The Avia BH-7 was a prototype fighter aircraft built in Czechoslovakia in 1923. It was a parasol-wing monoplane developed in tandem with, and as an alternative to the BH-6, which shared its fuselage and tail design. Like the BH-6, the BH-7 was involved in a number of serious crashes during its test programme, which led to its abandonment as a fighter. Undaunted, however, Avia used the design as the basis for a racing aircraft, shortening the wingspan by 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in), fairing the wing directly onto the top of the fuselage and dispensing with the cabane struts. This revised version was designated BH-7B and the fighter (retrospectively) as the BH-7A. When the design proved no more successful as a racer, it was finally put to rest.
== Specifications == General characteristics
Crew: one pilot Length: 6.84 m (22 ft 5 in) Wingspan: 10.40 m (34 ft 1 in) Height: 2.83 m (9 ft 3 in) Wing area: 18.2 m2 (195 sq ft) Empty weight: 855 kg (1,885 lb) Gross weight: 1,150 kg (2,537 lb) Powerplant: 1 × Skoda licence-built Hispano-Suiza 8Fb Vee-8 , 310 kW (231 hp) Performance
Maximum speed: 240 km/h (149 mph, 129 kn) Range: 480 km (300 mi, 260 nmi) Service ceiling: 8,000 m (26,200 ft) Rate of climb: 6.7 m/s (1,312 ft/min) Armament
2 × fixed, forward-firing .303 Vickers machine guns
See also
Related development
BH-6
References
Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 86. World Aircraft Information Files. London: Bright Star Publishing. pp. File 889 Sheet 86. Němeček, V. (1968). Československá letadla. Praha: Naše Vojsko. airwar.ru