The first flyable replica Messerschmidt Me 262 has been damaged in a landing incident at the end of its second test flight. Project engineers are assessing damage caused by the collapse of the left main landing gear and are yet to determine if the 18 January incident will delay delivery of the first aircraft, planned for next month. Test pilot Wolf Czaia was uninjured.
"We are assessing the repairs that may be required to resume testing," says Everett, Washington-based Me 262 Project.
The replica Me 262 had a successful first flight on 20 December. Me 262 Project must complete 10h flight testing to gain US Federal Aviation Administration approval under the "experimental exhibition" category.
The flyable replica of the world's first operational jet fighter is patterned on an original Me 262 that was restored in 2000, and is authentic apart from its General Electric J85 turbojets in place of the original Jumo 004s.
Five replicas are being built, priced around $2 million apiece, excluding engines. Three are unsold. The first aircraft, a two-seater, will be delivered to a customer in Phoenix, Arizona. The second will be delivered to the Messerschmidt Foundation in Munich, Germany, early next year.
The third replica will be a single-seater; the second and fourth are convertible between single- and two-seat configuration. Only eight of over 1,400 Me 262s built survive, and none are flyable, says Me 262 Project partner Jim Byron.
Source: Flight International
