and forth in conjunction with the throttle.
·Equipped with MG151/20 machine gun with visually reproduced shell casings.
·This aircraft is equipped with WingGuns in addition to the MG151/20 reproduced with Cannon parts. This is to use this aircraft as an AiEnemy. If you do not need it, please turn off AG8 and disable the WingGun.
The cockpit is roughly reproduced.
I have not verified this because I do not have Simple Planes VR. Sorry.

[Controls]

[1] Canopy Lever(AG4)
[2] Gun Sight(AG3)
[3] Flap Lever(VTOL)
[4] Throttle Lever
[5] Landing Gear Lever
[6] Elevator Trim Control Lever(Trim)

[7] Engine Cover Button(AG6)

[8] Armament Bay Door Button(AG7)

[Screenshots]

2024/10/25