NICO BRAAS MEMORIAL COLLECTION
No. 10819. Saab 201 (SE-APN c/n 91001)
Source unknown

Saab 201

09/30/2011. Powered by an 147 hp DH Gipsy Major X four-cylinder air-cooled in-line engine and registered as SE-APN, this aircraft first flew on November 20, 1945 as the Saab 91A Safir prototype. On May 13, 1946 it started testing the new Dynamatic propeller, designed by Erik Bratt, a few months later, August 9, it was temporarily deregistered as it had been picked to become the wing test bed for the projected Saab 29 Tunnan.

Fitted with a 50% scaled-down 25° Saab 29 arrow-wing and redesignated Saab 201 it started low-speed trials on April 28, 1947. The flap settings were done pre-flight as they could not be altered in flight; flight trials lasted a few months. The Saab 29 became the first arrow-winged aircraft in Europe that went into series production.

On April 25, 1949, SE-APN was removed from the register as it had been sold to the since it was sold to the Swedish Flygförvaltningen (Air Administration, presently Försvarets materielverk Defense Materiel Administration, reporting to the Ministry of Defense). Subsequently the aircraft was refitted with an 190 hp Lycoming O-435-A six-cylinder opposed engine and with a scaled-down 35° Saab 32 arrow-wing with Fowler flaps and redesignated Saab 202 it started trials on March 1, 1950. After trials were finished the aircraft was scrapped.

Created September 30, 2011