SB-1

A model of the SB-1
Role  | Twin-engined utility transport

Type of aircraft

National origin | Switzerland
Manufacturer  | Pilatus Flugzeugwerke AG

The Pilatus SB-1 was a single-engined twin-propeller utility transport development project of Pilatus Flugzeugwerke AG from Switzerland, during World War II, (SB - Schweizer Bergflugzeug \- Swiss mountain aircraft).

## Design and development[edit]

The SB-1 was intended as a pure experimental aircraft, designed with a mid-wing monoplane with accommodation for pilot and observer side by side in the cockpit and two passengers in a cabin directly behind the cockpit. The fuselage was to have built-up from welded steel tube covered with light-alloy and fabric. The aircraft would have been powered by a single Argus As 10E / Argus As 410 air-cooled V-8 engine, located at the center of gravity, in the fuselage, below the wing centre-section. The engine drove two-bladed propellers, driven by V-belts and idlers, mounted on the wing leading-edges either side of the fuselage, reducing drag and imbuing favorable low-speed flight characteristics due to the air flow of the propellers acting directly on the leading edge of the wing. The SB-1 was designed with a fixed tail-wheel undercarriage and also had a twin-fin tail unit. A study was also made of two engines mounted in the fuselage, each driving a separate propeller. Development of this project was abandoned before metal was cut.[1]

## Pilatus "SB" projects[edit]

SB-1
Intended as a pure experimental aircraft, commercial use was not planned.
SB-2 Pelican
The only SB project to be built and flown.
SB-5
An enlargement of the SB-2, abandoned before construction began.

* (Nothing is known about possible SB-3 or SB-4 designs).

## Specifications (SB-1)[edit]

Data from[citation needed]

General characteristics

* Crew: one
* Capacity: up to 3 passengers
* Length: 10.3 m (33 ft 10 in)
* Wingspan: 15 m (49 ft 3 in)
* Powerplant: 1 × Argus As 10E / Argus As 410 V-8 air-cooled inverted piston engines, 336 kW (451 hp)

Performance

* Maximum speed: 250 km/h (160 mph, 130 kn)
* Wing loading: 26 kg/m2 (5.3 lb/sq ft)

## References[edit]

1. ^ Gross, Kuno (2019). Pilatus SB-2 Pelican Das Schweizer Bergflugzeug 1938–1949 (in German) (1. Auflage ed.). Studienbüro für Spezialflugzeuge. ISBN 978-3-7494-3640-8.

## Further reading[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pilatus SB-1.

* Eichenberger, Roland (1989). Pilatus Flugzeuge: 1939–1989 (in German). Stans: Pilatus Flugzeugwerke.

* v
* t
* e

Pilatus aircraft

Trainers|

* P-2
* P-3
* PC-7
* PC-9
* PC-21

Utility/transport|

* PC-6
* PC-12
* PC-24

Gliders|

* B4/PC-11

Abandoned projects|

* SB-1
* SB-2
* SB-5
* P-1
* P-4
* P-5
* PC-8
* PC-10

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