Model Kits
BM-R7201 Bloudex XV (Lojze) 1/72
Stanko Bloudek is one of few men who have left behind an amazing technical and cultural heritage. He began his career of a constructor by designing sports facilities, while aircraft construction remains one of his less known pioneer achievements. His first glider took off in 1909 and his first motor plane – named Racek – soon thereafter. Among his other aircrafts, Libelle (1911), Bloudek XI/XIV Sraka (1925) and Bloudek XV (1930) stand out.
The aircraft was built following an initiative by board members of the Ljubljana Aero Club. Bloudek decided on a monoplane with elliptical wings, so that the airplane could race in flight competitions at home and abroad. The novelty he introduced in his design was a particularly constructed wing which – instead of two parallel reinforcements – had two cross reinforcements. Despite being more complicated to build, this particular feature had its advantages, as well as drawbacks. The fuselage was covered with plywood, while the wings and the tail were covered with fabric. The aircraft was fitted with an English engine ADC Cirrus with 85 horse powers. The construction was completed on June 6, 1930. From the very beginning of testing the plane, problems would appear. First, the fuel intake had to be replaced for being too narrow and the cowling had to be opened to allow better cooling of the engine, as the latter tended to overheat. Once the permit was obtained, Lojze could participate in a number of meetings. Among others, the plane flew in the 1931 meeting in Maribor and ranked third in a meeting in Zagreb, flown by the pilot Janko Colnar. Its greatest success was ranking first at the meeting in Borovo. While testing the plane, the maximum foreseen speed i.e. 200 k.p.h. was achieved and confirmed. In addition, it was established that the plane could fly as high as 4,600 metres. Unfortunately though, the story of Bloudek XV ended on June 24, 1934 when the pilot Janko Colnar was killed while performing his programme.
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