Kārlis Irbītis

Kārlis Irbītis (October 14, 1904, in Lāde parish, Governorate of Livonia – October 13, 1997, in Saint-Laurent, Quebec, Canada) was a Latvian aeroplane designer.

His greatest successes, for the VEF factory, were the sports plane VEF I-12 (1935) and the monoplane VEF I-16 (1939), used as a fighter aircraft. After World War II, when he had emigrated to Canada, he was the designer of the experimental Canadian vertical landing and take-off aeroplane, the CL-84 (1950).

Aircraft designed by Kārlis Irbītis

• IrbÄ«tis I-1 SprÄ«dÄ«tis – sport, single-seat / Nikolajs PÅ«liņš & Kārlis IrbÄ«tis (P.2, I.1) 1925
• IrbÄ«tis I-2 Ikars / N. PÅ«liņš & K. IrbÄ«tis (P.3, I.2)
• IrbÄ«tis I-3 – by Herberts Runka
• IrbÄ«tis I-4 Vanadziņš / A.S. ″Christine Backman″
• IrbÄ«tis I-5 Ikars II – trainer 2-seat by Nikolajs PÅ«liņš
• IrbÄ«tis I-6 Gambija – trainer single-seat by Nikolajs PÅ«liņš
• IrbÄ«tis I-7 Zilais Putns – trainer single-seat by Nikolajs PÅ«liņš
• IrbÄ«tis I-8 Zilais Putns II – trainer 2-seat / Nikolajs PÅ«liņš & Kārlis IrbÄ«tis
• IrbÄ«tis I-9 Kaija – monoplane / Valsts Daugavpils Arodskola
• IrbÄ«tis I-10 Vanags – by Riga Aviation Club / Valsts Daugavpils Arodskola 1935

VEF Factory

• IrbÄ«tis VEF I-11 – sport (low-wing distance racer)
• IrbÄ«tis VEF I-12 – trainer 2-seat, converted to single-seater
• IrbÄ«tis VEF I-14 – sport (low-wing racer)
• IrbÄ«tis VEF I-15a – trainer military single-seat
• IrbÄ«tis VEF I-15b – bomber
• IrbÄ«tis VEF I-16 – fighter
• IrbÄ«tis VEF I-17-1 – trainer military 2-seat
• IrbÄ«tis VEF I-17-2 – trainer military 2-seat (engine Shvetsov M-11)
• IrbÄ«tis VEF I-18 – sport trainer by Latvia Aeroclub
• IrbÄ«tis VEF I-19 – fighter project

Other

• CL-84 – world's first successful tilt-wing aircraft / Canadair 1965

References

External links

• Latvian Academy of Sciences: Inventors of Latvia — Karl Irbitis