Did you know…
Which German aircraft delivered newspapers from the air?
Short answer
The Albatros L 72, a German single-engined biplane of the 1920s designed to carry newspapers between German cities for the publisher Ullstein Verlag. In its cabin, a conveyor-belt-like device held up to sixteen bundles of 10 kg (22 lb), dropped in flight by an operator or by the pilot himself.
A biplane in the service of a newspaper
The Albatros L 72 was a German transport aircraft of the 1920s, designed to carry newspapers between German cities for the publisher Ullstein Verlag. It was a single-engined biplane of conventional configuration, with wings of equal span and no stagger. It measured 10.5 m (34 ft 5 in) in length and 12.8 m (42 ft 0 in) in span. It was powered by a single 160 kW (220 hp) BMW IV and flew at 160 km/h (99 mph, 86 kn).
Sixteen bundles and a conveyor
The cabin housed a conveyor-belt-like device able to take up to sixteen bundles of newspapers of 10 kg (22 lb) each. Those bundles could then be dropped, either by an operator riding in the cabin or by the pilot.
Slots and flaps
The L 72 was the first German commercial aircraft to feature leading-edge slots and trailing-edge flaps.
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