Bücker aircraft

Carl Clemens Bücker was a naval aviator during the Great War; in 1921 founded in Sweden the Svenska Aero Aktiebolaget, principally known by its fighter J.6 "Jaktfaik" which was produced in short series for the aviation of the Scandinavian country. Back to his natal Germany, in October 1933 he founds the Bücker-Flugzeubau, whose first product is this graceful biplane designed by Anders J. Andersson in collaboration with Bücker himself.

With interchangeable wooden twin-spar wings and the fuselage in steel tube, it is all covered with cloth except for the engine's fairing and the cabin sides that are covered with metallic sheet. Logically, it has got double control and the landing gear is provided with oleoelastic shock absorbers and brakes.

From the first flights accomplished by Joachim Von Kóppen, the success is categorical, beginning with the first deliveries at the end of the same 1934. There is such a big demand that it is necessary to build a new factory and if so the production figures are unknown in Germany, they have to be counted by thousands. They export to many countries and it is built under  license in four of them; only in Japan 1.254 of them are delivered.

Light and robust at the same time, it is easy to keep and repair and for the pilot it is really nice to fly. Capable of manoeuvring and its controls admirably coordinated, it is not, however, as easy to fly as it seems - it requires a pilot awake at all times. It will never play tricks on him; it is a perfect school airplane. On Second World War, besides being a Luftwaffe standard trainer and most of the allies performed a service of nightly harassment on the Russian front, armed with antipersonnel bombs.

With the arrival at Spain of the first official forces of the Condor Legion November 6th  1936, the first three Bü-I 31 get to Spain too, from the sixty that should be received in total, some provided with the Hirth engine of 80 HP and most of them with the 105 HP. They are initially destined to the elemental school of El Copero (Seville) and afterwards to other new centres.

Right in the post-war period CASA starts the manufacturing under license, the first Spanish Bücker flying march 14th 1941. After building two-hundred of them with German engines, the delivering of the ones provided with the
Spanish "Tiger" starts in 1950, completing the orders in 1963 after the building of three hundred of these last ones and transforming thirty more, propelled before by the Hirth.