The Udet U 6 was a small, low-power sport aircraft developed in Gerrmany in the early 1920s as an improved version of the Udet U 1.
Of around seven examples built, three received German civil registrations, D 325, D 330, and D 487
The U 6 was a low-wing cantilever monoplane of conventional design. It was powered by a single, piston engine mounted in the nose, driving a two-blade tractor propeller. It had a conventional tail and conventional, tailskid undercarriage.
The fuselage and tail unit were of all-wood construction. The wings were wooden as well, covered in fabric.
Although based on the series of Udet Flugzeugbau designs that started with the U 1, the U 6 was a substantially modified design. The pilot and passenger were still seated in tandem, but were now in separate, open cockpits. The angular tail fin of the U 1 was replaced with a rounded one, and the wing planform was more complex than the simple, trapezoidal shape of the U 1. The improved aerodynamics of the design resulted in an improvement in top speed of around .
One example, D 325, was fitted with ski undercarriage.
Test flights of the U 6 began in July 1923, and in August, the aircraft was displayed at the ("ILUG", "The International Aero Exhibition Gothenburg") show in Göteborg.
Company founder Ernst Udet also demonstrated the U 6 at the ADAC (, "General German Automobile Club") rally at Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1924. (The or "winter rally" was held between 1âÂÂ3 February that year.) Between 13âÂÂ14 May the same year, he flew a U 6 on a journey in several stages with passenger Countess Margot von Einsiedel.
More competition wins soon followed. On 18 May 1924, Ernst Udet and Franz Hailer flew U 6s to first and second place in the ("East Prussian Samland coastal flight for small aeroplanes") event from Dessau to Königsberg organised by the ("East Prussian aviation association").
Eduardo Olivero used a U 6 to set an unofficial South American altitude record for an aircraft in its class at Castelar, Argentina, on 28 May 1924. With passenger Maria Elena Ortiz Machado, he climbed to in 2 hours, 10 minutes. This particular machine was later bought by Carlos Ardohein, who suffered a fatal crash in it near Buenos Aires on 27 February 1926.
U 6s were used at a number of German flying schools. At least one of these, ("Upper Bavarian sport flying") in Schleissheim regarded it as unsuitable for beginners and reserved it for more experienced students. A U 6a was also ordered by a Mexican flying school, but it is not now known how far this order proceeded.
Flying schools: