What was unusual about the Albatros L.58's wings?

Short answer

It was a single-engine monoplane with a cantilever wing, mounted at the level of the fuselage's shoulders in a Schulterdecker layout. The aircraft was built largely of wood, and the pilot sat in an open cockpit high on the fuselage.

Published: November 1, 2026 · Updated: November 1, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

What was unusual about the Albatros L.58's wings?

Aero L-39 Albatros taxiing

A cantilever wing in shoulder position

The L 58 was a single-engine monoplane with a cantilever wing. The pilot sat in an open cockpit located high on the fuselage, while the passengers travelled inside it. The aircraft was built largely of wood and was a cantilever Schulterdecker, with the wing mounted at the level of the fuselage's shoulders. On Albatros's G.II bomber, by contrast, the thick-section upper wings were joined by rigid X-form interplane struts.

From the L 57 project to the 1923 prototype

The design of the L 58 originated from the L 57 project, which never came to fruition. The prototype made its first flight in 1923. In the early 1920s, the Commission Aéronautique Inter-Alliée once again authorised the construction of civil aircraft in Germany.