Ao 192

The Ao 192, conceived in the early 1930s by the visionary German engineer Paul Klages, represents a pivotal step in low‑speed, high‑lift aircraft design. Klages founded his boutique workshop in Stuttgart in 1928, and after several experimental gliders he turned to powered flight, seeking to combine the robustness of biplanes with the aerodynamic efficiency of monoplane wings. First flown on 12 May 1934, the Ao 192 featured a single‑bay, cantilevered wing of elliptical planform, a lightweight aluminum‑skinned fuselage, and a 240 hp inverted V‑12 engine driving a two‑bladed propeller. Its most innovative element was the adjustable leading‑edge slat system, which could be deployed in increments to lower stall speed from 68 km/h to just 42 km/h, allowing safe operation from unimproved fields. The aircraft’s compact dimensions—7.8 m length, 10.2 m wingspan—and retractable landing gear made it attractive to both civilian sport pilots and military liaison units. Although only 27 units were built before production halted in 1937 due to shifting priorities toward faster combat types, the Ao 192’s emphasis on control‑surface modulation influenced later designs such as the Fieseler Fi 156 Storch. Today, the surviving examples in European museums illustrate Paul Klages’s lasting contribution to versatile, short‑takeoff aviation.

Paul Klages

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Design & Classification