The Aero Ae.02 was the first fighter designed in Czechoslovakia, it was designed by Antonin Vlásak and Antonin Husnik and it was built by the Aero company.
It was an orthodox biplane design with I-type interplane struts and ailerons on the upper wing only. It was made of mixed construction with fabric-covered wooden wings and a dural-frame fuselage.
It was powered by an V-type 220hp Hispano-Suiza HS 8Ba eight-cylinder engine with the peculiarity that the only fuel tank of the airplane was fitted between the main wheels of the undercarriage and that could be jettisoned by a quick-release mechanism. It was armed with a pair of 7,92mm Vickers Machine-guns.
It flew for the first time in 1920 and in 1921 ,piloted by Josef Novak, it won the silver club on the Czech aeroclub annual meeting. Even if the performance of the prototype was adequate for it's time, the Czechoslovak Army Air Force wasn't interested in buying it.
Sources:
1. The complete book of fighters
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aero_Ae_02
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