AGO C.I

Twin-Seat, Single-Engine Pusher Reconnaissance Biplane Aircraft

Imperial Germany | 1915

"The AGO C.I was an early-form reconnaissance biplane for the German Empire during World War 1 - utilizing a pusher configuration and twin-seat approach."

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 07/31/2019 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

Firepower

Performance

Survivability

Versatility

Impact

AGO ("AktienGesellschaft Otto") Flugweugwerke of the German Empire was founded in Munich during 1911 and managed as existence until the end of World War 2 in 1945. As early as 1913, under the Otto name, the company put forth a pusher biplane. From this work spanned a series of other multi-winged aircraft of similar form and function that would soon be pressed into military service during the fighting of World War 1 (1914-1918).

With the war already underway by January of 1915, many aircraft were trialed and adopted by all sides, as powers looked to gain the advantage through use of these new-fangled aerial devices. In June of 1915, AGO was able to sell a new biplane type to the German Air Service and the Kaiserliche Marine (Navy) - the "AGO C.I".

The C.I utilized a typical biplane winged arrangement in which one primary member sat over the other. Struts were parallel and "bays" were created between these structures supporting the wings. As with other early-form reconnaissance platforms of the war, the C.I relied on a pod-and-boom fuselage arrangement in which the crew, armament, engine, fuel stores, and avionics were held in a centralized pod making up the fuselage while a twin-boom tail arrangement was used to support the tailplanes. The tailbooms connected to the mainplanes at the struts for added support and extended beyond the wing leading edges some. The crew numbered two, pilot and observer, with the observer positioned ahead of the pilot. On some aircraft, the observer was granted use of a single 7.92mm Parabellum air-cooled machine gun set atop a flexible mounting. The ground-running gear was made up of a four-wheeled arrangement for the best possible balance. These legs were interconnected by a network of struts under the aircraft and its lower mainplane member. At least one C.I example was reworked with floats to serve the German Navy in the maritime patrol role as the "C.I-W".

In an effort to provide the crew with the best possible vision out-of-the-cockpit - particularly to the front and sides - the engine was fitted at the rear of the pod so the propellers were arranged in a "pusher" configuration - literally pushing air so as to push the aircraft through the sky. The engine of choice became the readily-available Mercedes D.III outputting 158 horsepower and driving a two-bladed wooden propeller at the rear.

Structural dimensions included an overall length of 29.5 feet and a wingspan of 49.1 feet.

In practice, the aircraft could reach speeds of 90 miles-per-hour, which was good for an early-form biplane aircraft. Range was out to 300 miles giving the platform a good "reach". Its service ceiling was 16,000 feet.

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Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the AGO C.I Twin-Seat, Single-Engine Pusher Reconnaissance Biplane Aircraft.

1 x Benz engine of unknown power output driving a two-bladed wooden propeller unit.
Propulsion

81 mph
130 kph | 70 kts
Max Speed

13,780 ft
4,200 m | 3 miles
Service Ceiling

342 miles
550 km | 297 nm
Operational Range

City-to-City Ranges
Operational range when compared to distances between major cities (in KM).

NYC

LON

PAR

BER

MOS

TOK

SYD

LAX

NYC

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the AGO C.I Twin-Seat, Single-Engine Pusher Reconnaissance Biplane Aircraft.

2
(MANNED)
Crew

32.3 ft
9.85 m
O/A Length

47.6 ft
(14.50 m)
O/A Width

10.5 ft
(3.20 m)
O/A Height

Design Balance
The three qualities reflected below are altitude, speed, and range. The more full the box, the more balanced the design.

RANGE

ALT

SPEED

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the AGO C.I Twin-Seat, Single-Engine Pusher Reconnaissance Biplane Aircraft .

OPTIONAL:
1 x 7.92mm Parabellum machine gun on a trainable mounting in the front (observer's) cockpit.

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the AGO C.I family line.

C.1 - Base Series Designation

C.I-W - One-off example equipped with floats for maritime patrol duty with the German Navy.

Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the AGO C.I. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 20 Units
Contractor(s): AGO Flugzeugwerke - German Empire

[ German Empire ]

Relative Max Speed

Hi: 100mph

Lo: 50mph

Aircraft Max Listed Speed (81mph).

Graph Average of 75 MPH.

Era Crossover

Showcasing Aircraft Era Crossover (if any)

Max Alt Visualization

Production Comparison

20

36183

44000

Entry compared against Ilyushin IL-2 (military) and Cessna 172 (civilian) total production.

MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

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Aviation Timeline

EarlyYrs

WWI

Interwar

WWII

ColdWar

Postwar

Modern

Future

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Image from the Public Domain.

Mission Roles
Some designs are single-minded in their approach while others offer a more versatile solution to airborne requirements.

RECONNAISSANCE

Recognition
Some designs stand the test of time while others are doomed to never advance beyond the drawing board; let history be their judge.

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1

Going Further...
The AGO C.I Twin-Seat, Single-Engine Pusher Reconnaissance Biplane Aircraft appears in the following collections:

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