Rhine flight RW-3
| Rhine flight RW-3 | |
|---|---|
 Rheinflug RW-3 in the Technikmuseum Berlin |
|
| Type: | Light aircraft |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: |
Rhein-Flugzeugbau GmbH |
| First flight: |
1956 |
| Commissioning: |
1958 |
| Number of pieces: |
22 (2 received) |
The Rheinflug RW-3 Multoplane or Passat was the first light aircraft to be mass- produced in Germany after the Second World War . It was originally developed by Rhein-Westflug Fischer & Co. and, after the license rights were transferred to Rhein-Flugzeugbau GmbH, it was manufactured in a small series. When use was school, sports and travel indicated.
history
In 1955, Hanno Fischer founded Rhein-Westflug Fischer & Co. in Cologne-Porz and began developing the RW-3, after having built an aircraft with a similar design in 1951, the FiBo 2A . The first flight of the V1 prototype with the registration D-EJAS took place in Bonn in February 1956. He then registered him for the participation in the Germany flight in 1956, but this was not possible after a landing accident on June 22, 1956 in which the machine was badly damaged. The first flight of the then necessary second prototype V2 (A-2) with the registration D-EKUM then took place in February 1957, so that Fischer's machine could only take part in the Germany flight in 1957. Both prototypes were equipped with wings with a span of 15 m, whereby the design made it possible to reduce the span to 10 m by removing parts.
On August 20, 1959, the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (Federal Aviation Office) issued type certification 509 / SA for the RW-3. RWF acted as sample holder. On November 7, 1960, the FAA type certification followed, which was no longer held by RWF, but by the licensee RFB.
Series production at Rhein-Flugzeugbau began after the completion of the third prototype V3 with the registration D-ELYT in February 1958. This first machine was then delivered on March 27, 1958. All series machines were delivered with the short wings. After the production of the individual components in the Krefeld plant, the final assembly and the flying in at Mönchengladbach Airport took place. Series production ended as early as 1960 after only 19 series machines, because the drive turned out to be too weak and there were hardly any buyers. Attempts to remedy this by installing a Continental C-90 engine with 66 kW output in 1958 were unsuccessful. In 1963 another amateur machine was finally completed.
At the end of the eighties, the V2 was used as a test vehicle for the FF Whisperfan developed by Hanno Fischer . The aircraft received a lighter and more powerful Rotax 914 engine, which was used in the Fantrainer AWI-2 in the 1970s, as well as two Whisper fans, which were arranged at the rear to the right and left of the fuselage. At the beginning of the nineties, an extensive noise test procedure with this RW-3M took place in Mönchengladbach, during which a noise reduction from 74 dBA for the conventional RW-3 to 62 dBA for the variant equipped with the Whisper fan was achieved. By doubling the engine power at the same time, the RW-3 was finally able to achieve satisfactory flight performance. After completing the tests, the V2 was restored to its original configuration and is currently the last RW-3 still flying.
construction
The two-seat RW-3 was a single-engine, cantilevered mid-decker that had an unconventional design. The engine was completely housed in the fuselage and, via a remote shaft, drove the pusher propeller , which turned in a slot in the fin. The crew sat in tandem under a large full-view canopy.
The aircraft had a four-part, single-spar all-metal wing with a laminar profile and removable outer wings. The rear edges of the inner parts were designed as two-part flaps, while the rear edges of the outer parts ended in undivided flaps.
The fuselage was a welded tubular steel construction, which was clad with removable plastic shells at the front and covered with fabric at the rear. The cantilever all-metal tail, designed as a T -tail, had fabric-covered rudders. The continuous horizontal stabilizer was placed on the vertical fin with a slit.
The RW-3 had a retractable nose wheel landing gear . The main landing gear was retracted electrically; this was triggered by the mechanical retraction of the nose wheel.
While the first series version was still equipped with the Porsche 678/0, which delivered an output of 48 kW (65 PS), a changeover to the 55 kW (75 PS) Porsche 678/4 followed. The blower air for engine cooling was supplied through scoops in the side walls of the fuselage above the wing. The air outlet was a triangular segment cutout on the right side of the fuselage, which ended up as a cutting edge. The engine drove a rigid two-bladed propeller.
The development of the RW-3 was secured by Rhein-Westflug with two patents:
- Motorized airplane with T-tail , DE1034037B from September 5, 1956
- Process for the production of aircraft wings and tail surfaces , DE1059770 of January 23, 1957
use
The RW-3 was offered as a touring aircraft for two people and as a training aircraft with long wings and as an aerobatic glider with short wings.
variants
RW-3 "Multoplane"
- RW-3a / P 75
- This was the name for the normal version for school and aerobatic flights with a wing with a 10 m span. They were delivered either with or without side clubs.
- RW-3b / P 75
- Name for the version with the four-part wing with a wing span of 15.40 m, which could be used as a motor glider, school, sport or touring aircraft. This version was created by adding additional surface ends to the wing of the standard design. These outer wings had ailerons, so the normal ailerons of the short wing could be used as landing flaps.
RW-3 "Passat"
This version, which was produced from mid-1961, used a more powerful Lycoming engine with an output of 110 kW (150 hp) instead of the Porsche engine. The prototype of the Passat (registration: D-ELYL) made its maiden flight in mid-May 1961. The structure of the Passat largely corresponds to that of the Multoplane . In addition to the installation of the more powerful engine, which could optionally be coupled with an electric controllable pitch propeller , the following changes were made:
- Structure of the rear fuselage as a light metal shell,
- Extension of the fuselage bow to accommodate the additional landing light,
- Construction of the ailerons and flaps made of metal with a foam core,
- Night flight equipment, enlargement of the propeller diameter from 1.50 to 1.70 m,
- Expansion of the air screw gap to reduce noise,
- Increase of fuel capacity,
- Larger wheels (420 × 160 instead of 380 × 150) and hydraulic instead of mechanical brakes,
- Elevation of the cabin above the second seat
Two versions of the Passat were also offered:
- RW-3a / L 150
- Standard version for school, travel or aerobatics with a 10 m wing.
- RW-3b / L 150
- Version with the four-part wing. Use as a motor glider as well as school and travel aircraft. With the engine switched off, the best glide ratio was 25, the lowest rate of descent was 1.40 m / s.
RW-3M
Test vehicle for the Whisper fan around 1990 with Rotax 914 engine (conversion V2)
Sales figures / orders and deliveries
Two prototypes were produced by Rhein-Westflug at the Gomolzig company in Wuppertal in 1955 and 1956. The Rhein-Flugzeugbau GmbH had acquired the rights in 1956 to manufacture 25 RW 3 at Rhein-West flight. The assemblies were manufactured in the RFB factory in Krefeld. The final assembly of the first series aircraft took place in Essen. From 1958 onwards, a final assembly line was built at Mönchengladbach-Neersen airfield , in which 22 aircraft are known to have been built by 1961. Two more aircraft were probably on a private basis with still existing assemblies, u. a. Completed at the Aero Club Mülheim.
The aircraft were mainly sold to Germany and South America. Unique pieces also went to Holland and Denmark. In the mid-sixties some machines went to the USA for secondary use.
Incidents
- RWF RW-3, V1, D-EJAS, June 22, 1956, destroyed by pilot error when it hit the ground in Hangelar
- RFB RW-3, WNr. 001, PH-OEN, December 20, 1965, destroyed in the Rotterdam landing accident
- RFB RW-3, WNr. 002, D-EMAZ, October 7, 1973, accident
- RFB RW-3, WNr. 003, OY-ADZ, ??. ??. ????, crash near Naksov after the pilot's death
- RFB RW-3, WNr. 010, N4949E, April 6, 1969, engine failure at takeoff in Morriton
- RFB RW-3, WNr. 014, D-EBUV, ??. 10.1959, accident
- RFB RW-3, WNr. 018, D-EDIW, April 1, 1962, crash near Nordhorn after pulling over ( BFU report 831-0401 / 62)
- RFB RW-3, WNr. 020, D-EDYW, April 14, 1964, destroyed in an emergency landing near Egnach , CH with empty tanks
- RFB RW-3, WNr. ???, HK-803, March 25, 1959, crash in fog near Bolívar, Colombia
Technical specifications
| Parameter | RW-3a / P 75 | RW-3b / P 75 | RW-3a / L 150 | RW-3b / L 150 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| crew | 2 | |||
| length | 7.42 m | 7.90 m | ||
| span | 10 m (without side club) 10.40 m (with side club) |
15.40 m | 10.40 m | 15.40 m |
| height | 2.48 m | 2.58 m | ||
| Wing area | 14.0 m² | 18.0 m² | 14.0 m² | 18.0 m² |
| Empty mass | 600 kg | 640 kg | 690 kg | 720 kg |
| Takeoff mass | 780 kg normal 900 kg max. |
820 kg normal 900 kg max. |
1000 kg | |
| Cruising speed | 180 km / h | 175 km / h | 250 km / h | 210 km / h |
| Top speed | 210 km / h | 200 km / h | 270 km / h | 240 km / h |
| Service ceiling | 4500 m | 5500 m | 7000 m | |
| Range | 800 km | 920 km | 840 km | |
| Engines | 1 × Porsche PFM 678/4, 55 kW (75 PS) fan-cooled 4-cylinder boxer engine |
1 × Lycoming O-320 , 110 kW (150 PS) air-cooled 4-cylinder boxer engine |
||
Whereabouts
The last RW-3:
- RWF RW-3, V2, D-EKUM, airworthy in Mönchengladbach
- RFB RW-3, WNr. 005, D-EFUP, still 2005 in Papenburg
- RFB RW-3, WNr. 009, D-EIFF, in the Technikmuseum Berlin
- RFB RW-3, WNr. 023, D-EFTV, in the Laatzen Aviation Museum
See also
literature
- Karlheinz Kens: Aircraft types , 4th edition, Carl Lange Verlag Duisburg
- Rolf Wurster: 50 Years of Deutsche Motorflugzeuge , Books on Demand, ISBN 3-8311-1854-X
- Paul Zöller: Rhein-Flugzeugbau GmbH and Fischer Flugmechanik , 2016, ISBN 978-3-7431-1823-2
Web links
- Luftfahrt-Bundesamt equipment data sheet (PDF file; 387 kB)
- Photos of the RW-3 in the Technikmuseum Berlin
- Aerial photograph of the D-EKUM
Individual evidence
- ^ Federal Aviation Office: Device identification sheet RW-3 of the Rhein-West-Flug. Retrieved May 17, 2017 .
- ↑ FliegerRevue January 2011, pp. 56–59, "Print from behind"
- ↑ Google patent search: RWF patent DE1034037B. Retrieved May 17, 2017 .
- ↑ FreePatentsOnline: RWF patent DE1059770. Retrieved May 17, 2017 .
- ↑ FLUGVEREIN AERO-CLUB Mülheim an der Ruhr eV Accessed on May 16, 2018 (German).