RWD-17
| RWD-17 | |
|---|---|
 The float version RWD-17W |
|
| Type: | Art and training aircraft |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
August 14, 1937 |
| Commissioning: |
1938 |
| Number of pieces: |
≈15-17 |
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The RWD-17 is a Polish aerobatics - trainer aircraft of the 1930s. The abbreviation RWD stands for the design group Rogalski, Wigura and Drzewiecki.
development
The RWD-17 formed the link between the RWD-8 training aircraft and the RWD-10 single-seat aerobatic aircraft . The concept was designed by Jerzy Drzewiecki, the construction was in the hands of Bronisław Żurakowski, who based himself on the RWD-8 and took over the outer wings, the engine cover, the arrangement of the seats and the chassis from it. The prototype with the registration number SP – BMX made its maiden flight on August 14, 1937. In the course of the tests, the tail unit was enlarged for better effectiveness. This was followed by a small series of ten RWD-17s that were delivered to civil flight schools.
On the advice of Stanisław Rogalski, Żurakowski developed a float version, initially called RWD-17bis, for the Polish Navy with a more powerful engine in the spring of 1938 . This version, later renamed RWD-17W, was equipped with quick-release fasteners on the fuselage so that the floats could be exchanged for a landing gear within a short time. The tests with the company's own test pilot E. Przysiecki began in June 1938 at RWD in Warsaw-Okęcie and were therefore initially carried out with a wheeled chassis. The model was later transferred to Puck and the sea trials were carried out with swimmers in the Baltic Sea port there. It was completed satisfactorily on December 23, 1938. A small series of five RWD-17Ws that was subsequently issued was delivered to the Polish Navy and used for school assignments by the sea flying squadron in Puck.
In the meantime, during the operation of the RWD-17 at the flight schools, it had become apparent that the controllability of some of the more demanding maneuvers left a lot to be desired or that these could not even be flown with the model. In the winter of 1938/39, Zurakowski therefore revised the wing construction and specially designed the trailing wing edges to taper, so that a trapezoidal plan was created. In the following spring, the model, as the RWD-17W was initially referred to as RWD-17bis, was tested and successfully passed through. The Polish Air Force showed interest and placed an order for 120 aircraft that were to be delivered in 1940 and used for fighter pilot and dive training. Due to the outbreak of war , it did not come to that.
commitment
After the German attack on Poland , one of the civil RWD-17s was taken over by the Polish army and used for liaison tasks. Of the rest, seven could be flown to Romania and thus withdrawn from the access of the German troops . Of the RWD-17Ws flown in the Puck Navy , three were fitted with a wheeled landing gear and could also be evacuated to Romania, where they were taken over by the Romanian Army. The prototype of the RWD-17W equipped with floats was to be flown to Sweden on September 30, 1939, but had an accident during take-off and sank off the Hela peninsula , whereby the pilot was able to save himself.
construction
The RWD-17 is a stripped high- wing aircraft in composite construction . The fuselage consists of a tubular steel frame with plywood cladding in the upper and front area and fabric covering for the rest. The open pilot cabins are equipped with two seats one behind the other and double controls. The three-part, arrow-shaped wing has two spars , I-struts towards the fuselage and, like the braced normal tail unit, consists of a wooden frame with plywood planking . The wing center section and fuselage are connected to one another in a canopy with I-posts. The oars are covered with fabric. In the land version, the rigid chassis consists of the hydropneumatic sprung main wheels, which are not connected by an axle, and the tail wheel at the rear. The float version is equipped with two single-stage , keeled Eldo metal floats, which are connected to the hull by N-braces and to each other by I-braces. The tail wheel is missing in this version, in its place there is the downwardly drawn, rounded rudder .
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data (RWD-17) | Data (RWD-17W) |
|---|---|---|
| crew | 2 | 2 |
| length | 7.7 m | 7.8 m |
| span | 10 m | 10 m |
| height | 2.45 m | 3.75 m |
| Wing area | 18.7 m | 18.7 m |
| Wing extension | 5.3 | 5.3 |
| Wing loading | 40.6 kg / m² | 48 kg / m² |
| Power load | 6.3 kg / hp | 5.6 kg / hp |
| Area performance | 6.4 hp / m² | 8.56 hp / m² |
| Empty mass | 520 kg | 610 kg |
| payload | 240 kg | 290 kg |
| Takeoff mass | 760 kg | 900 kg |
| drive | an air-cooled four-cylinder in- line engine Walter Major 4 |
an air-cooled seven-cylinder radial engine Siemens-Halske Sh 14A |
| power | 96 kW (131 PS) | 118 kW (160 PS) |
| Top speed | 195 km / h | 170 km / h |
| Cruising speed | 165 km / h | 145 km / h |
| Minimum speed | 80 km / h | k. A. |
| Rate of climb | 4.5 m / s | 3.3 m / s |
| Service ceiling | 5000 m | 3600 m |
| Range | 680 km | 500 km |
literature
- Peter Alles-Fernandez (Ed.): Aircraft from A to Z. Volume 3: Koolhoven FK 56 - Zmaj . Bernard & Graefe, Koblenz 1989, ISBN 3-7637-5906-9 , pp. 257 .
- RWD-17 . In: Fliegerrevue . No. 3/1986 (397) . Military Publishing House of the GDR, Berlin, p. 92 (Who? When? What?).
- RWD-17W . In: Fliegerrevue . No. 5/1986 (399) . Military Publishing House of the GDR, Berlin, p. 157 (Who? When? What?).
- Werner von Langsdorff : Handbook of aviation . Born in 1939. 2nd, unchanged edition. J. F. Lehmann, Munich 1937, p. 486/487 .
Web links
- RWD-17, 1937. Retrieved April 4, 2019 (Polish, history, dates, photos).