Aichi Experimental Type 15-Ko Reconnaissance Seaplane (Mi-go)

Aichi Experimental Type 15-Ko Reconnaissance Seaplane (Mi-go)
Role	Reconnaissance seaplane
Manufacturer	Aichi Kokuki
First flight	1925
Primary user	Imperial Japanese Navy
Number built	4~

The Aichi Experimental Type 15-Ko Reconnaissance Seaplane (Mi-go) was a prototype reconnaissance seaplane built by Aichi in the mid-1920s.

Design and development

The Mi-Go was built in response to an Imperial Japanese Navy requirement for a reconnaissance seaplane to replace the Hansa-Brandenburg W.33 in IJN service. The W.33 had been acquired by the IJN in 1922, but wasn't popular with crews due to poor handling and limited visibility afloat. The Mi-Go differed from the W.33 in having floats connected to the wings, a wooden airframe, fabric covered wings, and much lighter weight. Four prototypes of the Mi-Go were built; tests of which showed it to be longitudinally unstable in flight, although the first prototype used Dornier bench-type aileron balances, and the IJN selected the rival Nakajima Type 15 Reconnaissance Seaplane (E2N) for production instead.

Operators

Japan

• Imperial Japanese Navy

Specifications

Data from Japanese Aircraft, 1910-1941, airwar.ru

General characteristics

• Crew: 2
• Length: 9.485 m (31 ft 1 in)
• Wingspan: 13.63 m (44 ft 9 in)
• Height: 3.28 m (10 ft 9 in)
• Empty weight: 1,200 kg (2,646 lb)
• Gross weight: 1,700 kg (3,748 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 1,700 kg (3,748 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Mitsubishi Type Hi (Hispano ) V-8 water-cooled piston engine, 220 kW (300 hp)
• Propellers: 2-bladed wooden fixed-pitch propeller

Performance

• Maximum speed: 180.57 km/h (112 mph; 98 kn) at sea level
• Cruising speed: 160 km/h (99 mph; 86 kn)
• Stall speed: 96.3 km/h (60 mph; 52 kn)
• Service ceiling: 4,800 m (15,748 ft)
• Time to altitude: 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 18 minutes 19 seconds
• Wing loading: 25.4 kg/m² (5.2 lb/sq ft)
• Power/mass: 12.5 lb/hp (7.6 kg/kW)

Armament

• Guns: 1 × flexible 7.7 mm (0.303 in) machine gun