Aviatik C.IX
The Aviatik C.IX was a prototype two-seat observation aircraft built by Automobil und Aviatik AG for the Imperial German Army's Imperial German Air Service during the First World War. Three aircraft were built in 1918, but the C.IX was not placed into production.
Design
The C.IX was a two-bay biplane design. The pilot's cockpit was placed underneath the trailing edge of the upper wing, with the observer's cockpit behind his. The wing had a large semi-circular cutout above the cockpit to improve the pilot's visibility above the aircraft. The prototypes differed slightly from each other to compare aileron and tail surface configurations. One aircraft only had ailerons on the upper wing while another had ailerons on both wings; those on the lower wing were actuated by a strut connecting the ailerons together. To reduced airflow interference, the gap between the wings was maximized by suspending the fuselage above the lower wing with several small struts. The C.IX was powered by a water-cooled Benz Bz.IV straight-six engine that drove a wooden, fixed-pitch, two-bladed propeller. The aircraft's armament consisted of a fixed, forward-firing LMG 08/15 Spandau machine gun and a 7.92-mm LMG 14 Parabellum machine gun on a flexible mount for the observer.Three prototype aircraft were built with the second aircraft destroyed during static load testing in June 1918. It was not chosen for production.