Saab 91 Safir

Saab 91 Safir
Saab 91C of the Swedish Air Force
Role Trainer
National origin Sweden
Manufacturer Saab
Designer A J Andersson
First flight 20 November 1945
Primary user Swedish Air Force
Produced 1946-1966
Number built 323


The Saab 91 Safir (Swedish: "sapphire") is a three (91A, B, B-2) or four (91C, D) seater, single engine trainer aircraft. The Safir was built by Saab AB in Linköping, Sweden, (203 aircraft) and by De Schelde in Dordrecht, Netherlands (120 aircraft).

Design and development

The Safir's first flight on 20 November 1945.[1] The all-metal Safir was designed by Anders J. Andersson, who had previously worked for Bücker, where he designed the all-wood Bücker Bü 181 "Bestmann". The Safir thus shared many conceptual features of its design with the Bestmann.

The Saab 91A is powered by a 125 hp four cylinder de Havilland Gipsy Major 2c piston engine, or a 145 hp Gipsy Major 10 piston engine. The 91B, B-2 and C have a six-cylinder Lycoming O-435A engine with 190 hp.[2] The 91D has a four-cylinder Lycoming O-360-A1A engine with 180 hp.

The "Safir" was later used as a platform to test at low speeds the new swept wing for the Saab 29 and Saab 32 jet fighters.

Operational history

Finnish Saab 91D Safir

323 units were built in 5 versions (A, B, B-2, C and D). The Safir was used by the Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Austrian, Tunisian and Ethiopean air forces as a trainer aircraft, and a single aircraft was used by the Japan Defense Agency as an STOL test platform.[3]

Major civilian users were Air France, Lufthansa and the Dutch Rijksluchtvaartschool (RLS) on the Groningen Airport Eelde, near Groningen.

During development of the Saab 29, the initial Saab 91 prototype was modified with a scaled-down version of the Saab 29's swept wings; this aircraft was designated Saab 201 Experimental Aircraft. This same airframe was later fitted with wings designed for the Saab 32 Lansen; this was designated Saab 202.

A single Saab 91 Safir was modified as the Saab X1G for research in Japan.

Variants

Saab Safir 91B trainer airplane just started from Hahnweide airfield.

Operators

Military operators

 Austria
 Ethiopia
 Finland
 Japan
 Norway
 Sweden
 Tunisia

Civil Operators

 Australia
 France
 Germany
 Paraguay

Specifications (91A)

Saab 91B "Safir"

Data from Safir in the Air[6]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

References

  1. 1 2 3 Taylor 1966, p. 125.
  2. Flying Magazine: 39. August 1954. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. SAAB Safir s/n 91.201 (dead link)
  4. Flight 1 January 1954, p. 2.
  5. Taylor 1961, p. 135.
  6. Smith, 1947, pp. 459–462.

External links

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